Saturn Tires: Yoko, Kumho, Dunlop or Hankook?

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Rhymingmechanic

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I need to put all-season tires on a '94 Saturn SL before winter. Tires will need to be decent in an upper-Midwest winter (not so much deep snow as the snow/slush/salt mixture accumulated after the first plows go through) The car is driven mildly, mostly in the city.

Local choices are slim, mostly store brands or tires with poor online reviews. (Thanks alreadygone and rshaw125 for replying to my Kelly tire post.)
It looks like I can get better tires for the same or less money from TireRack, and I've narrowed my choices down to the following, in no particular order:

Tire size 175 70R14

1) Yokohama Avid T4. 420 AB. The only one with survey rankings, #3 of 6. Reviews are mixed--some bad comments about treadwear, durability, and snow.

2) Kumho Solus HP4 Plus. 440 AA A. Only 5 reviews, mostly favorable.

3) Hankook Optimo H418. 400 AA. Only 3 reviews, but I've seen good comments here.

4) Dunlop SP60. 600 AB. Good traction reviews, and one about a 3mpg loss.

Thanks to anyone who can help me pick one.
 
I would take the reviews/user ratings on TireRack with a grain of salt. I read so many that obviously don't have a clue & their ratings go into the average. The professional test results are more conclusive & comparative. However, many tires don't have this testing.

Don't forget to include mounting/balancing, etc. from a local store when figuring the total cost from TireRack.

I would probably go with the Yokohama or Dunlop.
 
I drove on a set of 25k used Kumho Solus HP4 Plus and was pretty impressed on a Saab Wagon. They did quite well on wet pavement and were quiet when the rain stopped.

I am pretty picky on tire too. They were not up to my favorite all-seasons, Bridgestone RE960's, but good tires for a 140k+ 2001 Saab.
 
The SP60s are a total skip. Does Yoko TRZ come in your size? Can you change the size to something like 185/65-14? iirc, Yoko H4S comes in some 14" sizes. Bridgestone or Fuzion much have some to look at as well.
 
Auto-Union,

Why do you say to skip the SP60s? I've been thinking seriously about those because there's a $50 rebate on 4, which means 4 tires for the price of 3.

I've considered 185/65-14, including the Yoko TRZ, H4S and Avid Touring, along with Kumho HP4 716P and (its replacement?) KH 716. That size is .2" shorter and about an inch wider than stock. I figured keeping the stock size would be simpler for the alignment guy and maybe a bit cheaper, if the available tires are decent. Besides tire choices, are there other good reasons to switch sizes?

Thanks for the feedback so far.
 
The SP60s appear pretty antiquated, an older model. 185s will ride and handle better everyday. 185/70 would probally work too. If you have bad roads, that would be worth trying. Alignment will be unaffected with any size. The tires will run cooler and last longer. As far as snow, if depends in any given case of the tires are digging or floating, this is not an extreemely wide application, so it's more of a non-issue.

As for the TRZ, they are awesome. I'm used to more high perf tires and really like them, and can easily be used on sportier cars. On my woman's CRV now for going on 3rd year. I just cleaned them up and they have a LOT of tread still.
 
FWIW, I put a set of Kumhos on the van about 5K ago, and have found them quite satisfactory. Quiet, decent ride, good in the rain. Have not yet had them in the snow.
 
HP4's were OK on my moms LeBaron.

The Yoko's I'd stay away from just on my own experience. I had the Yoko Avid H4 which were great the winter they were put on but next and subsequent winter after curing all summer were awful. No Grip at all. 25-40 and wet was almost impossible. NO GRIP at all and eventually the downfall of they car. Slid over 100 ft at less than 30 mph and totaled the poor car. Ah well first ticket ever at 32. Oops.
 
We put Toyos on my wife's L300. They're great except they're not rated for ANY snow. I guess it doesn't matter much since we have SUV's also.
 
I just bought a set of SP 60's for my SL1 and will have them installed on Saturday morning. They are replacing a set of Khumo Power Star's that have over 60,000 on them. I'll put my two cents in when I have a few miles on them (won't take long).

I bought them for the apparantly decent snow traction..as the Khumo's had none.
 
If you get a chance, take a look at the Uniroyal AWP tires. I had a set on my old cavalier that went 96,000+ miles before I sold it and they were quiet, smooth ride, and good snow traction. I have a set on my new car as well. They are comparable in price to the tires you mentioned. Dunlop tire treads tend to wear down quicker versis other tires I've had.
 
Thanks for everyone's input. I decided to stay with the stock size and avoid the T4. I ended up ordering a set of Dunlops last night--the $50 rebate made them hard to pass up. I'll report back after some driving time.

With 178,000 on the odometer, this should be the last time the car needs tires. I keep saying we'll drive it until it drops, but it hasn't dropped yet.
 
I have put about 1,000 miles on the SP 60's and I must say they are not a bad tire. A good dose quieter than the Kumho's they replaced; although I think the Kumho's conrered just a weee bit better.

The real test will come here in a few months when we get some snow! So far so good, and the $50 rebate really sold me.
 
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