Best Tyres for the Honda Civic 1.4 100PS FK1

My previous tyres were Federal Evoluzion ST-1 which were excellent sporty tyres at a discount price. Unfortunately, the same tyres were not in stock and the only tyres at the same price point (almost 50% lower than premium brands) were the Nankangs. From previous reviews, these tyres seemed to have improve their overall performance in recent years, and thus, I decided to take the risk and try them. After 5K km, I realize that these tyres are excellent everyday tyres with good dry and wet breaking, above average wet performance and top comfort. But when it comes to sporty performance, these tyres have not enough stiff sidewall (even the extra load XL version I have) for hard cornering. Especially in my civic's stock setup, oversteer happens easily when cornering at high speeds which requires above average experience in handling. After testing different tyre pressures trying to fix this problem, I think that with 40 psi in front and 36 psi in back tyres, handling is much better and oversteer seems to be more fun than problem. In general, these Nankangs are 80% everyday - 20% sporty tyres, focusing more on everyday comfort and safety and less on sporty performance.

These tyres are very good. They have covered 13000 miles now with 5mm of tread remaining. They are just as good, and are lasting just as long as my previous tyres which were Bridgestone ER300 and Goodyear Efficient Performance. Both these tyres returned 28000 miles on the front and 38000 miles on the rear of the car. Dry and wet grip was as I expected, noise and comfort also.

Following my initial 5K miles review, I have to say that these tyres are an excellent choice at this price point, which is almost 50% lower than premium brands cost. After 30K miles, these tyres perform still very well on dry with a notable drop in wet performance, but with easy-going driving, they can last for 5-10K miles more. The stiff sidewall (because of extra load) helps hard cornering without losing much comfort, the perfect balance between handling and comfort from my experience. In general, these tyres have good breaking, comfort, and wear performance with focus on sporty driving at the expense of wet performance especially when they have not been warmed.

Nice sporty tyre at a much lower price than premium brands. Excellent dry performance and nice cornering with the XL (extra load) Feds. Wet performance and wear seem OK for now but with low mileage. My previous tyres were the excellent Falken ZE914, and now the Feds seem to have similar grip and cornering, a bit lower handling, but they are more comfortable and quite with better sporty look.

Back in 2013, I decided to try a set of 4 tyres ZIEX914 225/50/16 W XL (extra load) for sporty driving. Very few reviews existed at that time but the price was much lower than premium brands. I replaced these tyres after 6 years with 60,000 km and I can say for sure that these tyres are excellent for sporty driving due to the combination of stiff sidewall and sticky rubber. With these tyres I could easily find the limits of my civic when taking turns at high speed without losing steering control at all. The only downside of these tyres is the absolute lack of comfort which can be a deal-breaker for relaxed-style drivers.

Now I have chosen Federal Evoluzion ST-1 because of discounted price and nice sporty performance.
In the short-run I am very satisfied but I have yet to discover their long-run performance.
I wish they keep up with the Falkens...