So I am completely lost when it comes to this. I am pretty sure I've decided to go with 215/45/17 because of everything I have read on here. But for the actual brand of tire I am not sure. It seems like for every good review of a tire on tirerack there is a bad one too! So what are your thoughts. I live in Southern IL so we don't see much snow, but the little we do get I would like them to be ok. So I'm looking for All Season tire for sure. Past that I'm clueless. I've read good things about the Potenza g 019 Grid, And the Dunlop SP Sport Signature seems to get good reviews on tirerack. Also, on a side note, I am about to pick up new wheels on Friday that I bought from a user here on NAM. Generally how much is it to get tires mounted on rims? Thanks in advance.

 

How aggressive do you like to drive?

Dealership wanted to charge me ~$100 to mount tires, found a nice service and repair shop when I was at the auto show and they will do it for $10-$12 a tire.

 

Well, I like to drive pretty aggressive, but in the end I am just a poor college student and need some tires that will last me.

 

blinkboy1491:If you are looking for "bang for the buck" you might look at the General Exclaim UHP. I have this tire on one of my sets of wheels and they are holding up well. I got mine on a sale deal for $75 each for 215/45/17 delivered but not mounted. Check the internet.

 

The Falken ZIEX ZE-912 got rated in a tie for #1 Ultra High Performance All-Season Tire (UHPAS) by Consumer Reports and Grassroots Motorsports Budget Tire of the Year. And it only $86 bucks at Discount Tire.

 

That looks like a pretty good tire. But because it is Ultra high performance does that mean they will have to be changed out fairly often?

 

Those two items are kinda excludes one another. One tire that is a bit of a sleeper is the General Exclaim UHP

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....el=Exclaim+UHP

The Exclaim UHP is General Tire's Ultra High Performance Summer tire that was developed for the drivers of sports cars, coupes and sedans. While meeting minimum tread design standards to be "M+S" branded, the Exclaim UHP is designed to provide high levels of traction, response and control in dry conditions, along with superior hydroplaning resistance in wet conditions. We do not suggest Exclaim UHP tires be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.

I run them during the Summer, spring, and fall, and they are good tires, made by Contential tire, mine were made in France.
They are a great bang for th buck tire....much better than one of the many "cooper" and cooper tire corp clones (FUZION, Avon, PepBoys)...those all tend to be very iffy in their ratings.

 

Most high performance tires will last about 30-40,000 miles depending on how you drive. The other drawback, is that most provide only OK performance in anything other than a light dusting of snow!!
Part of it is due to the softer rubber used to make them sticky, and part is due to the special rubber compounds needed to get the speed ratings.
If you change your driving style a bit, then you may be able to go more mainstream, but you choices will be limited by the size that you picked, sice it is a HP size, due to sidewall height!

The Potenza g 019 Grid, is a solid choice, as is Falken. IMO stay away from the Dunlop SP Sport Signature tires....Dunlops just seem to be really bad on MINI's.

 

fyi. dunlop direzza star specs just went on sale. $50 rebate on a set of four. get em at Tire Rack. I'm getting a set for the new Mini and storing the RFTs.

 

I'll agree with that, I've tried most brands over the years and I'm very impressed with the Falken 912's.

Blinkboy, as for the Tirerack ratings by customers, they can be helpful, but I'd also take them with a grain of salt. About 6 yrs ago, I went with a set of tires that had a lot of ratings and they were all in the "9's"..........they turned out to be the worst tires I've ever owned and sent them back to Tirerack.

 

NO it is a UHP All-Season, like a 360 treadwear.

 

A great reason to call me, I have blogged on this exact topic. #1 #2

Alex

 

Thanks guys, this has all been really helpful. I see what you are saying about the reviews for sure. As of right now I'm leaning towards the Falkins but I'll figure it out for sure in a while. ALTHOUGH I have a couple of months to figure it out because I spent to much on my wheels so now I have new wheels sitting in my garage with no money for tires!

 

What do you guys think of Ventus V12 evo as far as summe tires go? any experience with them?