Well you didn't ask for it, but then again, you sort of did, so here's my tire lecture. Ready?

Most tires are made with clamshell molds. If you look at most new tires, before they have been driven on, you will see the mold marks around the center of the tread all the way around the tire. This is a clamshell mold. If you look at any Michelin tire you will see the mold marks radially like pieces of pie.

The "pieces of pie" molding brings the mold section in from the outside which allows for much more consistent belt placement. A tire made with this construction method is naturally much more consistently balanced and more importantly has more consistent road force. Tires made in a clamshell mold will have more road force variation (stiff spots.)

The long and short of this is that a tire made in a "pieces of pie" mold takes less lead weight when balancing, and again, more importantly does not have those stiff spots like the clamshell molded tires.

What this does for the "pieces of pie" molded tire is provide a tire that can be balanced properly and does not have stiff spots when rolling down the road.

Every Michelin tire I've ever seen has these radial, "pieces of pie," mold marks. Every Continental I've seen in the last number of years has radial mold marks. The other two brands that I've seen with radial mold marks are Pirelli and Yokohama, but I don't know if all Pirellis and Yokohamas are made this way, only a few that I've seen.

Yes, you can find cheap tires. You can also find expensive tires that are clamshell molded. Regardless of what you pay for a clamshell molded tire, you will not have a well balanced, round, smooth running tire like you would have if you were to buy a pieces of pie molded tire instead.

A round, smooth, well balanced tire will last much longer and provide more pleasant driving in the process. Additionally due to the fact that few tire stores balance your tires with any care at all, with clamshell tires you are less likely to get a properly balanced tire on your car. Imbalanced tires cost you even more in the form of worn out suspension components, and maybe even cupping of the tires which, of course, will lead to early replacement.

End of lecture. Summary: spend the money for "pieces of pie" molded tires. The best bet for longevity are Michelins or Continentals.

Best of luck,