blake
CEG'er
[disclaimer: perhaps this would be better served as a continuation of the sticky/FAQ thread, so if a mod wants to move this or have me repost it there, that's fine.]
i'm about to replace the well-worn and mismatched tires on my '98 CSVT and i see a number of possibilities on the tire rack website in my admittedly very-low price range. given that preferences and impressions change over the years, would anyone care to offer any recommendations or cautions for/against any of them?
to help you gauge the "appropriateness" of any given tire for my situation:
- my CSVT has 99k miles and is an "extra" car in the household; it doesn't see high annual mileage, and merely exists to scratch the itch for day-to-day "fun-to-drive" factor. it's not a track or auto-x toy, but it does merit something more performance-oriented than what you'd put on a camry.
- it needs good wet-weather performance but snow and ultra-cold temps are a non-issue down here in the south.
- budget is tight - i have too many other irons in the fire to justify spending over $100/tire before shipping/mounting/balancing. i'm thinking $80/tire max, w/ less being better.
- the car is bone stock and on still on E0 wheels. current tires are sumitomo HTR somethings and are mismatched front to back - fronts are 205/55-16's and rears are 205/50-16's. (i bought the car a couple months ago and "inherited" these; i have no idea what led the PO to install that configuration!)
from tire rack, there are a several options that seem viable. any preferences/"stay-away-from" thoughts you can offer on these?
- dunlop SP sport 8000 - $62 ea. + $50 rebate
- hankook ventus R-S2 - $64 ea. (i saw the fairly-positive recent posts about these...?)
- sumitomo HTR+ = $70 ea. (prob. sim. to what i have now)
- fuzion VRi = $73 ea. (toward the bottom of my list - had ZRi's on my wife's TL but am leaning toward something else for the SVT)
- kumho ecsta ASX - $73 ea.
- kumho ecsta SPT - $73 ea.
- general exclaim UHP - $74 ea. (these seem very favorably reviewed and are therefore pretty high on my list, but should they be?)
- BFG g-force sport - $77 ea.
- dunlop direzza DZ101 - $80 ea. (pretty much top of my target price range)
i see that the hankooks, the kumho ASX's & SPT's, and the sumitomo HTR+'s are also available in the slightly more preferable 225/50-16 fitment and still slide under my $80 cap.
which would you choose, given the "background" and intended use i've mentioned above? i'm not interested in splurging on an expensive tire that performs accordingly, but neither do i want to completely cheap out and saddle a great car with grossly underperforming tires. price vs. performance, the great dilemma: which of the above presents the greatest "bang for the buck"?
thanks all!
i'm about to replace the well-worn and mismatched tires on my '98 CSVT and i see a number of possibilities on the tire rack website in my admittedly very-low price range. given that preferences and impressions change over the years, would anyone care to offer any recommendations or cautions for/against any of them?
to help you gauge the "appropriateness" of any given tire for my situation:
- my CSVT has 99k miles and is an "extra" car in the household; it doesn't see high annual mileage, and merely exists to scratch the itch for day-to-day "fun-to-drive" factor. it's not a track or auto-x toy, but it does merit something more performance-oriented than what you'd put on a camry.
- it needs good wet-weather performance but snow and ultra-cold temps are a non-issue down here in the south.
- budget is tight - i have too many other irons in the fire to justify spending over $100/tire before shipping/mounting/balancing. i'm thinking $80/tire max, w/ less being better.
- the car is bone stock and on still on E0 wheels. current tires are sumitomo HTR somethings and are mismatched front to back - fronts are 205/55-16's and rears are 205/50-16's. (i bought the car a couple months ago and "inherited" these; i have no idea what led the PO to install that configuration!)
from tire rack, there are a several options that seem viable. any preferences/"stay-away-from" thoughts you can offer on these?
- dunlop SP sport 8000 - $62 ea. + $50 rebate
- hankook ventus R-S2 - $64 ea. (i saw the fairly-positive recent posts about these...?)
- sumitomo HTR+ = $70 ea. (prob. sim. to what i have now)
- fuzion VRi = $73 ea. (toward the bottom of my list - had ZRi's on my wife's TL but am leaning toward something else for the SVT)
- kumho ecsta ASX - $73 ea.
- kumho ecsta SPT - $73 ea.
- general exclaim UHP - $74 ea. (these seem very favorably reviewed and are therefore pretty high on my list, but should they be?)
- BFG g-force sport - $77 ea.
- dunlop direzza DZ101 - $80 ea. (pretty much top of my target price range)
i see that the hankooks, the kumho ASX's & SPT's, and the sumitomo HTR+'s are also available in the slightly more preferable 225/50-16 fitment and still slide under my $80 cap.
which would you choose, given the "background" and intended use i've mentioned above? i'm not interested in splurging on an expensive tire that performs accordingly, but neither do i want to completely cheap out and saddle a great car with grossly underperforming tires. price vs. performance, the great dilemma: which of the above presents the greatest "bang for the buck"?
thanks all!