Tire Reviews - Post your experience

I am stealing the starting info here from my local boards, but please feel free to add any additional posts, using the layout below. Please avoid random banter/discussion. Thanks.

SUMMER:

BFG G-Force KDW-2 Ultra High Performance

Per tiresmoker:

Pros: Neat tread pattern. This tire does well on wet conditions under full tread life up to half tread life. It has a softer sidewall (privided you don't get a low profile reinforced) so it is easier to mount as well. Treadwear is pretty good.

Cons: This tire is anything but Ultra High Performance. In track and autocross conditions the tire get hot and greasy extremely quick, also it takes quite some time for the tire to cool down. Normal every day commutes can become tiresome as well as this tire is quite loud. Once you get down to half tread life the tire does not channel water that well and can result in some slippage on wet roads.


Falken Azenis RT 615's Max Performance

Per tiresmoker:

Pros: Quite tire. Extremely stiff sidewall so lower pressures can be run. Great for autocross and track applications. You can feel the limits of these tires and when they are on the verge of slipping they don't just "let go" They do well with high temperatures and don't overheat as easily and get greasy. Cost is pretty decent as well for the tire you get.

Cons: Short treadlife if use as a daily driver. Large surface area of treadblocks also doesn't resist rain as well once 30% or more tread has been used. Very Very VERY bad in the snow


Yokohama ADVAN Neova AD07 Extreme Perfomance

Per tiresmoker:

Pros: Decent tire in the rain throughout treadlife. If you can keep this tire cool (autocrosses and track days) it does alright in performance situations. I only note that in "pros" because it does do "ok" when ambient temperatures do not excede 60 degrees F.

Cons: WAY overpriced for the tire you get, in fact too damn much. Wears extremely quick so do not use as a daily driver. Marginal rating at best for use at autocross and track events. This tire overheats quickly and becomes greasy. It does cool down quickly, but the cool down time does not offset the fact that the tire gets too hot too quick. Also, this tire will not let you know when grip is lost untill it's too late. The tire heats up then just lets go, there is no middle ground where you can start to feel the tires grip diminishing. As these tires wear they get EXTREMELY loud. In fact, that is the only thing "extreme" about these tires. Soft sidewalls as well To put it mildly, Yokohama should be shot for charging this much for a tire that does so little.


General Exclaim Ultra High Performance

Per focuson03:

Pros: Awesome tread life. Good hydroplaning resistance. Very predictable. Cheap for what they are.

Cons: Should be classified as High performance, not Ultra High Performance. Sidewalls are VERY soft and leave for a lot of flex. NOT meant for auto-x! Tread compound is fairly hard. Any temp below 40 and these are ROCKS. They do not like to even see the lightest of snowfalls.


Nitto Neo Gen Ultra High Performance

Per lildisco:

Pros: Awesome tire and tread life even if you Auto-X or Road Race with. Lasted about 10 Auto-X's and 2-3 Road Course plus regular summer driving. Plus they're relatively Cheap!

Cons: When they go....they go. They don't funnel water too well below 40% tread life. If you do Auto-X or Road Race you have to jack up the tire pressure to lessen roll-over.

Per CrashTECH:

Pros: They were cheap (if I had bought them new, I got them with ~ 300 miles on them). They were sticky when they had decent amounts of tread. They lasted quite a while for me under spirited (no track time after the first 300 miles, lots of harder-than-necessary starts and cornering on the street) driving. I thought it was pretty good for having the 280 tread wear rating.

Cons: When they wear it is a fair bit easier to get squirrely on wet roads. That said I have never had too much trouble with them in the rain / wet conditions. While it was easier to get the back end out it wasn't something that happened without my intending to do it.

Other thoughts: I didn't keep good track of how many miles I put on them but they have somewhere in the range of ~20k on then now. I may try to get another 5k on them but I am not sure that will be possible (read: safe). I could get two summers out of them if I purchased them again. I am currently shopping to see what is available to replace these on my summer wheels. Might buy again might not. My experience hasn't made me feel anything strongly one way or the other about them.


Yokohama S.Drives Ultra High Performance

Per lildisco:

Pros: Nice Tread Design. Very predictable tire. Funnels water fairly well.

