I'm sure if I took you for a spin around Nebo with the Adrenalins, you would notice a good difference. Phil is one of those guys that likes to really 'drive' his car. When it comes to tires, sometimes 'good' just doesn't cut it. Even if Kenda is equal to Kumho, that's not going to be good enough for him. Hence his comment on cheaper rubber. I wouldn't say the best, but for the price that you can get them for, then I guess you can say that. As for the larger wheels, some people are after style and something different. That's excluding the ones with big brake kits that require larger wheels. The only thing that is stopping me from getting larger wheels are the costs involved for performance tires. It doesn't cost more for no reason. It's not that pricey as well. It's only when you throw it onto larger wheels.