Our Contis have suffered 5 nails in 39,000 miles. We just replaced a second tire when the injury was in the outer tread bar, beyond Ford's warranty zone. This is getting expensive.
That said, the TC rides nearly the same whether lightly loaded or at the 1,600 lb load limit, and corners like a spider. Great fun in wet or dry. Replaces a full-size Toyota T-100 pickup rated for only 1,100 lbs.
But the TC is LOUD. Using the iPhone sound meter app, we routinely measure 104.5 dBA at 20 mph, 109 dBA at sixty on our failing California pavement.
Michelin only offers snow tires just now (March 2014). Just upgrading to Michelin Latitude Tours from Michelin LTXes on the 4Runner put us into Lexus Land for ride and noise. Might Michelin snows do the same for the TC? Even though they are only rated for a few miles on dry pavement, since we are spending $150 every 8 months for popped Continentals, what's the difference?