TheWeez

I'm looking for a new pair of summer tires. Looking for good tread life, fairly quiet, with a bit of a performance orientation if possible although all out performance isn't what I'm really going for. These will be used only during the summer as I have a separate set of winter tires. I'd prefer they be ones available through DiscountTireDirect.com as I get an additional discount through them and free shipping (we can get AZ signed up for their discount too if people would like).

Any opinions on Falken Ziex ZE-512, Falken Ziex ZE-912, Kumho Ecsta ASX, Falken Ziex S/TZ-01, Nitto NT-450 Extreme Performance, or BF Goodrich g-Force Sport?

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

General Exclaim UHP
Haven't had much of a problem with them. The sidewalls are a little soft, but if you keep the PSI high that compensates. I keep mine at 38 cold all around.
They are not a lot of $ either.

brianlin87

iTrader: (1)

from the list you provided, i would go with kumho asx - good bang for the buck, considering you're only going to be using them for a single season out of the entire year.

TheWeez

Stick with the factory 215/50R-17 or so with the wider 225/50-17s?

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

235-45-17

TheWeez

Will those even fit on the store rims?

spdy0001

If you are only using them in the summer look at the Kumho Ecsta SPT instead of the ASX. I have them and they ride nice, have good tread wear and its hard to beat the price. Sidewall is softer then the yokohama's I had previously but you said performance wasn't your highest priority.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Stock rims? Absolutely. Been done & covered in depth.

That's the only size I have had on 3 CL's.

2K1CLtypeS

Excellent tire for the money. They're pretty quiet, good traction in wet and dry conditions. Good ride quality too.

PavDog

I wholeheartedly recommend the General Exclaim UHP. I've run both +1 (235/45) and now +0 (225/50) sizing.

IMO the +0 is the better way to go. The +1 seemed to be a lot more laterally "sloppy" from the stock tires. Drove like they were all low on air. Plus in my location the extra sidewall height, while not much different, may help against pothole/rim damage. Which is why I had to replace the 45s. After replacing the +1 with the +0 I immediately noticed a "tighter" ride on the highway. I'm guessing it's somehow related to rim width vs. tire width. It might sound hokey but there's a big difference.

For a summer tire you can't beat the UHPs. Great quality tire, look great, wear awesome. Are quiet, handle well wet or dry. Take a look at the rating on Tirerack.

My only suggestion is to go +0 and not +1.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

I felt the same way as pavdog when I got mine. I played with the air pressure & that solved it.
225-50-17 is slightly smaller & will see about a 1MPH difference(faster)

TheWeez

The General look good. Only problem I have is that with TireRack I have to pay shipping. DiscounTireDirect.com has free shipping which means I can get more expensive tires for what it would cost me to use TireRack and pay $50 for shipping. Plus I get an additional discount through DTD.

Will 235-45-17 affect the speedo reading?

rp_guy

i bought ze-912's for myself and cannot be happier. very very sticky tires, and they are all-season, so you can use them in a pinch with snow. ice, not so well, but that means you are saving a lot of winter tread in the back and forth weather at the beginning of winter and beginning of spring. the 912's are the new version of the 512's, which probably aren't sold anymore. they are fairly inexpensive too, i bought them (235/40R18) at $140/tire, which was over $40 cheaper than an ASX. and they were priced the same as sumitomo htr's and nexan/lexani 3000's (which are budget priced tires)

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Nope

TheWeez

Tires arrived today. Ordered them from Discount Tire Direct and got an additional discount on them over the site's price (they have a sweet hookup for some forums, not a flat rate like most forums get but varying and much better then the standard 10%). Free shipping and they were sent on Tuesday and got here Thursday. Went with the Kuhmo ASX 235/45/17. Gonna have them put on next week.

Thanks for the help guys!

Joe5.0

If they are summer only why didnt you with a more aggressive tire?

I run KDW2 in the summer and like em alot.

spdy0001

I run the summer version of the tire you chose. I run the SPT, but my girl as the ASX on her neon. They suck on her car

TheWeez

I decided that I much more cruising then aggressive driving. These should be good for the occasional times when I wanna push it but will have lower road noise and better tread wear then many of the other options. Plus the price was right.