Best Performance Summer Tire under $130?
 

My Primacy HPs (DOT label says 2012) are starting to dry rot/crack @ 25K(used car that didnt get driven much before i bought it) and i have RPF1 17x8s on the way and need some tire advice. I honestly didnt think these were terrible tires but they are pricey and for the amount of grip they have they are pretty loud.

Looking for 215/45/17s, summer performance tires under $130 if possible. I do a lot of highway driving but do like to wind it out on curvy roads so i dont want a mushy tire.

The Continental ExtremeContact Sports (not DW's) look like a good deal though i've never used contis. Supposedly about as good as Michelin PSS at $50 a tire cheaper... anyone else have any good recommendations?

The OEM HPs are for hypermiling and maximum fuel efficiency and actually more expensive than MPSS. Costco has a monthly discount for either Bridgestone or Michelin tires. Seems like this year they lowered the discount from $100 -> $70 (set of 4 tires) with $0.01 tire installation per tire.

With a 17x8 wheel I would opt for 225 tire width. My recommendation would be Michelin Pilot Super Sports. Firestone Indy 500, Hankook V12 Evo2, & Bridgestone S-04 Pole Position are some popular choices as well. They would all work for daily driving and some fun in canyon carving.

Sumitomo the z iii. Easily the best tire for the money.

Very easy

BFGoodrich G-force Sport Comp 2
$113.15 - 215/45ZR17
Cheap, but not a cheap-o tire
Long name for a great summer tire. They have terrific dry grip and superior ride comfort to the newer Firestone Firehawk Indy500 (which grips even harder, but rides like it was made from a solid block of urethane.) The BFGs also run wider than most tires (probably how they make some of that additional performance.) So they get rid of the stock "stretch" look of 215 tires on the OEM wheels. I've ran two sets and loved them while I had them. Eventually I moved to Michelin Pilot Sport S4 (after getting a raise.) but wouldn't hesitate to get another set of the BFG Sport Comp2s in a heartbeat.

Test here:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=217

Charts here:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=217 )

They came within a stone's thrown of TireRack Max performance category in most tests while keeping the tossable fun nature of the car. All performance categories were improved above the Primacy's. The BFGs even give the MPSS a run for their money if price is considered in all categories except wet tests where Michelin reigns supreme.

Average Corning G-Force
Dry
MPSS - .92 g
BFG - .89 g

Wet
MPSS - .78 g
BFG - .74 g

Slalom
Dry
MPSS - 5.00 sec
BFG - 5.07 sec

Wet
MPSS - 5.44 sec
BFG - 5.71 sec

Lap Time
Dry
MPSS - 29.74 sec
BFG - 30.62 sec

Wet
MPSS - 33.74 sec
BFG - 35.58 sec

Braking (50-0)
Dry
MPSS - 78.10 ft
BFG - 79.40 ft

Wet
MPSS - 111.90
BFG - 117.70 ft

I might just end up getting the MPSS from costco and taking them to a installer since costco in my experience doesnt touch aftermarket wheels. with my membership and discount comes out to 140 which aint bad.

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 come in at $93 per in 215/45 17. Rated higher in wet and dry than BFGoodrich g-Force Sport Comp-2 on Tirerack.

Have them on my car, highly recommended for the value.

@FirstWinter It's been $70/set for a few years now and I 2nd everything you said (especially that OP should switch to 225's with an 8" wheel) except the Continentals should make the list alongside the MPSS, I've got MPSS right now and my next set will either be the Conti's or the Firestones.

When I was looking at MPSS the big advantage to Costco was the cheap install prices and in my experience they do a decent job, even after rebate the tire prices were only a few bucks cheaper than TireRack, but I wouldn't take my 'racecar wheels + tires' to them, they're lazy with the wheel weights. Good enough for my street tires/occasional track beater set though. I didn't think you could order just tires from Costco, thought they had to mount them, they're also prickly about not doing OEM sizes, so regardless a 215 on an 8 might be a hassle to have them do. Odds are it'd be easiest to just order on TireRack and ship to your preferred installer or have your installer order them, a few shops I called said they didn't make any money on tires, they just order the set from TireRack like you or I would, ymmv.

Make sure to haggle the price whatever you choose. I found my latest tires to be cheapest from some site that wasn't tirerack, which is odd since they are always cheaper.
Then the Firestone place by me said they would match that price. I ended up going to the dealer of all places as they would match the price also and I trust them more than a
tire place with aftermarket wheels since if they screw them up they are bigger and can afford to fix a bad mistake like scratching a wheel.

You're right. Think it was only $100 when they were doing a limited time discount if you use their Citi credit card to purchase the tires.

@Decep I forgot that these were aftermarket wheels. Like strat61caster said I would take them to an outside shop for the install. You can try picking them up & telling them you're coming back to install them "at a later date".

You can just pick up tires from costco. they refund you the installation cost is all. i wouldnt trust them not to scratch up my rims either.

Though i dont see the problem with a 215 on 8" rim, its within Michelin's specs.
i dont buy from tirerack because shipping costs are too high, no point in saving money on tires then paying a bunch in shipping. ends up being the same.

More dry traction, but ride comfort is rated lower. I've rode in cars with both tires back to back and it's night and day. People wanting max traction hard tires will skip these DD friendly performance categories entirely and just buy 200TW gumballs anyhow.

Never thought about haggling tire prices. May give this a shot in the future.