TOYO vs. NEXEN vs. DIAMONDBACK

So I need tires and I'm on a budget. I know this question has come up many times, but I've been agonizing between what's available at my local shop in my price range and need to make a decision. The Fierce UHPs I had and loved for the price are discontinued.

I'm running 225/40/18 on a 2000 328i w/ sport package. I want something that will let my car continue to handle like a BMW but won't break the bank and get some decent life.

I had them get the General Exclaim UHPs (based on reviews on here) but once I saw them, the tread seemed far too deep and all weather for me. I'm in So Cal so rain/snow is NOT a concern.

The readily available tires in my size/price range are:

-Diamondback TR968: $69/tire. Any feedback on these? They LOOK really aggressive and have good ratings (A, A, 400) but I can't find any real reviews. Sweet deal or "getting what you pay for?"


-Toyo PX4: $113/tire. (AA, A, 300) This is a more reputable name, but still an "all season" which I don't need. The T1R is a bit pricier and has a much lower treadwear rating (200). Am I really shortchanging myself by getting an "all season" I don't need?


-Nexen N300: $91/tire. (AA, A, 340) Someone? Anyone?

toyo will give u a better ride for sure.... nexens you will regret trust me i have some low brand tires on my stock 17's and ride way worst than my 19's with low profile ( also you will get loud road noise out of the tires)

I've actually seen some half decent reviews on the Nexens. I have a hard time looking away from the Diamondbacks due to price... but the "get what you pay for" keeps creeping in and I can't find any reviews on these.

i have sunny's on my 17's (cost me $55 a tire) sounds like my wheels bearings are shot.... beware of cheap tires. and my buddy on here richnerd had some nexens on his csl wheels and dreaded them

i got 5k miles off of the nexens
im just sayin

I don't really see how the diamondbacks are less "all season" looking than the general uhp. Do you want a tire that looks good or performs well? if you want both then get the toyo t1r, they rock.

dont get nexen, they are worst tires ive ever had. 110+ mph and when you get home the whole car smells like you just made a sick burnout... trust me not worth it.

Wow. Scratch the Nexens.

To deadpass, in person, there was a big difference between the two. The General Exclaim UHPs practically looked like a snow tire to me, the tread was so deep. I would imagine they'd be more noisy and less grippy.

As for the Toyos, the T1R only has a treadwear of 200 vs. the PX4 which has a 300 rating and still an AA for traction. Will I see a realistic trade off in performance going for the longer lasting Px4? Does anyone have these? Keep in mind, I'm not tracking the car... although I do tend to throw it into the corners pretty hard at times. I guess what I'm getting at is, will a mere mortal like myself notice the difference one way or another with treadwear OR traction between the PX4 and the T1R on a daily driver? (still haven't gotten a price on the T1R, but assuming it's going to be more expensive)

I have Nexen 3000's on my summer wheels. Grip is what you would expect, road noise is low, wet traction is excellent, and hard braking is confident. Overall I was very impressed for what I thought would be mediocre tires.

Would I get them again... probably not. Would I discourage someone from getting them... probably not.

Get the Exclaim UHP's. They grip well in the dry and very well in the rain. We got almost 25k out of a set before I hit a nail and decided to replace them all for a new set, but by the looks of it I could have gotten at least another 3-4k.

Ah, and the plot thickens!

Rain is not a concern for me at all. I live in So Cal and will be using a 4x4 for my mountainous/wet weather adventures and such.

Nor is a "quiet" or "comfy" of much concern compared to grippy and durable. I know, asking a lot...

Also, if the Generals are as great as everyone says (looks can be deceiving, I suppose), that's an even tougher call since they're the same price as the Toyo PX4s...

nexens are bad i bought a set and never again. bad in the rain too

If your on the budget try this Accelera PHi, they are made by EPtyres. I used them this summer in the same size and they were great both on the dry and wet.
And NO noise at all.

Originally Posted by Penguin Koolaid

I have Nexen 3000's on my summer wheels. Grip is what you would expect, road noise is low, wet traction is excellent, and hard braking is confident. Overall I was very impressed for what I thought would be mediocre tires.

Would I get them again... probably not. Would I discourage someone from getting them... probably not.

I have them as well. I can't say anything about grip when it is dry because I don't push the car w/ my setup but I can say that road noise is NOT low. It is actually high. Especially compared to my BFGoodrich G-Force Sports. Those tires had literally no noise. The N3000's are loud as fawk in comparison.

Wet traction....Ida was right over us pretty much this week and I hydroplaned at 40mph and the loooong puddle I was in was not very deep. So I have to be extra careful in the rain.

I would get them again if I was on a tighter budget, but if that was not the case then obviously I would have gotten a bit of a better tire.


Edit: on second thought I can comment on dry grip. I have pushed, very hard, a 245/35/19 - 275/30/19 N3000 setup and they held up very well for the price. It was on an E39.

toyo hands down.

Well, after deciding on the Toyo's, turns out no one could get them at a reasonable price without specially ordering them... so since they were in stock and the rest of my work is scheduled for tomorrow, I had to go with the N3000s. I figured it was better than totally cheaping out and going with the Diamondback.

Initial impressions are that they're pretty smooth and actually very responsive. To the point that the whole suspension feels tighter and the steering much sharper. Granted, the old tires were pretty worn, but for the price I'm impressed. Took them for a quick freeway jaunt up close to 100 and didn't notice any substantial road noise. I'll be happy as long as they last me another two years until I'm done with college. When I'm out of school, working and get an ///M, I'll keep it in some name brand shoes.

After I get my alignment, differential mount and ECU flash tomorrow, I'll push them a little harder.

EDIT: Again, since I'm in So Cal and it rains like twice a year, I'm not worried about wet traction.

keep us updated on how they perform as they get some miles on them.

I've had Nexen 3000's on my car since I bought it at 70,000 miles (April 2006). Currently, my car has just over 125,000 miles on it. That's 55,000 miles on these Nexen 3000's tires, and I have a bit of tread still left (I'm thinking I'll be able to safely ride on these for another 5,000 miles or so). Definitely worth the price in my opinion. And yes, I would buy them again.

Do you NEED to get them at your local shop?

Sumitomo HTR Z III and Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's are in your price range, and I'd say both are considerably better than all that you've listed.