Car: 99 Civic
Tire size: 205/45r16
Use: daily driving, winter will be rainy with some snow (New York)
Looking for: Performance and handling but good in the cold rainy NY winters. I may autocross the tire on occasion.
Price: around $70/tire

Contenders:
Yokohama Avid H4S
Kumho Ecsta ASX

If the all-season tire isn't worth it, I will just get a summer tire and run my 185/65r14 Michelin X all-seasons when the weather is threatening.
In the case, I was considering the Yokohama Parada Spec-2.

And I have Kumho's $40 rebate printed out, so that may help decide!

And I'm not set on any of the above choices, they're just the front runners based on some reviews and tirerack / tires.com ratings. I have no personal experience with any of them (had Ecsta Supra 712 205/40r17 and wasn't impressed).

Thanks

 

The Kumho Ecsta ASX is much better than the Yoko Avid H4S. So if you want to get an all-season, it's no contest - get the Kumho. However...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jonas99 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If the all-season tire isn't worth it, I will just get a summer tire and run my 185/65r14 Michelin X all-seasons when the weather is threatening.</TD></TR></TABLE>

...if it were my car, I would do exactly this - use your 14" wheels with all-season tires or winter tires in the winter, and get summer tires for the rest of the year. All-season tires are a compromise for those who must use the same tire in winter snow and/or frigid cold, and in moderate to warm temperatures the rest of the year. They are not as good as winter tires in winter, and they are not as good as summer tires the rest of the year. You can get far better performance the rest of the year by using that other set of all-seasons only in winter.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jonas99 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">In the case, I was considering the Yokohama Parada Spec-2.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The Parada Spec 2 is a really crappy summer tire, much worse than Yokohama's own ES100. If you're looking for very good performance and value, you would be much better off with the ES100 or, even better, the Kumho Ecsta SPT.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jonas99 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have no personal experience with any of them (had Ecsta Supra 712 205/40r17 and wasn't impressed).</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, the Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 was another really crappy summer tire...

 

Thank you for your reply! I really appreciate your input.

For my application, tire wear is definitely a big factor, so I am staying away from tires such as the Azenis. This is for a "fun daily driver" so it should perform well but stay within reasonable comfort levels.

Can you comment or suggest on any other summer tires for my application? Like the BF Goodrich Sport. I will check into the Ecsta SPT -- and stay away from the Parada!

Thanks!


Modified by Jonas99 at 11:35 AM 10/4/2006

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jonas99 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">For my application, tire wear is definitely a big factor, so I am staying away from tires such as the Azenis. This is for a "fun daily driver" so it should perform well but stay within reasonable comfort levels.

Can you comment or suggest on any other summer tires for my application?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Then the Kumho Ecsta SPT would be an excellent choice. You'll probably get 30-40K miles from it, maybe more. The Yokohama ES100, Dunlop Direzza DZ101, and Avon Tech M500 are similar and also very good. The SPT is less expensive, though, and even more so with the rebate offer.

You can step up in performance with the Goodyear F1 GS-D3, but it will cost a lot more.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jonas99 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Like the BF Goodrich Sport.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The BFG g-Force Sport is another crappy tire. Before the introduction of the Yokohama ES100 four years ago, the "budget performance tire" category consisted of tires like the Dunlop FM901, Kumho Ecsta Supra 712, and Parada Spec 2, and the BFG g-Force Sport (which may have come since, I'm not sure). These tires were okay at the time. But the ES100 was a huge improvement in performance in that price range. Since then, other manufacturers have introduced tires similar in performance to the ES100, including the SPT, DZ101, and M500; all four offer very good performance (decent on dry pavement, excellent in rain, and very good treadlife). By comparison, those other tires (g-Force Sport, FM901, 712, and Parada) are just not good at all.

 

Wow, I seem to be picking the crappiest right off the tirerack website. Those consumer reviews are definitely misleading, as many people tend to be biased towards their tire choice and have only experience with a handful of models. And of course, the tires that sell best will have more reviews and seem better than newer or more unknown tires.

Thank you for your help. I'll read up on the ES100, DZ101 and M500 to compare, but it looks like I'm ordering the SPTs!

Thanks!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jonas99 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Wow, I seem to be picking the crappiest right off the tirerack website. Those consumer reviews are definitely misleading, as many people tend to be biased towards their tire choice and have only experience with a handful of models. And of course, the tires that sell best will have more reviews and seem better than newer or more unknown tires.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yup. The biggest problem with the reviews is that they are biased by who buys each tire. People who don't do a lot of comparisons and liked the way such-and-such tire performed and keep buying it don't know how well it compares with other tires. And people who buy certain tires may not be as performance-oriented than others.

I find their side-by-side comparison tests to be a lot more useful (and less biased) than the user reviews. They seem to correlate a lot better with my own impressions from behind the wheel (and from the passenger seat when riding with my students).

Incidentally, there are other good tires similar to the SPT, ES100 etc - I'm thinking specifically of the Bridgestone Potenza RE750 and BFG g-Force KDW2 - but I don't usually mention those because they are so much more expensive than the others.

You'll love the SPT. Don't forget to mail in for the rebate within 30 days.