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I'd like to know if there are less expensive equivalents of the Hankook Ventus R-S2 high performance tyre.

It is a 215 / 35ZR18 84Y.

I popped one of mine, and it is unrepairable, as the damage is on the side wall. A new tire costs around $280.

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Unlikely, but not impossible to find something cheaper that's comparable. Hankook is the inexpensive brand in that category. They run around half the cost of many other brands... – Brian Knoblauch Nov 21 '11 at 14:18
I'm with Brian on this, RS2s are pretty cheap for this sort of tire and for a car that needs/wants high performance, you don't want to replace them with cheaper rubber from NeverGrip Co. – Timo Geusch Nov 22 '11 at 5:25

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Word of advice: Never ever replace one tyre on the same axis! Always replace both the left and the right tyres. Replacing one tyre increases wear-and-tear on the differential, worses the handling and last but not least: It can be very dangerous! With a AWD, replace all 4 tyres at the same time. When the other tyres are only a few thousand (less than 3000) old this is unneccessary of course.

Regarding your question: Depends on what you're looking for and what your budget is. I never buy cheap tyres, those 4 little pieces of rubber are the only contact points you have with the road surface and they must be of very good quality. Given the durability of a modern tyre the costs per mile/kilometer are neglible. Take the pain, buy two new tyres and be very happy during the winter you bought some decent tyres. And remember, with FWD or AWD you always put the new/best tyres at the back!

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Why do you put the best tires in the back? – Mike Baranczak Dec 1 '11 at 5:09
Correcting understeer is something every driver can do, releasing the throttle is an reaction every driver does instinctively. Oversteer is much harder to control, releasing the throttle causes the car to slide to the other side and it will end to a lamppost or in a ditch. – Alex Dec 1 '11 at 9:27

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