Cons:Really haven't found any yet. For it's wear rating, it falls right in where it should be


Bridgestone RE-01R Ultra High Performance

Per sl1200:

Pros: Excellent dry grip through most of their life. there's a good reason this was pretty much the ST autoX tire. The held up well at track speeds as well. Surprisingly good wet grip as well given the minimal grooving. Also quite compliant for such an aggressive tire, so they are comfortable on the road.

Cons: Tread life. expect no more than 10K miles. Also they are noisy below about 45k miles thanks to the aforementioned minimal grooving. They are also farking expensive unless you find them on closeout.


Continental ContiSport Contact Max Performance Summer

Per lildisco:

Pros: N/A

Cons: Cheaply made and way over-priced HORRIBLE tire. Screamed at anything harder than a slow turn. Tires lasted less than 6 months with 50% tread life and barely driven. Don't purchase these over-priced POS tires.


OEM Potenza RE050A (max performance)

Per wannabe:

Pros: Good grip on dry pavement

Cons: Crappy tread life, expensive($225/ea), not all that amazing grip, esp on wet or light snow.


Kumho SPT Ultra High Performance

Per wannabe:

Pros: Pretty good grip on both wet and dry pavement. Cheap. Treadwear seems pretty good for this price level.

Cons: Got a bubble in one only 500 miles after purchase.



Per Fez:

Pros: Cheap. Great daily driver. Very good in the rain.

Cons: Soft sidewall, would prefer higher load rating for ms6. Wear out pretty quickly on the track and need constant rotation.

Other thoughts: I would highly recommend these for someone who doesn't track the car much and uses it as a daily driver. Otherwise - there are better options.

ALL SEASON


Avon Tech 550M/S Ultra high performance All Season

Per tiresmoker:

Pros: Good rain/summer tire for an everyday driver. Decent treadwear and predictable handling. Decent in light snow (under 1") provided treadlife is good. Minimal road noise

Cons: Not suited for extreme winter driving. Even with full tread life anything north of 3" on the gound will prove a challange for these tires. Also not suited for autocross/track use.

Per sl1200:

Pros: Cheap and quiet. gripped OK when new

Cons: Crappy in anything more than 1" of snow. Wore like crap (bad cupping). I expected 40K plus from these tires and only got a little more than 30K. Sidewalls were too squishy as well..


Bridgestone RE960 AS Ultra High Performance All Season

Per sl1200:

Pros: Good summer grip, excellent grip in light to medium snow (close to a dedicated snow). Good hydroplaning resistance. Good tread wear as well. We have them on both cars at the moment, and on Val's Civic they look like they'll last well into the 40K mile range. At present these are the best all-seasons I've come across.

Cons: Price. They weren't too bad for Val's car (little 15s) but cost me an arm and a leg for 17s (around 800 by the time all was said and done IIRC).. Also they are a little on the squishy side, but as they are all-seasons it's to be expected.


Michelin Energy MXM H4 High Performance? All Season

Per sl1200:

Pros: they lasted about 42-43k miles, which is more than I expected as the treadwear was in the 300s

Cons: Price. These things were over $200/each for the 6. I know this because the sidewalls are weak as hell and I blew two out on potholes, which is another downside. They are also noisy and have lousy grip pretty much everywhere. It sucks that tire companies and car companies supply overpriced garbage as OEM tires in so many cases.


Pirelli P6 High Performance All Season

Per lildisco:

Pros: They do pretty good in the snow and in the rain for an all-season tire. I've heard that once they go below 50% tread life, it get scary, we'll see

Cons: Price. For what they are and how long they last, they aren't that great.


Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 Grand Touring All Season

Per lildisco:

Pros: I really haven't had much of an issue with these either on my 16's or 17's. They handle snow, slush, rain and ice fairly well

Cons: Price. I've pretty much heard about the same thing from everyone with how long they last and how much they cost to replace. Don't plan to Auto-X or Road Race on these things and they scream like no tomorrow under hard turning.


Goodyear Eagle F-1 A/S Ultra high performance AS

Per CrashTECH:

Pros: 420 Tread wear rating. Cut through the snow (although I was still able to break it a little loose when I wanted). Never got suck even on unplowed roads. Excellent rain/wet traction.

Cons: While I never had a big problem with the snow / ice traction. They are not amazing in the snow. If you really want really good snow/ice traction you better get a snow tire. The trade off in the lower price and ability to run them longer (could go all year if I wanted) was a worth while trade off for me.

