Wow, lots of weird, incorrect generalizations in this thread. "Michelin is junk". That doesn't even make sense. Each model of a tire is totally different then any other model, even by the same manufacturer. It's not like Brand A uses a certain type of rubber and Brand B uses another type, so one sucks and the other is great. They all make very different tires for very different purposes, and most of the time each tire is good at it's intended job, or else the company wouldn't be producing it. Most of the time it's the buyers fault for not buying a tire spec'd out to meet their needs.

Example: Kumho AST vs ASX. The name is similar enough that most people probably get them mixed up. But they are not the same tire by any means, and have very different characteristics.

You need to look at the tread wear rating of a tire, as well as traction and temp ratings. While these numbers are gathered during a standard test drive, they are a decent indication of how long the tire will last and perform in different conditions. You can also read reviews on sites like tirerack.com, and look at the survey's. Since so many people rate tires on that site, I've found it to be fairly accurate.

I've tried at least 25 different tire brands/models in the past 5 years or so on various cars, from cheap street tires to full out race slicks. I chose tires based what I needed them for, and I've yet to be disappointed.

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