Hi,
I'm not a 'rubber head' but I guess I've been driving long enough to be able to feel the difference between good tires and terrible tires. Like most auto-makers, the stock tires on the HCH are pretty terrible. My Nissan (and others) were just as poor. I bit the bullet and bought quality tires for my Civic. In this case: Yokohama Avid touring tires. The difference is remarkable. Not the squishy, easy to over-drive feeling of the origional set. The last straw was very poor traction during a light rain shower. Funny...the car actually feels faster. Proabably cause the handling is so much better. The car feels much more responsive and even the breaking is more confident. I don't wanna oversell it, I'm not sailing around like a rear-driving sports car!

I payed $300, turn-key. That's real money but in the world of tires....not bad. Heck lots of cars and SUVs are pushing 200 a wheel.

Even with only 2000 miles on the origional set, I'm glad I did it.
b.