Other thoughts: Paid ~$675 for 4 tires mounted and balanced on the factory MS6 wheels. This included a road hazard warranty. This puts them about $175 per tire. I have two winters on them (Nov - March/April) and I am sure I can get another two out of them. I picked an AS rather than a dedicated snow tire because they should last a little longer and I won't be concerned if I leave them on a little longer after the last snow. Some have complained they are stiff and/or transmit a lot of road noise. I can't say that I noticed this or was bothered by it. Some have also complained of short life (needing replaced after 13k miles) but that also doesn't seem to be the case with me. I have ~ 17k miles on them and they seem to be just fine. I will check the tread depth and report back.


Goodyear Eagle RS-A High Performance All-Season

Per lildisco:

Pros: Decent tire for about 5,000 miles

Cons: Made Cheaper than the Continental ContiSport Contacts. Anything less than 80% Tread Life and you're taking your life into your own hands. Rain or Snow? Stay at home with these after 80% Tread. High Performance All-Season? What a Joke!

WINTER


Hankook Ice Bears

Per tiresmoker:

Pros: Quiet tire. Great traction in deep snow. HUGE treadblocks. Good tire in the rain as well. I haven't had any ice traction experience yet though

Cons: As with any winter/snow tire, treadlife will be shortened on dry roads.

Per Megz:

Pros: I do agree, the tire is very quiet and has great traction in snow. The tread is very nice, and hasn't seemed to wear down too badly given the change in snow to dry covered roads that cleveland's known for. To be honest, the cost was very affordable for the 16" wheels that I got them for, roughly just over $400 for the tire and mount.

Cons: As far as traction on ice, the tire, like many, aren't wonderful on ice. If there's the slightest amount of ice on the road.. don't expect the car to have much traction at all. It has been better than any all season I've driven on, but still - not very much traction on ice.

Per wannabe:

Pros: Pretty solid tire. I've had it through a couple winters and they've held up well. Grip is great on snow.

Cons: A little slippery on ice. Seem like they may not last as long as I'd like.




Pirelli WinterCarving

Per focuson03:

Pros: Aggressive winter tire tread pattern. They're directional. Can be used with studs if needed. Handled deep snow without a problem and ice wasn't too bad either. Good tread life for such a soft compound. Fairly quiet.

Cons: It's a winter tire, sidewalls were soft. After 30% treadwear, it has a harder compound and makes ice worse.




Dunlop WinterSport 3D

Per focuson03:

Pros: Aggressive tread pattern. Again, these are directional. They are a "High Performance" winter tire. Stability is good and cornering is better than the Pirelli's were. The wear nicely even on dry, warmer, roads. Tread wear has been very good. 2 years and still over 50% tread life.

Cons: Grip on ice isn't nearly what the Pirelli's were. They also tend to track with the road surface a little much IMO. They are also fairly noisy on concrete surfaces.




Mastercraft Glacier Grip

Per lildisco:

Pros: Snow, slush and rain didn't matter with this tire....plowed right on through everything.

Cons: Road noise was pretty bad. But nothing like turning up the radio couldn't solve. As with any dedicated Winter Tire, Tread Life.




Pirelli Scorpion

Per wannabe:

Pros: Handles great on the CX-7. Only had a couple little slips, on REALLY icy roads. Excellent value for the price ($105/ea)

Cons: Can't get them to break loose I'm not sure how they will hold up, only been on this season.




Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 performance winter

Per Fez:

Pros: Awesome traction - snow, ice, rain, dry. Great sidewall. Very comfortable ride - smooooooth, but a little on a loud side. If it wasn't for the wear/price, I'd run them all year round.

Cons: PRICE. Tread wear (I was really taking it easy on em, and should be able to squeeze 3 winters out of these).

Other thoughts: If you have the $$$ and have a need for dedicated winter tire - I'd strongly recommend these. Absolutely love these tires and it will be a sad day when I will have to toss em.

This is GREAT! Thank you for putting this up! I've been looking into getting a set of all seasons and this is definitely helping me narrow my search a bit!

Pirelli PZero Nero M+S

Pros: Good treadlife, quiet, comfortable ride, and very good cost wise. Works well in light snow or icy conditions if you don't want to splurge on dedicated winter tires. Excellent wet traction, not prone to hydroplaning, even in nasty rain.

