Help me chose between 5 choices of tires !

[Crusty128]

H folks,

I'm about to receive my 0.06 18x9.5 and planning to go 215/40r18 with it. (is it safe? those wheels are going on an s4 Avant 4.2, bagged with Airlift performance and v2 management. roads aren't that nice where I live here in Quebec but we get used to it and learn how to drive between potholes... Moreover, I'm going to have a baby in a few months and want to take less risk as possible ).

I need your help to chose between those tires:
-Nankang NS20 (safe... Nankang... seems not to go together... but I'm maybe wrong...! ) Tire Size 215/40R18XL 89H BSW
UTQG 360AA

75$ each


-Nitto NT NeoGen ZR
Tire Size 215/40ZR-18 XL 89W B
UTQG 280AA

129$ each



-Hankook Ventus V12 Evo K110
Tire Size 215/40R18XL 89Y VSB
UTQG 280AA

144$ each




-Yokohama S.drive
Tire Size 215/40R-18 89Y XL B
UTQG 300AA

151$ each



-Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2 K120
Tire Size 215/40R18XL 89Y BSW
UTQG 320AA

163$ but 80$ postal rebate.




what would you guys advise me ?


Cheers !

[Randomofodication]

I haven't had any problems with my nankangs at all. Definitely a cheaper tire, probably not as good of performance as the others, but they seem perfectly fine for daily use. They do wear a little faster then other tires I've had in the past however.

[Crusty128]

Ok good, thank you for your input!

What do you think about the "low" speed mark "H" on this ns20? This kind of annoy me because when I'm alone in the car, I sometimes love to hear the 4th or 5th gear rev limiter of my s4... Don't know what to expect if I do that with a tire which is not certified as high... Explode?

Also, how about wet and aqua planing performance if this tire?
As for the noise who also really concern me, I read some good reviews about it, you may confirm it.

[Randomofodication]

I never had tires with speed ratings so I have no idea on that end. I never had any issues hydro planing, but I would generally avoid very deep water or hitting puddles with great speed as it would rip my lip kit off never once had an issue with noise.

For reference mine were 195/45R15, quite a bit smaller then yours. I also ran them around 35-40 psi daily as they were slightly stretched and I didn't want them to be pushed off the bead and leak.

[Crusty128]

Any other input?

[Oh Damn, it's Sam]

I roll on NeoGens. They stretch nice, and have a great-looking tread pattern, though the fakey Japanese characters on the sidewalls are obnoxious. They're great in the wet, hilariously bad in the snow.