Inexpensive tires that perform
 

Consumer Reports just sent their latest issue in which they tested all-season UHP (Ultra High Performance) and Summer UHP tires. First, I'll briefly mention the best tires (at any cost) for Summer (dry and wet roads) and then I'll point out the lower-cost high-achievers. My Honda now has the #1-rated Falken ZE-912s.

You can't go wrong with any of the following

(Summer tires):

Michelin PS2 (excellent braking, worse than average tread life)
Pirelli P-Zero (excellent dry and wet handling and braking)
BF Goodrich KDW2s (loudest)
Bridgestone Potenza RE 050 A (excellent braking, but worse than average tread life)
Goodyear GSD3s (above average tread life)
Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 (best tread life)
Dunlop SP Sport Max (excellent hydroplane resistance, but worse than average tread life)
All of those are fairly expensive.

Inexpensive Summer tires that did well:

Kumho Ecsta SPT (excellent hydroplavne resistance but worse than average tread life)
Fuzion Zri (great price andabove avg handling and braking,but much worse than avg tread life)
BF Goodrich g-Force Sport (Excellent dry braking and good-to-above average in every other category)

Low-cost All-Season tires and their overall placement:

#1 Falken Ziex ZE-912 (Above average braking and hydroplane resistance, but below avg tread life) Very good price, average handling.
#2 Nitto Neo Gen ZR (above avg braking and quietness) Excellent price
#4 Falken Ziex ZE-512 (handling and tread life are a bit weak, but braking is above avg)
#5 General Exclaim UHP Excellent hydroplane resistance and above average quietness, but average handling and below avg tread life.

RE: Inexpensive tires that perform
 

Good stuff. I can't wait to get some new tires but I wanna wait until the ones I have now are completely done with. I have some Yokohama Parada Spec-2's and they are so focking loud.

RE: Inexpensive tires that perform
 

Nice list man! I've just put Nitto NeoGens on my car, they're definatly quiet as hell and ride reaaallly smooth. They're my first set of UHP tires (205/40/17) so I can't really give a good review for them... but so far they've been really good.

RE: Inexpensive tires that perform
 

The Yokos that were listed (Advan Sport) came in 13th under the Summer UHP category. These were good in wet braking and quietness, but were far worse than average in tread life.

The Neo Gens are definitely one of the best bang-for-the-buck tires as far as all-season tires go, but the Nitto Invos and 555 Extremes didn't do nearly as well in the Summer tires category. I guess there is a lot more competition over there. Still, you made a great choice by getting the Gens.

RE: Inexpensive tires that perform
 

No azenis on the list?

RE: Inexpensive tires that perform
 

No, but the FK-452s were in the Summer category, although I've never heard of those Falkens.

In other reviews I've read about the Azenzis, the grip is great but the noise is bad.

RE: Inexpensive tires that perform
 

I'm surprised they'd leave such an integral tire to the autocross community out.

RE: Inexpensive tires that perform
 

I can't think of a good reason for Consumer Reports to test competition tires...

RE: Inexpensive tires that perform
 

I would place high credibility on their tread life, hydroplane resistance, and braking test results, but as you suspect, comparing ultimate handling of UHP tires is NOT their specialty. Anyone going from factory donuts to40 - 50 aspect ratio tires, will experience a significant improvement in handling, no matter what the brand. Still, it's good to absorb as much info as possible before buying tires.

RE: Inexpensive tires that perform
 

wheres Falken Azenis RT-615, BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW, and Potenza RE01-R?[sm=icon_beat.gif]