Cons: Traction is fair, but not as nice as a UHP summer tire. Can feel gummy coming out of a turn.

Sumitomo HTRZ III

Pros: Very smooth and quiet. Traction is awesome wet or dry. I don't change driving my driving style much. With these I've grown comfortable turning off the DSC always, wet or dry. They are predictable. Also, very inexpensive. Good life, longest yet of any tire I've used.

Cons: So inexpensive you would think they can't compete. It is a shame they are so bad ass. Also when it gets cold they don't grab, seriously bad below 40F.

Kumho ECSTA XS 225/40-18

Pros: Very predictable grip and no noticeable tread squirm. Quiet and smooth at speed on regular highways. Held better than I expected in light rain (haven't experienced heavy rain with them yet). Decent price and better performance than I expected in that price range.

Cons: When cold (below 40 deg) they feel like they're carved out of granite. Louder than stock on less than perfect roads. Treadwear rating of 180 leaves something to be desired, but I won't be able to confirm that until I get more miles on them.

Update 8-13-10: Avoid these tires! With less than 10k on them they have turned into death traps. I started to notice a little shimmy as if a wheel needed to be rebalanced about 200 miles ago, but found out it was the tire actually starting to come apart. All four inner sidewalls have seperated and shifted and so have the inner shoulders. Tread is still good and I don't beat on the car, so I can't see any reason why these tires look like they have all developed leprocy. I will not be buying these again and recomend others avoid them as well.

InlineTwin said:

Sumitomo HTRZ III

Pros: Very smooth and quiet. Traction is awesome wet or dry. I don't change driving my driving style much. With these I've grown comfortable turning off the DSC always, wet or dry. They are predictable. Also, very inexpensive. Good life, longest yet of any tire I've used.

Cons: So inexpensive you would think they can't compete. It is a shame they are so bad ass. Also when it gets cold they don't grab, seriously bad below 40F.

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Just got the same tires. Amazing for the price. Amazing.

Nexen N5000 225/40-18

Pros: Decent price and better performance than I expected in that price range. ($75-100 per tire) And considering the roads here in hawaii, they have very good sidewall strength for the rough roads

Cons: So far so good, can't say nothing bad about them

Overall: these are just good tires.....so far......

Continental ContiSport Contact Max Performance Summer JUNK JUNK JUNK JUNK DO NOT BUY THEY ARE UNSAFE!!!!


they where not cut the tred is seperating off them

Falken Azennis RT 615s

Good: Awesome for high speeds, very quiet on the road. Never autoX'd but did take street corners pretty fast and never worried about the tires.

Bad: Horrible treadlife. I bought a set in November and I had to replace two of them yesterday after 11K miles. I rotate and balance every 4K miles, I was going in to have them rebalanced when they showed me the treadlife.

Other: At Discount Tire, they're about $104/tire not including the warranty. It would be ok, but I can't be buying tires every 10K miles.

tunersteve said:

Pirelli PZero Nero M+S

Pros: Good treadlife, quiet, comfortable ride, and very good cost wise. Works well in light snow or icy conditions if you don't want to splurge on dedicated winter tires. Excellent wet traction, not prone to hydroplaning, even in nasty rain.

Cons: Traction is fair, but not as nice as a UHP summer tire. Can feel gummy coming out of a turn.

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Overall great tire, I've been through a few sets of these, and they do get a little gummy under hard acceleration out of a corner, but the tire weren't inflated to spec. Adjusted, and went for it again, and fixed it.

There are by far better than the stock potenzas, and they even do great in the snow ice, and heavy rain.

Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport

Pro: Decent price, paid $154 each, good good wet and dry traction. Took them auto-Xsing and they felt really good. Really smooth at high speeds and very quiet.

Con: None so far, I really like them.

Federal SS595 225/40/18

Pro: Good life, 24XXX KM on them and still another summer at least on them, good in all types of weather, besides snow i haven't tried them.

Con: Find them really noisy once they start to wear down, but might be because i didn't rotate them properly. Also had a big dry rot crack in one of them once i took the car outta storage after last winter.

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22 215/45/18

Picked these up on Tire Rack on closeout for $121/tire. Originally $210 IIRC.

