I decided to jump the gun a little early this year and go ahead and buy some winter-esque tires for my OEM-18s. I've had these god aweful noisey KDW-2 tires on since i bought the car in Feb and while they havent done anything to upset, other than noise, i wasnt going to put summer tires on the oems again. I sought out an affordable and tested Ultra HP Allseason and came up with the HTR+.

I also chose to go with a smaller size side wall which visually i think i regret as it is noticeably smaller in sidewall height. I did however choose to go with a wider than front tire and then put it on all four corners. I was also restricted with this side wall as the tire does not appear to come in any 45-18 combination.

First impressions (60 miles of spirited driving), i like them. They may not grip as much as the KDW-2 in the dry, but i do find them more predictable. I feel i get much more feedback from them as well. The shorter side wall gives me a snappier response with turn in as well. Finding the breakaway point in traction is much easier now. The KDW-2 has always left me with a weird, wheres the limit im not comfortable taking this turn on public roads feeling. Taking the same turns in the HTR+ i feel much more confident and feel I have more of a road sense than previously.

I obviously didnt get these for their dry driving performance, I bought them because they are one of the few UHPAS that have an entry level M+S rating. So i figured they incombination with TC will get me through the mild winters I experience in MD. I havent had much rain that I've been able to drive in (i keep missing it), but the roads have had some moisture on them and it seemed fine. As a note to the KDW-2, I have had to drive with them twice in heavy downpour situations and they actually did pretty well, but i expect these HTR+ to be a little more reassuring in hyrdoplane moments.

So far I like them and would buy them again, but maybe next time I'll seek out a different tire due to how this size appears on the car though. I could also change my mind about that once I lower it with my suspension I havent installed yet.

I'll add pictures tomorrow!