I have 225/55 R16Z Avon ZZ3s on the back and the same size Continental ContiSport Contacts on the front. I paid about \ufffd85 a wheel for these including fitting, and fully expect them to last for the forty or fifty thousand miles I intend to own the car for. Both types of tyre (I wanted ZZ3s all round because they look nice, but my local tyre place was sold out) have good grip and low noise characteristics. I eschewed the fancier tyres like Goodyear Eagle F1s or Pirelli P6000s because those tyres are, at the kinds of speeds at which I drive, no better than the ones I got but are twice the price.

Ithink that cheap tyres are a false economy, both in terms of finance and safety.