Rate the cheap tire brands!
 

I was hoping that someone could point me in the direction of some good, cheap tires. I know that "good" and "cheap" don't exactly go hand in hand, but I can't afford to buy Hi-end ones. It doesn't rain much around here, so I'm mainly looking for tires that handle good on dry tarmac, without too much road noise. I just put some rims on my car with "Dunlop SP Sport W-10" tires and the road noise is, ah, LOUD.

Here's the brands I'm leaning toward: Nankang, Falken, Kumho, Hankook, Fedaral.
On another note...The tires on there are on my car are 215/45-zr17 and they fit! I couldn't believe it. The rear tire only clears the spring by about 1/4- 1/8 inch... But it doesn't rub at all! Should I worry about the two being so close to each other?
Thanks, N80.

i have nankang's.....low low pro's.....i get comments from people all the time...asking me about the ride because the tires are so "flat looking"......they perform excellent....i don't hear any noise......and i can really feel a difference in handeling in turns.....



lAter

dunlop = no no... get rid of the dunlops obviously. i had yokohama avid h4's (just 14 inches) but they handled very well, and a well known tire for racing. good tire brands.. any bridgestone/firestone tire is good. firehawks are pieces of shit, and i've heard the same of falken's, but i doubt that. kumho's are real good tires from what i've heard.

Thanks for the help. There's someone on this site in the "for sale" forum that's selling just what I'm looking for. Kumho 205/40-ZR17 712. I'm stoked! My wagon's slowly coming together.

I just bought those tires with my new rims. They'll be here next Tuesday, I can't wait :)

i have nankang(or however you spell it) and they are awsome. They really do stick to the curves:D

I've been fairly impressed with my Khumo 712's for the price. I have the "w" speed rated as opposed to the "z" because there is a substantial difference in treadwear between the two. Very good dry and wet performance for the price.

However, all ultra high performance tires suck in snow. That being said, Khumos suck ass a lot more than most of the other models.

I have Nankang tires. They are extremely good looking and stick to the road real good. The best for the price. Stay away from Yokohama Paradas :eek:

http://www.hometown.aol.com/piranatx/images/p5 kmc.jpg

Thanks, you guys! I had a feeling that those Nankangs were half-way decent tires. I remember when I first saw Kumho tires, I was a little sceptical at first, but now they are proven time and time again. I wonder if Nankang is a new company, or newly importing tires. Maybe I just haven't seen 'em around...
-sigh-I think I'm gonna change my username to "insomniac natey"

Beg to differ!
 

I have the Falken ZIEX ZE512 in 195/50-15 on some nice Konig Heliums. For the money, I'm VERY impressed with them. Had them 4 months and some 6K odd miles now, incredible (for my needs) dry traction, excellent wet traction and better snow traction (in the recent blizzard even!) than my "ALL-SEASON" (hah!) Michelin XH4 tires, which are NARROWER.

Go figure!

And I can't see any signs of wear yet - will rotate them at my next oil change.

I have Falken Ziex tires too. I can't complain!

...... Kumho's 711 is a EXCELLENT choice...... you can't beat the quality,handling and price!

Speedbump.

the yokohama avid h4 seems to be a good tire... got them on my se-r right now (14inch tho)....

performance is good... ill tell ya after sundays autocross how much i really like them :D

Re: Beg to differ!
 

Ashu referred me to the ZIEX512's and I have to say, these are surprisingly good daily 'performance' tires, excellent dry traction, and extremely resistant to hydroplaning (even through deep puddles!!!)

of course, nothing compares to the Azenis sport when it comes to all-out autox performance... but that's too performance-oriented for daily needs...

had the khumo 712 supras Z rated, they were frigin awesome , excellent in the rain great in the dry , but you better take them off in the snow ,, cause that will get your pro tottaled easy....
but I won't get them again cause the sidewall was to thick ,, made my 16's look like 15's , I hated that ...
Bruce