Firstly, I just want to say that I truly hate shopping for tires... it irritates me because every single tire in the world seems to have 50/50 good and bad ratings. I have to figure some people just choose the wrong tire, but it's frustrating to wade through all of the reviews.

Anyway, I need a set of tires for some not-so-expensive 16x7" wheels, and the suggested size is 205/45-16. Last time around I used a set of cheap Falken Ziex ZE-512, and they were okay, but if there is a better choice for not that much more I'd happily spend the extra money. I don't need anything that offers racecar handling but I'd like some decent tread life.

Here's what I've been looking at:

205/40-16

Nexen N3000 - never heard of this brand but w/e
Falken Ziex ZE-912
Kumho Ecsta AST or Ecsta ASX
Toyo Proxes 4
Nitto Neo Gens

205/45-16 *recommended size*

Falken Ziex ZE-512 - these were my previous tires
Falken Ziex ZE-912
Nexen N3000
Riken Raptor ZR
Toyo Extensa HP
Kumho Ecsta ASX

Bottom line is it's a older Civic, so it won't be entered in any races or shown in any shows. It's my daily driver and I just want a solid tire that offers great handling in dry conditions, decent wet and maybe light snow. With the 45 profile I could get my Falkens to rub if I cornered hard enough, so I was thinking of going with a slightly lower profile, but it's not too important. They lasted awhile so I'd probably buy them again...

So, if anyone has suggestions I would appreciate the input.

 

It's a toss up. I have run Nexens though. Pretty decent tire for the money.

 

Any 205-45 tire just if value your rims against potholes and stuff

 

That's a good point... this is new england where you can't have anything nice, and I'd rather my wheels not get too trashed. I hit some pretty brutal stuff with the falkens and nothing happened, so I guess going with the same size would be a good idea.

now to just pick something...

 

Order some online will be a whole lot cheaper ebay is your friend.

 

I don't see Nokians on that list. All-weather tires are your friend, also.

 

^honestly I've never heard of that brand either, but I will gladly look into them. Also, I have a completely different set of wheels/tires for the winter months so all-season capability is great where available, but not absolutely necessary.

Right now I am leaning toward the Falken Ziex ZE-912 since they are cheap and are basically an upgraded ZE-512. My car isn't very high performance so I won't need a super high performance tire either, just something that hugs the road nice.

thanks for the input thus far

 

All-weather equals not All-season. I run the WRG2s ... we got hit with plenty of weather, even in spring/summer/fall in Eastern Canada. Would be quite similar to NH. No regrets whatsoever with the purchase. (I also switch to proper winters, too. Nothing beats them. But these give me a lot of confidence on the road for the rest of the year and especially in the shoulder seasons.) Made in Finland.

 

I order some 205/50/15 nitto gen when I had my eg hatch. I got them from discounttires.com . They have really get prices and a very we'd selection. Check them out