Tire Opinions
 

Wanted to throw up a thread before I make another stupid decision on tires.

Backstory: Bought Hankook Ventus V12's, and learned they are HORRIBLE tires. They are so noisy that the rear interior panels vibrate.

Now I'm looking for a new set of tires. Will be bought through TireRack or OnlineTires, and I'm looking at a price of $150+/- a tire. Looking for any opinions on the following:

Toyo Proxes 4
Yokohama S Drives
Falken Ziex ZE-912

Tire size will be 215/40R18 on 18x8 wheels on a 2001 Audi A4. I'm just trying to get a feel for what tire won't be so fucking noisy. Summer or All-season doesn't matter, considering the winters go on in late October anyway. If there are any other tires you guys would recommend I'm all ears, just don't feel like wasting another pile of money.

I have the ZE-912s on my DD and they are noisy for an all-season tire. Sidewall is a bit soft and the treadwear is average to mediocre. Don't bother running them with even the slightest amount of snow, absolutely no traction. They also run large. I had the predecessors before, the ZE-512s and they were a far superior tire.

I have the 612's (Discount Tire's 912, basically the same thing) so far they're not bad at all for the price. I got them in 225/40R18 at $350 for all 4 which was the best I could get bang for buck. Brought them over the border, declared, and didn't have to pay taxes or duties.

I've heard Pirelli Pzero Nero is good as a cruising tire. They have a soft sidewall though. I think they're a little more pricey though, probably $180~ a tire.

Anyone else with other opnions?

I'm wondering if the weight of the car, compared to a softer sidewall will cause a transfer of more/less noise..

^ I'm currently running Goodyear Eagle GT tires. Pretty good so far. Treadwear is average, lots of dry and wet grip, and the noise is bearable. I previously had the Falken 912's, and can definitely say that the Goodyear tires are a lot less noisy.

Noise depends on how the tread is patterned, the type of tire (radial, or biased, block or lug, etc.) A single pitch thread pattern generates a lot of road noise. Generally peaking, the more pitches in a pattern, the less road noise you'll get (because of less tread contact with the road), but every tire is different.

912s are not just noisy, they are bad. If you want a discount tire like that the nexen n3000 is decent from what I have heard, but I have no experience with them. In that range I have had toyo proxes fz4, falken 912s, pirelli p zero, and s drives, I have no complaints about any of them other than the 912s. They were absolute trash. So much so I bought a new set of tires when they were still at about 95% tread. I have p zeros now and I'd say they are at the top of that list for me. The 912s (other than the nexens) are a bit cheaper than the others but not enough to warrant the quality difference.

I think it really depends on the car itself as well as the cost.

The cheapest Pzeros I could find were running at about $160 per tire. I paid less than $90 per tire for the 912s.

Also since the car is dropped already, the ride is already pretty rough and loud, not to mention a squeaky seat (Gotta get that fixed...)

If cost isn't a problem, I would suggest the Pzero Neros. If budget is in question, I would say the 912s are a perfectly good tire at $90 each.

Looks like I might try the S.Drives.. :badpokerface:

Oh yes,

I've heard good about the Continental DWS as well. Might want to look into that.

Had the Proxes4 on my Protege5 and they are crap tires - initially the rain performance was awesome but the wear rate is a lot higher than claimed so rain performance dries up after about 15,000km and the tires turn to rocks as soon as it cools. It's wheelspin city once it gets close to zero. The "all-season" rating is a joke on these tires.

Running DWS on my TSX now and I'm happy so far (as are pretty much everyone I know who runs these). Quiet, good all-around performance, doesn't turn into rocks when it cools.

If you're looking for summer tires like the Ventus I'd suggest the DW instead.

Have heard good things about the S.Drive as well.

My experience with the Proxy 4 was different, all be it on a old RT4WD civic wagon. They had great wet performance, good light snow traction, good over all dry grip. I really liked them. They were a tad on the stiff side though. Car was noisy, don’t remember how much I attributed that to the tires though.

Like most, I wasn’t impressed with the 912s. For a cruiser with no performance ambitions, they wouldn’t be bad. If you’re looking to push the tire, look into something else.

I have never tried the S drives, post up a review if you get them.

I've had the General G-Max for about a month - they're a high-performance all season, with longer tread life than the Falkens and ratings just below the DWS. They're lighter than other tires of the same size, too.

I had the S.Drives, and they were a decent tire. Especially for the price.

Although after a couple of seasons, they were starting to get a bit noisey, but nothing at all as bad as your previous tire lol. I would definately concider buying them again.

That said, I have yet to hear a bad review on the Conti DWS. I will be looking into these the next time I need tires.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I put the General GMax's on the wife's car, and they've been an awesome tire so far. Not noisey at all, and awesome in the rain. Got them cheap in the states, so no complaints from me.