hey guys i was wondering if you can help me pick out new tires. not looking for anything expensive. i know i could probably save and just wait til i have enough to get something decent, but the condition my current tires are in are really bad so i need to change them pronto....
i'm thinking of
Kumho Ecsta HP4 716
or
Sumitomo SRIXON4
both go for about $45 on tirerack.
leaning towards the Kumho...
any input?
also the size that tirerack insisted was 205/65-15. is there a slightly wider size i can look into?

 

i run a 215/60-15

 

You could also check out the Continental extreme contacts. I just bought some for the front of my car from tire rack. They have great snow traction compared to my toyos and also have good dry traction. Tire Rack rates them as ultra high performace all seasons, and most everyone that wrote reviews had something good to say. They run $66 apiece.

 

cool i'll look into them
any other suggestions?

 

I'm looking at the Kumhos, too. They have a good rep as sort of the latest Falkens. Falkens used to be the bomb for cheap tires back in the early 90's. I think I'm gonna get me a pair and see how they do, so I'm with you.

 

just dont get the kumho ectsa 712... they tend to turn to **** once they have any sort of wear on them.

 

btw are these on a stock rim? i may decide to get them wider but i dunno if they'll fit on a 3rg gen gxe rim...

 

Yeh, I'm just running stock rims, 215/65/15.

 

Have no fear, Kumho owner's here....

I bought the Ecsta HP4s two months ago. THEY ARE PHENOMENAL. Quiet, smooth-riding, and with very good traction. I bought them off TireRack too. They are so popular that I was waitlisted for a month before I finally got them.
Bottom line: They are d*mn good for the money. All those comments you read on TireRack are true...and then some!

 

I can't remember any models specifically but, there are a lot of lower end Yokohama's that are fairly cheap, but still great tires. Whatever you do, don't go Goodyear! Goodyear sucks. I lost traction in a 60degree turn at 5-8mph (yeah, 5-8mph) on brand new Goodyear Eagle HP POS tires!

I think Sumitomo Srixon's are pretty decent tires, although I've never used them.

 

well today i'm going to browse the local places (sears, town fair tire, etc ) to see what i can find. Also if i were to buy them from tirerack, do they have a set up where they will have it installed at one of their associates? or will i have to look for a installer myself?
edit: I really do want to get those Kuhmo's tho...

 

Michelin MXV4's. They're V-rated 2 steps up from S-rated passenger rated tires. Most people will run H-rated tires for better performance. These are one grade higher and they're Michelin's. Michelin's sidewalls are twice as stiff as BFG's even though they're the same company.

 

Yeah, they have recommended installers; u'll have to see if they have any in your area. But that is a non-issue, though. The tires will arrive via FedEx and you can take them to any service station that has a balancing set-up and they will install them for around $8 each.

 

All I can really say is to make sure you go with something H-rated or higher, as lower speed rated tires are almost always engineered with less performance and handling in mind. My car still has the ho-hum T-rated tires that it came with when I bought it, and they are limiting my driving style.

I've done some research into this too, and the Kumho 716, Falken 512, and ContiExtremeContact all looked very promising. I'd try and do some searching and reading on these tires and try to make up my own mind if I were you.

BTW, keep in mind that almost all the suggestions made by people are performance-biased, which is what I assume is important?

 

yup stock rims also

 

I'm running those Kumhos on the rear of my max and all the way around on the wife's voyager.
I can honestly say they are on of the best all around tires I have seen period.
They are quiet, ride nice, handle well, and have dam good traction in all conditions.
they beat the daylight out of the goodyear reattas (?) that we had on the van before.

 

BTW the van runs 215/65/15

 

I vote for ContiExtremeContacts that were mentioned earlier by Bman. Those are some serious tires for the money. My friend has some 215/55 15's on his Volvo and those tires rock (in the wet and dry).