Tires Pirelli or GENERAL TIRE
Last winter I threw 4 Altimax arctics on my wife's CR-V. I was so impressed with them I put another set on my STi for this winter. I have used Blizzaks, Arctic Alpin and Toyo Observe snow tires in the past. The Altimax arcitcs are the best by far in deep snow. They are no louder than any other snow tire I have used in the past. They are quieter than the Arctic Alpin's by a long shot though. Those things are LOUD in the rain.
Another vote for the General Altimax Arctic. Got a set last winter and was pleased. Seems a good compromise for high speed drives too - a quiet tire with good grip. Made in Germany, FWIW.
Best bang for buck = General Altimax Arctic. It's outright won several winter tire comparisons (where a certain Nokian wasn't entered) and still was one of the cheapest entrants.
On my Passat 4Motion, I replaced a set of Michelin Exaltos with the HPs. To my butt, there wasn't much noticeable difference between them. For the price difference, I'd go with the Generals again hands down.
I have those Generals on my TDI. They're quiet, very resistant to hydroplaning, and have very good wet traction. I run them year round in the DC area. They are a light tire, which may affect their long term durability (potholes, and the such) They aren't performance tires, but they're very competent, and I push them up to, and often beyond their limits with confidence.
My Jetta had Altimax HP when i bought it. They rode very quiet and smooth, and helped return good fuel economy with a light foot. Not a sports tire but perfectly acceptable for normal driving.
The general altimax is the tire I fit on all my sedans. I used to run the Goodyear assurance triple tread, but I feel these are sportier, and have better wet traction. The sidewall is a little soft, so I run a little higher pressure. Between an Acura CL, Audi A4 and JSW the altimax have never let me down.
I'm running General Exclaim UHPs on my E30, I think in the same side you're looking for. Some say the sidewall is too soft, but I think it's fine for me. Road noise is a little high though. Grip is very good in both the wet and dry.
The Pirelli PZero Nero M&S is a ULTRA PERFORMANCE tire [one step down from the MAX PERFORMANCE] and is an all-season tire, which is a compromise in handling compared to the Kumho MX's.
I got me a set of Pirelli PZero Nero M&S tires in March, reading all the good things about them. Right after I got them put on, they seemed out of balance. I took them back and had them rebalanced, and they still acted up. Annoyed, I just let it slide. But today I took it back to the shop and told them to rebalance them. They took a look and said that they had factory defects (\"excessive wheel hop\") and couldn't be balanced. They suggested I contact TireRack. I took it to another shop and had them balance the wheels, thinking that the other shop just might have been having problems with their machine. They balanced them, but the jitter is still there in the steering wheel, exactly at 65 mph and above. Someone mentioned that the tires have a deeper tread, and I should just wear them down a bit and see if it helps. They've only got 2,500 miles on them, but it's really annoying at highway speeds constantly feeling that jitter.
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