Pros: Quiet on the road, deep snow grooves, good for evacuating slush and loose snow, wheel protector lip is good for these. Big, blocky tread pattern seems to hold up well. Stock tire size, XL load rated, 93V speed rating. Perfect fit for the MS6.

Cons: No longer made, not sure what would be a replacement for it. Somewhat mushy feeling on turn-in, but I need to re-check tire pressures and lug tightening for other possible areas of concern.

Put about 100 miles on these since install, so far they've been great. On snowy, slushy roads they ate the snow up and provided a great feeling over my worn Pirellis (which are still a great tire IMO). These should be great for the occasional snow, slush, and cold weather we see in MI for 3-4 months. Couldn't beat the price either for an 18" winter tire.

Originally Posted by tunersteve
Pirelli PZero Nero M+S

Pros: Good treadlife, quiet, comfortable ride, and very good cost wise. Works well in light snow or icy conditions if you don't want to splurge on dedicated winter tires. Excellent wet traction, not prone to hydroplaning, even in nasty rain.

Cons: Traction is fair, but not as nice as a UHP summer tire. Can feel gummy coming out of a turn.

Click to expand...

jonscapri said:

Overall great tire, I've been through a few sets of these, and they do get a little gummy under hard acceleration out of a corner, but the tire weren't inflated to spec. Adjusted, and went for it again, and fixed it.

There are by far better than the stock potenzas, and they even do great in the snow ice, and heavy rain.

Click to expand...

+1
Got the same tire and it's been great. Not loud by any means. The tread is MUCH better than stock and does decent in the snow (I live in the DC Area and when we got the 60+ inches of snow I was able to go through the half plowed streets with ease.) These tires do great in cold temps. Currently have 5k miles on them and still look near brand new.

Falken FK-452

Pro's - Good handling after a fairly long run in period, maybe 200-300 miles. Reasonable performance in wet and snow and competitively priced.

Con's - Pityful tread life. I have had these tires for 5,000 miles and they are totally worn out, as well as having lumps and flat spots giving constant vibrations whilst driving. Road noise is also above average and the ride is very hard, although I would expect it to be quite hard running 215/35 19's.

Overall - The tread life and poor ride quality are not justified by the lower price tag. It would be cheaper to buy premium tyres with better performance and replace them less often. I bought these tyres based on good reviews from other drivers, so it may be the 215/35 configuration that is the issue and the FK-452's may be a viable option in other sizes.

GoodYear Eagle F1 Assymetric

Pro's - Good handling wet or dry. Low road noise and good level of comfort. Cheaper than some premium brands.

Con's - Tread life is below average, 12,000 miles with fairly sedate driving. Performance is not good in snow.

Overall - A good wet or dry performance tyre, that sacrifices tread life for improved performance.

Goodyear GT

I've put about 12,000 miles on these now and have been happy until I noticed the passenger side tires show much more wear than the drivers side. Passenger side is almost down to the wear indicators and I am not hard on them at all. Why do they wear so uneven? Looks like I may as well just replace the one side instead of rotating. I know I should have rotated earlier but didn't get around to it.

Nexen N5000 225/40/18


Just bought a set of 225/40/18 Nexen N5000s and they feel SO much better than the stock Potenzas as well as the Nankang NS-II's. The ride quality is quiet as hell and makes me wanna go to sleep on the highway at cruising speeds (65-70mph of course). Will update you guys on any issues that may come about with these tires but I love em so far. I know MZR-6i already reviewed these tires but just wanna add my 2 cents since I had 3 brands of tires now.

Those of you thinking of getting the Nankangs or the Nexens, go with the Nexens. I had the Nankang NS-II's and, although they lasted about 26k miles, the sidewall tore from each tire for no apparent reason after 20k miles. I didn't hit any curbs, I was the only driving the damn car too, and the tread was naturally worn as I did not beat on the car.

ringolake said:

I've put about 12,000 miles on these now and have been happy until I noticed the passenger side tires show much more wear than the drivers side. Passenger side is almost down to the wear indicators and I am not hard on them at all. Why do they wear so uneven? Looks like I may as well just replace the one side instead of rotating. I know I should have rotated earlier but didn't get around to it.

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Sounds like you need an alignment dude. This car is notorious for alignment issues. I would align every 10k miles if you can and get tires from a place where they would do free rotations every 3-5k miles.