Tires SUMITOMO or GISLAVED

Falken also makes several tires in that size. Falken are made by Sumitomo and excellent. My Sumitomos last at least 60k and are about $95-120.

I ran sumitomo htr z5 for a few years and liked them a lot (summer/perf). Currently on vredestein quattrac pro which is more of an all season sport touring, and meh, I like them and they're great at what they are but I miss having performance tires in the summer.

Sumitomo Encounter ATs are hands down the best bang for the buck.

Just got a set on my winter stock wheels about a week ago now. I love the look. I'm currently running Sumitomo Ice Edge tires in the size 245/25/18. I previously had a set of Blizzarks (245/40/18) and can't really feel any significant difference in performance with the taller sidewall.

I used to drive Gislaved studded tires in my Tuscon for 2yrs, great tires.

I have Hakka R5 on my GTI and Gislaved on my Golf SW.  Both have been excellent for me and my needs.

sumitomo is significantly better than any no name Chinese tire

Reviews say its major shortcoming is that it generates a lot of loud noise.

Gislaved is a Continental brand: they are OK-ish tires at best.

Im a tech who has installed these (customer requested) and had them on one of my cars a few years ago. The only good points about them were the tread wear and the affordable cost. They have a VERY hard compound which means they lose traction easy. I was told by a customer, as well as my experience, that they spun very easily on wet surfaces and were terrible in the snow. They were also noisy at highway speeds. I do NOT recommend them and dont sell them unless requested.