THSCC Forums

Good Day:

Anyone have any good suggestions for some *quiet* all season tires (not summer tires)? Under 150 a tire is a good price point, and decent traction is a nice to have, but doesn’t have to be at the Azenis level. This would be a 215/55/17 (G35 stock tire size, from what I have been told [thought it was a 225/40 -- will find out the right size]).

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks guys!

- dow

On my G35 Sedan, I moved up to a 235/50/17. I got the Kumho ASX's and thought the traction level was decent for "spirited" driving. Not bad for $102 a tire at Tire Rack. They held up a heck of a lot better than the $200+ Goodyears that came on the car. My only complaint was that they were not as quiet as I would like. They weren't unbearable by any means though. The other tire I considered were the Avon Tech M550's. I think Kevin Allen has some of those and could give feedback.

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Stephen Westerfield
2009 Infiniti M35 | 2007 Honda Fit Sport | 2005 Ford Mustang GT |2000 GMC Sierra |1992 Acura Integra LS | Super Westerfield Bros Acura Integra

Vote #2 for the Kumho ASX. I'm running a set on the BMW, and I've had them for about 18 months so far. For me, they are more quiet than the Michelins they replaced. Good wet traction, and passable on a RWD car in the snow.

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Tom Freeman
'98 M3/4/5 | '93 Spec3 325i | '12 TSX sport wagon | '03 Tahoe
Team Silver Bullets '91 240SX

What he said. Check out the Tirerack survey results, I have always found them spot on. Noise is ranked on there and probably close to realistic if it's important to you. Want a good cheap overall tire? Kumho usually lists near the top and is usually the cheapest. I am impressed w/ the ASXs on Kendra's Passat, but they are noisier than the POS Continentals the car came with. Quieter than all the "real" performance tires I have used thpough. I probably would have gone w/ the Avons just to try a new brand, but they weren't available in a 15".

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Avons == Banshees (I have the harder compound A+S).

Thanks for the inputs. I greately appreciate it!

- dow

I would not recommend the Falken Ziex ZE-512s.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

I am curious why you have not liked those tires. When you get down to 4/32nds, it is the Azenis 215 compound, however I thought up until that point, it wasn't a bad/loud tire.

Would you mind expounding on that?

Thanks!

- dow

The Avon Tech M550 all seasons get kinda loud if your alignment is messed up, or your car is just designed to eat tires. When the inner edges wear/ cup, as they do on every stock-suspended 2005 Forester, they wail like banshees, as Brian said. Without that wear, they're fine. I've replaced them with Pirelli PZero Nero a/s tires, and they're quiet, grip slightly better, and the sidewalls are about the same stiffness (very stiff). And with around 5k miles on them, they barely show any wear - even on the inner edge (now that I've put a WRX/STi/Koni suspension on it).

edit: just wanted to add the good things about the Tech M550... VERY good tarmac grip for an a/s tire, best grip of any street tire I've used on dirt, stiff sidewalls, standing water practically doesn't even exist with these on the car, and they're cheap.

The Avon Tech M500 "ultra performance" tires, which were on the STi at the autox on Sunday, are great summer tires. They're quiet, they're above half tread with a couple of autoxes and around 10k miles, and they grip really well. Not quite as good as a Falken or comparable "autox tire" but very good for a daily driver tire. clarification - they grip better under acceleration out of tight corners, but not under steady cornering.

I believe that you are thinking of the Falken FK-451 that is shaved by STU/STX competitors. The ZE-512s are M+S rated, aren't wearing well, aren't confidence inspiring in the rain and sing during mild cornering. I need more thumbs to turn down to express how I feel about them.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Brian,

I had good success with the Yoko ES 100's. They lasted three times longer than my 215's but I didn't autocross them because it wasn't worth it. There just fun, cheap DD tires.

Es100s are more of a summer tire. If you are willing to move to a V-rated tire the Yokohama YK520 seems to get good responses from the customers I have sold it to. They should be available in your size and come with a 60 treadlife warranty to boot. I priced some 235/45s today and they were $125, so it sounds like they might fit your budget, for a somewhat performance oriented A/S tire.

Brian, I had Kumho ASXs on the 240sx when you took it for a spin in Sanford. They're a good tire, but they got loud as they wore down.

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In need of car.

What Wes said. I just finished a set of Ziex 512's on the Celica. They lasted all of 17,000 miles and never gripped well in the wet or dry.

I switched to the Kuhmo ASX, and do notice a bit more noise, but a ton more grip in dry or wet conditions.

Scott

This page pretty much agrees with what others here have said:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyres ... earch=true

- Grip? Avon.
- Noise? Pirelli.
- Snow use? Continental.
- Cheap but good all-around? Kumho.

There is the Michelin that rated well but I can't see any reason to spend the money over the other 4. There's also the "new guy" RE960 but it costs a million dollars and has pretty low reported miles in the survey.

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Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

My Ziex 512's suck. I have them on the Volvo and can't wait to replace them. They wear out so fast it's hard to believe. - AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S