Summer wheel/tire combos

[GTLTDGOLFR]

I'm a new GTL owner. Although I live in NJ, I'm thinking about spring already. My plan is to use the stock tires and wheels for winter driving and go 4/15 - 11/15 with summer tires/wheels.

Using tire rack as a resource, I'm currently thinking about 225/40ZR18 Kuhmo Ecsta MX's on 18x7.5 ASA JH8 wheels.

Mounted, balanced and delivered the cost is $1195.

My questions:

1. Are these tires/wheels a good choice if saving money is a goal (together with improved performance)?
2. Is there another option that you'd recommend for under $1400 total?
3. Do these products get more expensive in the spring when demand is higher.

Thanks for your views.

[Xenonk]

tires are ok and good in the dry, but only fair in wet conditions.

the rims can go lighter, you can pick another rim with the similar speca and buy it from somewhere else like www.wheelsnext.com or www.wheelmax.com or www.edgeracing.com

and yes, when spring rolls around the prices will go up, especially for summer tires as most people who use the Kumho MX will use it for autocrossing and summer driving since it's cheap enough to rip through them.

[Euclid]

You might also want to consider the Kuhmo Ecsta SPT. They're aren't quite as hardcore as the MX's, but are still a great tire, and have a better treadwear raiting. I've driven through some nasty rain with mine and they did great. Much better than the re92's

[whitetiger]

i say keep the stock wheels and put yokohama advan neova ad07s on them at 225/45/17. best performing street tire you can buy

[froggert]

if you're considering used ones, i've got a set of gold rota formula mesh's with 245-wide toyo t1-r's for sale..