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Originally Posted by eightsandaces
IMO, buying a performance car and being a cheap ass on tires makes no sense because the tires are a huge part of performance.
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I actually agree with you to a point. That point is where I'm sitting. With tires, as with most things, there is a phenomenon known as diminishing returns. In general, the more you pay, the higher quality you get on an item. This can be considered a linear relationship up to a point. At this point, it becomes much more expensive, either in design effort, or in materials, or some other property, to eek out just a bit more quality.
It's very common in racing bicycles. You can get a crumby, heavy road bike for $500. It'll get you into biking to see if you really like it, but it's not going to last long and it makes hills much harder than they need to be. You can get a pretty decent, long lasting bike for $1600. It'll probably need some repairs every once in a while and the materials are pretty pedestrian. You can get a really nice, really light road bike for $3000. This bike will last tens of thousands of miles and allow you to be competitive at most levels. It's got sleek components and made from exotic materials. But for someone who's livelihood or ego depends on it, a person can spend $12,000 and get a little lighter (like 1/2 pound MAYBE), little faster, and probably just as reliable bike.
The HTR Z III performs well against more costly competitors in tests, doesn't always come out on top, but doesn't scrape the bottom either. It's got a good temperature rating, and it's treadwear is almost double some of the more costly competitors. It comes from a well established manufacturer handled by well known retailers. So clearly this tire isn't of poor quality or lacking in performance.
I don't drive at a track and if I autocross, it is not often and not competitive with anyone but myself. It's actually more rewarding for me to have driven the car in the mountains for a couple of seasons and seeing that the wear bars are still pretty far away than to have the fasted track time or to have pulled that extra 0.1g of lateral acceleration and see that another year has cost another grand in a quickly consumed purchase.
In addition, I don't necessarily agree with the notion that the stickier a street tire is, the better. I like a sports car that will be fun to drive at less than suicide speeds. Tires that give away a little earlier just mean that the fun arrives a speeds that are less likely to kill you. Vintage cars are more fun to drive than modern ones partially for this reason.
So what seems like simply "being a cheap ass" to someone without the insight, is a logical decision for someone else.