Well, i've now had 3 sets of tires on my 01-SE (225/50/17)

potenza's sucked in every way, especially rain. dangerous in fact.

nitto 450 extreme - great treadlife, noisy as hell, unreliable because we just lost one to a sidewall blowing out right after we moved 1500 miles from our local maryland tire dealer that held the warranty. bummer. cheap tires. rain was much better than oem, performance so so.

falcon ziex512, solid tire, just have had them a short time, so treadlife i can't say. but they are much better performers in rain and on dry pavement than the other two, bumps feel more tolerable, and i really noticed how quiet she is at any speed with the falcons. I'm extremely impressed. They were around 560 for the set with full warranties, etc. from tires.com in austin texas. highly recommend them so far. i assume i'll have to drive gently to get a good tirelife, they are sure sticky.

 

those tires rock !!

 

I have Nitto NT450s on my car right now. All I have to say is... CRAP! They may be better than OEM, but that's not saying much. Dry performance is not inspiring. Wet performance is better than OEM, but once again, that's not saying much. Tread wear is good. Road noise is bad. For the money, get something else. If you're tight on cash, even a set of Kumho Ecsta Supra MX tires felt better than these Nittos.

A WRX driver I'm friends with recommended Falken Azenis tires. I'm inclined to trust her, because she's spent a lot more time doing SCCA Solo2 events than I have, and almost everybody I know who has used Falkens is happy.

 

i don't think the azenzis come in 225/50/17. The falken ziex's rock.

watch out for the nitto's, mine blew out the friggin' sidewall. not good. i was going about 40 mph on a straight road in 60 degree F weather.

 

go with Falken 451..
they have awsome traction...and steering response

 

i ordered the falkens ziex512 from vulcan tire for 168 shipped 195/60/14

 

found mine in sears .. got a deal on them 97 per tire . goin tomorow to pick them up.
thats 512e's

 

512's for me @ 500 for a full warranty. Getting them on next week. This will be my second set of Falkens. My others were summer tires & I got about 30k out them (mostly Interstate).