Looking for a cheap, decent treadware 195/50/15 for a DD. Performance/noise aren't concerns. I had a set of Kumho Ecsta AST's that wore out quickly, but at $53.00 a pop, the price is hard to beat. Tire Rack has a Continental with a 540 treadware rating, but they're $70 ea.
Doesn't necessarily need to be a 195/50, but GSR blades like kind of goofy with monster truck tires.
What say yee?
I used to run the sams/costco grade bfg touring t/a in that size. they were around $60-65...I could get around 50k out of a set.
I'd get another set of the ASTs. I put a set of 185/60-14 Kumho Solus KR21s on my GFs car in July. Good ride, handles rain really well and snow well enough. Seem to be wearing pretty well with about 7000 miles on them so far. They were $51/each. Not available in your size though, but Kumhos are obviously decent tires.
Tire Rack has General Exclaim UHP's at $61.00 each. What you paid for the Kumho's may not be relevant as new import taxes have likely had an impact on any tire made in S Korea.
That said, I'd vote for the Sumitomo HR200's. They are $70.00 each at TR, but I have really liked them in the 195/60-14 size on my Prelude. No outstannding grip qualities, but they are quiet, perform well in the wet and last a lot longer than Falkens and Yokos.
kr21's I have them on the civic. They do OK in the snow, OK in the rain and cost me $38/tire
I'd go with the ASTs again. I'm probably grabbing a set in the same size for the Deathscrote shortly.
my experience with three different sizes and types of Continentals is that they all sucked balls.
i bought the first set because they were cheap.
i bought the second set because they were cheap and i thought the suckiness of the first set must've been a fluke
i bought the third set because a few years had passed and i forgot how much the first two sets sucked. and they were cheap.
Running the cheap Toyos on my Civic. I baby remember the model but they came with wife friendly pricing amd show little ware in more time than it tool to use up a set of Kummhos.
A few places have closeouts on BFG traction ta's... great tire, love em!
Ziex ZE912s?
http://www.onlinetires.com/products/vehicle/tires/falken/195%252F50-15+falken+ziex...
$46 apiece on that site.
I bought Continental ContiPro Touring tires that were on sale for like $40 apiece on the Tire Rack for my DD. Of course they are 185/65-15, so your application might be a little more expensive. And it was a while ago...
MCarp22 wrote:Ziex ZE912s?
http://www.onlinetires.com/products/vehicle/tires/falken/195%252F50-15+falken+ziex...
$46 apiece on that site.
I loved those tires, but burned throught them QUICK. Great traction. Not so much on the treadware. Thanks for the suggestions guys.
Angrydude: What specifically sucked about the Continentals? I'm leaning toward those because of the high treadware, and not a huge difference in price between them and the kumhos.
Wasn't there a comparo test in the magazine a year or two ago about "cheap" tires? I can't seem to remember the details . . .
I'm one of those guys who keeps buying Continentals thinking that the last set(s) must have been flukes.
Every set seems to get hard and noisy quickly. The tread last fine, but the traction is long gone.
There are a set of top of the line Contis on the M Roadster I just bought. Under 10,000 miles on them, about 4 years old and always inside. Hard as a rock... zero wet traction, noisy and rough riding.
The only Conti's I've had tha were the least bit impressive are the snows on my wife's E30... and frankly they can't hold a candle to the Hakka 2's they replaced (though their dry pavement performance is superior)
I've yet to be disappointed in a set of Kumhos... replaced Pilots on my last M3 with them and a set will likely go on the Roadster... have used Kumho's (high performance, all seasons, and dedicated snows) on everything from my father-in law's CRV to my former '67 Mercedes 250SE to a Northstar Allante to my kid's Capri.
Maybe not the best tire in the world, but once you factor in the price they are hard to beat.
Bill
I've got a pair of Fuzion HRi's on the front of my Miata (daily driving tires), and I'm quite happy with them. I just ordered a full set in 185/60/14 for my SE-R, $49/ea from Tire Rack. My experience on the Miata makes me like them better than the Falken Ziex 512s the Miata came with. The SE-R needs 3 new tires anyway, so I'm also looking for a decent cheap tire, yet one that'll match the car's sporty qualities well too. They shipped today - I'll have to report back after I get them on and get some miles on them.
Actually I neglected to mention how much I like the Fuzions as well... have been currently running the HRi's (Capri), ZRi's (E30, Bitter), and the AT's (Avalanche).
poopshovel wrote:
Angrydude: What specifically sucked about the Continentals? I'm leaning toward those because of the high treadware, and not a huge difference in price between them and the kumhos.
treadwear number had absolutely nothing to do with how long the tires actually lasted. down to the wear bars in 25k miles of mixed city/highway. smooshy sidewalls, felt like a 270-degree on-ramp was a never-ending transition.
but that's about it.
they were conticontact touring or something like that
Gotcha. berkeley it. I'll 'go with the devil I know' and stick with the kum-hoes. Thanks dudes!
