Anyone ever run Kuhmo tires?

[Brosky]

Tom,

I hadn't seen a picture of your car in a while. That looks a lot different (as in GREAT) than the day that I stopped over to see you. But I guess that was a few years ago, now that I think of it....

 

[pjsmetana]

I ran Kumhos (Supra-Exta) in Auto-X a few times with the Integra GS-R I used to have... after 3 times they were splitting and showing steel. They also wore unevenly. I will never buy them again. I have used Dunlop Sport FM-901's in Auto-X 20 times, plus using them at the drag strip 3 days worth of test-n-tune, plus using them at daily driver usage for a year, and they STILL TODAY have a lot of tread. The grip on them is incredible for DOT approved Tires. Size was/is 205-45/16.

 

[DNK]

OK, Pete's being a stick in the mud, everyone else likes em :laugh:

 

[pjsmetana]

Sorry, but I can't let Kumho get away with selling me tires that have tread-splitting and uneven wear without at least a few harsh words. 3 week ends of Auto-X before wearing out, to the point of nearly shredding, is just plain unacceptable for any set of tires.

Even the cheep-o Coopers I ran a few times lasted longer and they were only $33 a tire. Unfortunately they had terrible traction. These were fun for long smoky burn-outs!

BFGoodrich G-Force tires were the best I ever ran. Super sticky, great tread wear, but with the cost of them (and the fact I punctured 2 tires with 1 tumbleweed) kept me from continuing to use them. Unparalleled Wet traction! When wet, they stuck almost as good as dry.

General was a little better than Coopers for Treadwear and Traction, but I still had bad Traction when compared to the Dunlop or BFGoodrigh tires.

Falkin makes a decent tire. Mid-level pricing, Upper-Mid performance, Upper-Mid traction, but average on treadwear. I used these once in the rain and took out nearly EVERY cone on the track. I don't recommend them at all for wet weather

For the Price and Performance, Dunlop has ALWAYS been my favorite tire choice. My race tires were only $250 each and they last a long time. Traction is not very good when wet, but it is controllable and predictable.

All these tires I'm talking about are DOT approved with at least a Z speed rating. Auto cross didn't allow slicks or naturally I'd have Hoosier on the list

 

[TR3driver]

Traction is not very good when wet,

Bit of an understatement, IMO. I darn near spun out the first time I made a casual left turn on a damp street with mine. Kind of fragile, too, less than a month later I poked a half-dollar size hole in one by running over a broken curb. Didn't bother to replace it, just relegated it's mate to a spare.

But the only Kumho's I've tried are the Powerstars, which seem to work fine as "rim protectors". They don't even pretend to be performance tires (and they aren't).

 

[DNK]

Pete, Know about 15 guys who cross them and they all love them which is why I got them.
Wonder if you got a Monday hang over batch?

 

[pjsmetana]

Pete, Know about 15 guys who cross them and they all love them which is why I got them.
Wonder if you got a Monday hang over batch?

I dunno, but I know of a female spectator who wasn't too happy with the Kumho brand chunk of tread that hit her square in the middle of her forehead.

Traction is not very good when wet,

Bit of an understatement, IMO. I darn near spun out the first time I made a casual left turn on a damp street with mine. Kind of fragile, too, less than a month later I poked a half-dollar size hole in one by running over a broken curb. Didn't bother to replace it, just relegated it's mate to a spare.

I ran those Dunlops (and I still have them in my garage actually) on a Front Wheel Drive, so maybe that was the traction difference. 225hp to the front wheels tended to treat tires like red-headed step-children. And, there is nothing fragile about these tires. I'd let you see them for yourself if you were close by.

I forgot to mention I had Kumhos on a daily driver too. It was on an 89 Honda CRX (LOVED that car). I ran over a curb rubbernecking a good look'n lady in a walmart parking lot and blistered my sidewall. Even worse than that is it didn't protect the rim. I got a terrible chunk of aluminum taken out of the side. Didn't affect the bead, but I had to replace the tire and rim. I don't think this speaks too well for their sidewalls, or to the fact they supposedly make the sidewall strong enough to handle a 15mph parkinglot opps.

 

[PATR8]

I am glad I got so much imput, but so conflicting I am not sure. Right now I am looking at the Kuhmos at $74 each mounted and balanced or the General exclaim UHPs at $79.

 

[GeeBee1]

I have Kumho's Ecsta XS for street\track tires, they take some heating up, and get nice and sticky, I like them, but on the street they get a little bit squirmy in the rain

Pat

 

[TRMark]

I have used ECSTA KH11 for several years on my TR4. They are mounted on TR6 rims. I have several Solo II events and drivers school on them with no problems. I have quite a few highway miles on them as well, mostly in the dry, so I can't comment on wet handling.

 

[Richter12x2]

Sorry, but I can't let Kumho get away with selling me tires that have tread-splitting and uneven wear without at least a few harsh words. 3 week ends of Auto-X before wearing out, to the point of nearly shredding, is just plain unacceptable for any set of tires.

Man, it sucks that you had a bad experience. My wife and I both have autocrossed on Kumhos almost exclusively. I'm talking short course time trial Solo2 stuff, not extended road racing, but the only issue we ever really had was that the steamroller wheels on her Mustang (295/35 R17) picked up road hazards like nobody's business, and eventually I got nailed with one of the recalled valve stems, but neither of those were really the tires fault. In fact, they were wear rated for like 30,000 miles, which I thought was pretty low, but even with a couple of autocrosses on them, I've gone beyond that and still had tread left on the Ecsta 711's. We did see some cord showing on the Ecsta Supra 712's before the mileage was up, but that's because the camber was too far negative, so it corded on the inside edge of the tire.

 

[PATR8]

Well I have decided to go with the Kuhmos. I got them for $65 each (mounted and balanced $72). I will try to get a pic on Friday when I pick them up mounted on my rims.

 

[PATR8]

The old Panasports with Yokohamas

https://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x189/Jeepster055/tr8.jpg

Well here the Kuhmos are on my car with the new rims

https://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x189/Jeepster055/tr81.jpg

I like the look of the rims and I like the look of the Kuhmos too

 

[tdskip]

They look good Pat - I like them too!

 

[PATR8]