Asking for advice here. Too many choices. I have an 04 4 spd auto GT with 42k mi. I run Blizzak snows from Nov to Apr and the OEMs the rest of the year. The snows are fine after 3 years, but the OEMs are pretty well shot. I drive about 50 miles per day in mixed highway and city driving during the week. Weekends can see 100 miles or more in good weather. So, after looking through Tire Rack and at two of my local tire dealers it is clear that I could get:

Bridgestone Potenza RE040 (OEMs)
Bridgestone Potenza RE960
Continental ContiSport Contact
BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW
Dunlop Direzza DZ101
Dunlop SP8090
Pirelli PZero NERO M&S
Michelin Sport Pilot
Avon Tech M500
Yokohama AVS ES100
Kumho ECSTA SPT

Way too many choices. These tires run from about $100 up to over $300 each. I only really know what the OEMs feel like. I appreciate any advice folks can offer, particularly about ride, handling, noise, and treadlife. Thanks!

 

Tirerack has some good reviews to help you choose. I was going to get the Goodyear Eagle F1 GS D3 245-40-18 but I ended up ordering the RE050A pole position in stock size.
Do not get RE040!

 

I just ordered a set of General Exclaim UHP's. I'll be giving my review/critique sometime next week.

 

I agree with Darkbrew, Tire rack has some good reading. It just so happens I was going to go Eagles and ended up exactly where he did with the RE050A Poles but not in stock size.

 

Which ever is on sale. All those are good except OEM.

 

For the money you cannot go wrong with the General Exclaim UHP's. But I recently got BFG/Riken Raptor 245/40's and they have been great but I don't have to worry about anything other than summer tires.

 

out of the list you have there, i would choose Yokohama AVS ES100, Michellin Pilot Sport, Kuhmo ECSTA SPT. in that order.

the yoko is a very good overall summer tire for a decent price. the michellin pilot sport is a very good tire (OE BMW E46 M3 tire), but has a hefty price tag. the Kuhmo is pretty close to the yoko for a cheap price.

 

Dan is right but damn, over $200.00 for a street tire on an automatic? No way.

 

i was thinking about it more and realized you do a hell of a lot of driving. the Kuhmos are probably your number one choice. it has a high treadwear rating, a decent traction rating, and made up some quiet rubber technology. all those other ones have a much lower wear rating than the Kuhmo.

 

I have an 04 auto also and just got the Kumho ECSTA SPT put on today. I've only driven about 60 miles on them but so far the difference is amazing. I actually went from the 16 to 18 wheels also so I'm sure that is some of the difference but the Kumho's are so quiet compared to those other pieces of crap that were on there. I could actually hear the radio over the road noise

Missy

 

I thought the Riken Raptors were made by Michilen not BFG? I been hearing/reading good things about the raptors. Anyone else tried them?

 

Good!

I wanted someone to check this out.

 

I'd like to see that review as well.

 

Hey, I just put my first 2k miles on General Exclaim UHPs...

Since this thread was kind of dead, but now its back:

I had the POS stock bridgestones on my car before. I got the 8 in March, so they're all I have to compare it to. But. . . with that said:

The generals are more of a ride comfort tire. They decreased road noise, squeaks, and they seem to take pot holes and grated pavement so much better than the old Bridgestones.

However, the bridgestones were like riding on rails... very noisy rails. But still, the 8 felt like it was never going to lose grip. Steering response with the General's feels delayed. This could be in part because of the lack of wear on the tread.

Overall, the generals are good for ride quality. They're a softer tire and you lose some of the performance response you had from the stock tires.

The Generals are not an AutoX tire. They're best for a daily driver.

To put it another way... the Bridgestones were like a cat clawing into a hardwood floor, harsh, painful, but you know you wouldn't lose your grip.
The Generals are like a firm handshake, comfortable, secure, but if you were using that grip to hold on to a cliff... you probably want something a little stronger.

Not to mention the generals were about 445 bucks shipped and installed.... that was my appeal to them!