Inexpensive Tires that are good in Winter conditions?

[outkastx]

Hi all, after some research on the forums it looks like there are several inexpensive tires recommended by forum members (Kumho Road Venture APT KL51, Firestone Destination LE, Continental CrossContact LX) but the first two did not rate that highly for braking on ice in Consumer Reports.

Seeing as how my wife's biggest complaint with the Integritys is that they are horrible in winter conditions, I'm not sure the tires listed above would be any better based on the CR rankings.

Are the Integritys so bad that the others are actually pretty good? Or should I be investigating some other inexpensive tires such as the Dayton Timberline HT or Hankook DynaPro AT RF08?

Thanks,
Andy

[rocky]

Take a look at tirerack for specific information.

Watch though for tread life. Cheap tires start out cheap but if they last half as long as a better tire that costs just 30% more, they are not a bargain

[youbetcha]

I would say, in general you get what you pay for with tires.

ALL tires are very very cheap. A cheap set might be $300, and last 40,000 miles. This translates to 3/4 of 1 cent per mile. However an "expensive" top of the line set might cost $600 a set and last 60,000 miles -- this is only 1 cent per mile -- only 1/4 cent more per mile! In comparison if you are getting 18MPG then you are paying 22 cents per mile in gas. Your tire "savings" will be completely dwarfed by the other costs of ownership.

IMO it is always worthwhile to buy the BEST tire available, since it makes a BIG difference in the safety and capability of your vehicle. Make price your LAST concern.

[krygny]

"Cheap" is an attribute for tires on a car you plan to sell, not a car your wife is going to drive. Besides, I don't find a huge difference in tire prices; at least not to the point where I'd choose one model over another based on price. Figure out which tires you want first, then shop for the best price.

(Criterion: I wouldn't consider less than a $100 difference on a full set of tires significant enough to sway me. That's $25 per tire, and there generally isn't that much difference from model to model.)

[outkastx]

Thanks for the responses everyone . Keep in mind that I was the one looking at tires in the $140-$160 range, she wanted to go with something about the same price as the Integritys.

I'll do some more research and hope a good deal falls into my lap.

[beer4799]

I am on my 3rd set of F-Stone Destinations. 2 sets on an Isuzu Trooper and one on my Pilot. I ran 50K each on the Trooper and have 35K on the Pilot set. I could have easily ran 60K on the Trooper sets and will probably do so on the Pilot set. I am in NJ where winters vary, but, ice is more of a problem than snow. I will buy a fourth set w/o hesitation. I agree with other posters that say buy the best there is, however, a good tire for a good deal is compelling also. YMMV....Cheers!