Tires Cooper or GENERAL TIRE
I ran three sets of those tires and never had any issues.
Those winter tires are on all of my cars and they are GREAT!
Tire fit no rubbing at full lock so I ordered three more. The increased diameter is noticeable under acceleration, but I can live with it.
General Altimax Artic and Gislaved Nordfrost 100. Both are well rounded winter tires (dry cold, wet, ice, snow). They are from a reputable brand (Continental) and reasonably priced.
I've had nothing but General tires on my car for the last 8 years. With my Matrix XR AWD it was General Altimax HP when the OEM Goodyear Eagles were done. I went through two sets of the Generals and loved them. With the GLI, I had OEM Dunlop SP Sport that sucked. I replaced them with a set of General G Max AS-03's and again have loved their return for wear, performance, and noise. They handle just as good in the wet as they do the dry.
I bought a set of 17" wheels for my Impreza, and they came with General G-Max AS-03s on them. I've been very pleasantly surprised. I've used them for two summers, and they're fairly grippy and the ride seems fine for a 215/45ZR17, so no complaints about Generals from me.
The Altimax RT 43s seem to have good reviews all around, particularly in wet weather.
Just had some General Altimax Arctic mounted on the stock 15's last week. Paid $310 mounted after rebate at Sears. I used the same tires for three winters on my last car, and was really happy with the way they performed.
Other than the heavy feeling at low speed (and a little bit of throttle fixes that), I think that most of the difference that I've experienced so far can be pinned on tires rather than the rack itself - feedback of the 14" Cooper H rated tires are slow and sloppy when compared to the BFG summer tires on our other car. I do like the faster ratio of the manual rack though, and I can feel the tug of the tires in rutted suburban streets, so feedback is good, if a little muted through the tires.
I've had bad experiences with 2 out of 5 General Tire Exclaim UHP's I've bought. First tire had a terrible vibration from day 1. When the tire shop mounted my tires, they said one balanced fine, but may have a "hop" at highway speed. Well, the "hop" was very noticeable. When the wheel was on the back, the car shook so bad on the highway I literally could not drink coffee without spilling on myself. When the wheel was mounted on the front, the steering wheel would shake so bad my hands would go numb. I had this tire replaced under warranty and the car drove great. A couple weeks ago, after coming into town from a highway commute, I could hear a loud rhythmic humming at around 50 km/h. Tire shop again tried re-balancing this wheel with no improvement. Tire has hardly any wear and wheel itself looks to be in great condition. I didn't hit any rocks of potholes before this started. This is getting really annoying. I just want a reliable tire.
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