A month ago if you would have asked me what things were wrong with my car I would have said the suspension is worn out, the power steering is bad, the ball joints are shot, and has a bad vibration. Who would have known that all of these problems were symptoms of bad cheap tires. Even when they were new the car felt clumsy. Well, last week I splurged for Michelin Pilots and all those problems stopped. The steering is stiff and taut, car handles flat, and is as smooth as a BMW 745 even at 100+mph. The motto is don't skimp out on good tires. They literally make or break your car.

Hope this is the case for me as well. Splurging on Potenza G009'* once it gets nicer out.

As will I. I've got some no-namers on right now and they actually bring me to the point where I'm flat out scared of these tires in the snow or rain. In fact, on my way back from Cleveland a bit ago, I had my cruise control set on 55 on a semi-wet road. I hit a puddle, and my car hydroplaned all the way through it. Revved the engine up to around 5k too. Scared the **** out of me. Fortunately, I'll be getting some Continental ContiExtremeContacts, so we'll see how those do

I'm in severe need of tires. My 2 back ones (Sumitomo garbage things) are SHOT. Belts coming off of them and I am afraid to go over 40MPH on them, they wobble and everything. I am trying to find free tires until I have the cash to get new ones. Biggest thing was when I turned into the icy parking lot and my whole rear end started sliding.

the continental contiExtremecontatcts are decent tires, grip awesome on dry pavement, very good in the rain, snow they are so-so. but don't expect more then 15-20k out of them tops.

I just put on Goodyear Assurance TripleTreds. They are awesome, but they come with a price. I got a deal because my stepdad used to work for a tire store so I only payed $150 each installed plus tax. I was getting quotes anywhere from 165-185 per from other places.

I totally agree with the original author. Few things can make as big of a performance difference and overall car behavior difference for the money. Your LIFE could depend on it too. I always think it'* smart (and fun ) to upgrade.

Some people are looking for tires may read this thread so I'll warn them all.

Do not get Falkens (512s to be exact) they are junk. Ever since I put them on, the car has been pulling to the right (yes I took all ways to try to fix it) and almost all of them will wear out after 10k. The outers (the shoulders) are basically shot on my 8k tires.

I also agree i just bought new tires. They made a lot of problems go away. And they got me out off a pretty bad situation a couple of weeks ago.Now i know no cheapo unname brand tires for me.