Suggestions for tires?

[Kobayashimaru]

Hey everyone!
I just bought a 2012 JSW with 16 inch wheels and, like every other car I acquired, the first thing that goes on are tires. Ideally, I'd like a low rolling resistance but good handling 3 season tire (it'll get snow tires on steelies next winter.) I'd also like something that'll give me at least 50,000 miles. I don't want to spend more than $150 each. Does anybody have suggestions?

 

[Geordi]

I got Bridgestone Ecopias from Costco on mine, pretty happy with them and was able to get them to sell me a size up from stock so they are a bit taller.

 

[soot1]

After retiring the OEM Continentals at only 25k, which were horrible, I bought a set of Bridgestone Driveguards in 225/45RF17. These are run-flats, so the side wall is very stiff, producing slightly more than average noise. On the plus side, the handling and fuel economy were very good. I rotated them every 5k, but in the 35k I put on them before turning the car back to VW, they wore so evenly that they never needed any re-balancing. Even at 35k, they still had plenty of life left in them. It also helped that they were made in Japan. With a coupon from Bridgestone, I paid about $150 a piece for that size back in 2014.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Ecopias are good. However, my experience is they get noisy as they wear. Recently I've become a fan of General Altimax RT43s. Inexpensive, wear well, quiet, better grip than an equivalent Michelin tire. Conti Eco Contacts are pretty good, too, but ride a bit harder and are noisier than the Generals.

 

[PRY4SNO]

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S are a nice tyre, not sure the cost in the US. I bought a nearly new set used for $150. Quiet, rode well and didn't impact the fuel economy (+ or -) either way.

 

[CheapBastard]

I’m a cheap Asian tire fanatic and it’s all I’ve run for my last 10-12 sets of tires, I’ve used Hankook, Falcon, Nankang, Toyo, Kumho and Ohtsu, currently in my third set of Ohtsu and I love them at $60 a piece, they’ve even gone on my mom’s Cadillac, the problem I’ve found with most Asian tires are they are a bit in the noisy side but these Ohtsu are quiet and they stick like glue

 

[03GolfTDI]

The '11 has the 205/55R16 standard issue tires (Bionline wheels) and it came with Hankook Ventus S1 Noble 2 tires and we have honestly been very happy with them. They are wearing to where they should probably make it past the 50k warranty.

Just put 2 new ones on due to a pothole induced flat on one tire. Even after ~20k miles they probably still have ~70% meat left to them. We replaced with same because they are pretty decent tires with good traction, handling and noise characteristics.

https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/hankook-ventus-s1-noble2-h452/p/19952

If you want to go even cheaper $$$ wise I just plopped these Barums on the '12 and had them on my Mercedes E350. Don't have many miles under my belt on them but they are very quiet. Only downside I can say vs the Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ they replaced is they are a softer tire so have a bit more squirm to them.

The Barums are very lightweight so I even noticed better off the line oomph vs the Michelins which weigh a hefty 5-6 lbs more per tire - in the 16" size they are even 3 lbs lighter than the Hankooks above.

https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/barum-bravuris-3hm/p/11376