Looking for long-lasting, decent 205/60/15 tire... Cheaper is better!

[deevergote]

So far, Falken Ziex 512 seem to be the best choice. $50 each, shipped free.

I had a set on my 17" wheels though, and I saw some significant camber wear after a short while. I want my tires to last a long time... well, at least for many miles... and I don't want to get a camber kit.

What else is there that is under $65 a tire? I don't want to spend more than that.

I want something that offers decent performance, though I know I won't find anything great in my price range.

Nitto Neo Gen was my first thought, but they only come in 205/50/15!


Another thought is the Dunlop SP Sport A2 Plus. $63 each, but with a $50 rebate... putting them at just $4 more than the Falkens. The treadwear and mileage warranty are better... but will that hold up with my H&R Race drop?

[Dirty Harry]

$50-$65 for a GOOD tire?

Keep dreaming.

Also be careful going for a tire with too long of a mileage rating... there are some that are rated for 70k, but they are also hard as hell and BLOW as far as traction goes, especially in the rain. I have always chosen tires rated for no more than 40-50k. The minor difference in price is worth the added safety.

An example is the Michelin Exalto AS, for about $110 a piece or so in the size you mentioned. Good ass tire that does not come loose easily, will let you do 100 in the rain, and will last a good 40-50k.

DO NOT look to save money by going tight on tires, you will be sorry. Unless you get ripped off (and then you'd be an idiot because you didn't shop around) you will ALWAYS be happy about spending a good chunk of change for some nice tires. Don't give excuses about tires less than what I mentioned still being OK. In some people's opinion, they might be, but tires costing this much aren't even a real high performance tire. Just a real good one.

P.S. NO properly designed tire will resist camber wear unless its compound is hard as hell, and then you're just playing with fire. You might as well just put donuts on your car. FIX the original problem.

[JDM_EJ]

Check here...

http://www.edgeracing.com/tires/2056015/

[KillerCam282]

I agree with Justin 100%. Never go cheap on something that could save your life. If I remember you has an inicident in your DX that was tire related already. History teaches us not to make the same mistakes again. Michelin makes awesome tires. Falken Ziex/Azenis are decent all season tires. I wouldn't mess with BFG's budget line.

[deevergote]

True...

Eh, I think I'll just grab the Dunlops. The last set I had on the DX were great (if I got 4 instead of 2, I probably wouldn't have crashed!)

I'm not really looking for performance... just something to get me going on this new job I'll be doing. Lots of driving, and until I can get my TDI (I decided newer, and diesel, would be a good choice) I just want something to last me.

I'll eventually put some nice tires on the 17s that I have, and get a spare set of wheels for my 15" slicks as well. The OEM 15s are just knockaround wheels.


Edge Racing! Yeah! That's where I got my wheels After shipping though, their stuff is more than tires.com.

[sackingz123]

am on barum tires..

never heard of them...but i got them for 57 bucks a tire..on the car for two months now, i get good traction and handling out of them and since am lowered now theres no issues yet...

[GSteg]

I'd spend at least $85 or more per tire. Sometimes the price is little to pay compared to what you get. The savings in $100 will pale in comparison to your safety.

[Bud]

The durability and performance of a tire is directly proportional to the cost. There's a reason they cost a little more. Spend the money now and you'll save money later.

[Abeerdrinker]

As they have mentioned above

save now and you'll might pay the ultimate cost later.

2 things on your car you dont go cheap on is your brakes and your tires.

[NAiL05]

Im running on yokohama avid h4s paid like 50 or so for them. They have lasted me a bit over a year. But dunno how much it would cost for 205 mine were 195s.

[Blk EX Coupe]

I had a new set of barum's put on when I got the CB and had them for 5k before i lowered the car and about 6k later the insides were worn out, but these tires were good at the beginning they go downhill after that.

After replacing the Barums I got Falken Ziex 512's, and it's been about 4k and I'm sick of them and plan on getting azenis when I have some spare cash. The reason I don't like them is because they are pretty loud tires(the azenis are too) and they don't have that good of a performance, but I do think of them as a step up from the barums.

If you're looking for a replacement that does it's job look into yokohama avid touring tires. The tourings last pretty long and are great for highway driving. I had a set on my old tl when I use to drive a lot for work and I never had any problems with it, but do not expect much performance out of these tires. My brother has gone through 3 sets of these tires on his camry, and his car hydroplaned once a few years back, but that was because the tourings were almost bald at the time, so the next morning he got a new set.

[KillerCam282]

As they have mentioned above

save now and you'll might pay the ultimate cost later.

2 things on your car you dont go cheap on is your brakes and your tires.

Man law.

[deckeda]

Long-life tires are a false economy, IMO.

I agree with the Good Doctor's assessment. But I don't think a cheaper tire is necessarily less safe, as has been suggested.

With any tire, you have to know the limits. If you know the traction limits of the cheaper tire and don't exceed them, they'll be safe enough.

I've had various H-rated tires (and two V-rated) over the years. Whenever I've chosen a long life (50-70K) tire, it's been OK but gets hard as it ages, and all of them get noisy as they wear, and with a long life tire you wind up listening to it longer ...

I used to have on my CB7 the B-stone Turanza LS-H --- an H-rated premium "touring" tire. In normal driving this tire can do it all fairly well and last a long time. But it got hard to keep perfectly balanced and got noisy before the tread was worn out, so what's the point of a 70K life expectancy?

The CB7 now has B-stone G009s. They're nice, and similar to other good all-season H-rated tires. Avid H4, I've had then. They're OK to, and similar.

But I've been happiest with tires rated for less than 50K, and preferred "summer" performance tires over "all-season performance" tires.

I've had two really great tires over the years, and it's been when I splurged a little. The first were Michelin V-rated (something) back in about 1990 --- they came standard on many '80s 911s. Allowed my old Rancho-dropped Camaro do things it shouldn't. Paid $150 ea. and thought I'd lost my mind, but the sneakers were glorious.

More recently, the second were B-stone RE730s on a '01 Golf GLS 1.8T we had. (replaced by RE750 in B-stone's lineup) Completely unflappable. Another V-rated tire not designed to go beyond 35K. But I was lazy and kept them for 55K. What's interesting is that although they looked dangerous and illegal towards the end, grip remained high and even in the rain with scary, shallow grooves, held up.

For me it isn't about all-out performance though, just clean handling I can rely on. The thing about V-rated "ultra-performace" summer tires is that you don't have to drive like an idiot to appreciate the sweet handling they offer in normal driving.

And in 30K or 45K miles you get new ones. That's a fair trade when you consider that the last 20K of a "70K" tire is a somewhat miserable experience anyway.