Best current all-season "performance" tire

What's everyone's favorite all season tire? Criteria are good price, longevity, dry and wet performance. Maybe an occasional autocross. I need a 195/95-15 for a fwd econo car. I know the ZIEX ZE-912 won a comparo in the mag a few years ago...is that still a good one?

that 95 series sidewall is a doozy

captdownshift wrote: that 95 series sidewall is a doozy

The good news about a 95 sidewall is that if you don't like the tires, you can unmount them yourself by cornering hard.

I've had 10+ sets of Ziexs and never been unhappy with them. Recently, I put a set of General Altimax HPs on my turbo convertible. They've been great so far.

I can't wrap my brain around a 95 series wall.... sounds like a harley tire to me.

Haha...oops...that's a 195/55-15. Sorry!

In reply to mndsm:

Harley tires are 75, at most.

I think cars had 83ar or something tires.

Then 70ar tires were the hot setup.

Boy, that was along time ago.

Cooper CS5 or General, I'd lean towards the Cooper though due to better sidewall stiffness

I went with Kumho Ecsta PA31's about 9000 miles ago on my Mazda. They were really cheap. So far, so good. They handle decent, are quiet on the highway, and have worn very well so far.

I'm going to try the Toyo Extensa HP's. You can get them for $300 delivered.

http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/extensa-hp-high-performance-all-season-tires?cat=8

http://www.treaddepot.com/tire/195310.html

You can also look at the Federal SS595, made in Taiwan.

http://www.federaltire.com/en/products_detail.php?class=UHP&products_detail_sn=8

I liked the Ziex-912 on my AW11 for daily driving duties. They performed well enough, evacuated standing water rather well (huge plus on an MR2), and weren't annoying on the highway. That said, they got chewed up pretty bad autocrossing. Lots of little tearing on the edges of the tread and relatively high wear.

This was on a 2300lb car with 205/45/16's, driven pretty aggressively.

In on thread because I am shopping too. Thinking about getting something cheaper and longer lasting than my S. Drives so interested in some of the recommendations here.

I was thinking about Kumho 4X. I never liked any of the lower end Falkens, maybe the 912s are better.

The Continental DW/DWS always comes up as a top all-season performance tire. Pick if you need snow traction or not.

dj06482 wrote: The Continental DW/DWS always comes up as a top all-season performance tire. Pick if you need snow traction or not.

Was going to recommend as well but doesn't look like they're made in the size he requires.

sethmeister4 wrote: Haha...oops...that's a 195/55-15. Sorry!

195-50-15's are usually a bit easier to find … a bit more to choose from … makes your speedometer read off just a tiny bit (actually to the "safe" side)

DuctTape&Bondo wrote:

dj06482 wrote: The Continental DW/DWS always comes up as a top all-season performance tire. Pick if you need snow traction or not.

Was going to recommend as well but doesn't look like they're made in the size he requires.

they're not … if they came in 15's … a lot of us would have had them for rain tires in ST

I have General G-MAX AS-03's on my E36. They replaced some sort of Falkens the previous owner put on. I have no complaints and my daily driving involves twisty mountain roads, although I have not autocrossed on them. They are great on wet roads which is important since the roads are wet about 9 months out of the year here. Definitely would buy again.

wbjones wrote:

DuctTape&Bondo wrote:

dj06482 wrote: The Continental DW/DWS always comes up as a top all-season performance tire. Pick if you need snow traction or not.

Was going to recommend as well but doesn't look like they're made in the size he requires.

they're not … if they came in 15's … a lot of us would have had them for rain tires in ST

Really? They're better than a summer tire with decent tread? Not arguing btw - as I've never driven, let alone autocrossed on them.

In reply to wbjones: True, but I don't want these things looking even smaller in the wheel wells.

My dirt bike runs an 80/100-21 up front

Had Hankook Ventus V2 Concept H437's before. I liked them. I put them same tires on my wifes car.

By the time they needed replacing (50k+ miles), I was ready to buy my 3rd set but I got a smoking deal on some General GMAX AS03's due to doubling up some rebates ($200 for 4 tires).

So far I like the Generals too. Have about 20k miles on them and they barely look worn. Very deep tread and very good at dealing with heavy rain and standing water.

FWIW I autocrossed neither of these tires and I am trying to buy for longevity and the occasional snow on the ground in addition to good dry and wet performance. No I am not running dedicated snow tires for the 2 or 3 days a year they cant get the roads cleared in VA.

I have logged over 200k on the 912. That ought to tell you something.

Dont expect anything over 30k out of them. Deep snow is a jo go, but an inch or two if you're smart ajd you'll be ok. Light carunder forty of life can get dicy in heavy rain. When getting close to wear bars, ride like E36 M3 and noisy. Run them about five lbs higher than your last set.

Yes, buy the 912 for a fun daily that needs good and cheap tires. They do ok for a twice a year autocross/ once a year hpde car.

Matt B wrote:

wbjones wrote:

DuctTape&Bondo wrote:

dj06482 wrote: The Continental DW/DWS always comes up as a top all-season performance tire. Pick if you need snow traction or not.

Was going to recommend as well but doesn't look like they're made in the size he requires.

they're not … if they came in 15's … a lot of us would have had them for rain tires in ST

Really? They're better than a summer tire with decent tread? Not arguing btw - as I've never driven, let alone autocrossed on them.

disclaimer: I have never used them … but that's what Andy Hollis has recommended for several yrs

sethmeister4 wrote: In reply to wbjones: True, but I don't want these things looking even smaller in the wheel wells.

lowering springs FTW