Kumho Car Tires

Initial Review, 1,050 Miles on Tires
April 18, 2013

Excellent tire! Very much better than the replacement Firestone 500 Police, Kumho's, and particularly, the Goodyear Eagles Z-rated that came on the car. I had a tread separation on one of these at 24,000 miles - inexcusable on a Z rated tire at highway speeds. The Kumho's handled excellently, and probably gave slightly superior dry traction vs. the new Pilots, but were toast in 16M miles, which is ridiculous. Love all aspects of the Pilots to date. Well worth the very premium price.

Initial Review, 8,000 Miles on Tires
March 15, 2013

Car: Honda S2000
Soft ride, nice tires, there are worse and better tires. Driver side and Passenger side tires can be switched unlike unidirectional tires. Kumho XS gives better dry traction. However, these tires are a standard extreme performance tire. Not bad for the price, you get what you pay for.

Street driving is comfortable, should be matched with a proper suspension setup to yield optimal results. These tires, like the XS, ADVAN AD08 & RE-11 will need a stiffer suspension to better manage the grip. If your not really into supreme handling then sports tires are a far better choice. Longevity is lost for performance gain; increadible performance gain, however, save the performance potential for the track.

Track:
displays good ultimate grip, should be careful will probably outdrive 90% of most drivers, meaning to fully maximize performance from these tires, they are a perfect blend of street and track use..

Might try a different set of tires, Dunlop should really design something that has a more durable centre section for regular driving and softer outer sections for higher grip.

Initial Review, 9,000 Miles on Tires
February 07, 2013

Coming off a cheap pair of dealership tires that were put on my Altima 3.5SE MT, obviously these are night and day better. However, I will tell you that these tires have completely changed the driving characteristics of my vehicle. I have been driving sport sedans for the last decade, and have purchased many tires. The best set of tires I've ever owned were the Good Year Assurance Triple Treds on my 2007 VW Passat. Those are great in all conditions. I live in New England where we run the full gamut of weather patterns (Snow, Ice, Dry, Wet) throughout the year. However, they don't make an 18" tire in this size. I can tell you that you will be very satisfied with cornering and overall handling of this tire. It is also very quiet even at 100+mph. W/ 270hp coupled to a 6-speed FWD car as light as the altima, it was very hard to hook the tires when accelerating. With the Kumhos on, I can actually drive my car the way it was meant to be driven.

Initial Review, 19,000 Miles on Tires
April 05, 2013

Not understanding all the hate for this tire. Most likely it's because they come standard on 2010 thru 2013 GTI's and drivers who never experience sub-zero temperatures and snow have no need for an A/S tire on a high-performance car. As a result, they compare this tire to either max or extreme performance summer tires.
However, comparing this tire to the Kumho ECSTA 4X A/S tires on my son's Mazda 3, I would rate them at least as equals, and probably a bit better when below zero.
Additionally, using a regular rotation period of 5k miles, these tires demonstrate fantastic wear resistance. Currently at 19k miles and less than 50% wear. Very quiet on the freeway as well. The only negative is the braking and cornering traction in the wet should be a little higher.

Initial Review, 25,000 Miles on Tires
March 17, 2013

Great tire. Nice and quiet. Decent response. Smooth ride... I'm no crazy driver but I do once in a while like to drive fast. My first concern was about 10-11k miles in when I was driving on wet road. I was making a decent curve and right away I noticed the car was going out of control. I never had that problem with them but I guess traction was reduced already. Ever since that day, I would be super careful driving in the rain. Great in the snow. We don't get crazy snow in North Jersey but it handle pretty well. Didn't leave me stuck anywhere. The one thing I did not like was the soft sidewall. Here in NJ we some of the worse roads I driven on and these tires didn't not like it. Three of them developed bubbles due to impact. Most of the impacts weren't as bad as of the ones I hit when my old falken 912 tires. When I saw bubbles, I was really disappointed. Tire still had good amount thread left and I was force to get new tires. :( Overall, I would recommend this tire but I would be more careful while driving but in NJ that's almost impossible. I didn't like that tirerack doesn't let you buy hazard protection if the manufacture offers it. This tire offer for 1 year or 1st 2/32nd thread but I was way over. I was stuck getting new tires..

Initial Review, 2,100 Miles on Tires
March 14, 2013

The original Nexen CP662 were surprisingly good for OEM tires, but these Kumhos are awesome. They're categorized as Ultra High Performance All Season, and they're all of that, yet they don't look like anything special. Under aggressive acceleration, wet or dry, the tires spin no more than half a revolution, then ferociously bite the pavement. The car seemingly rides on rails and the understeer threshold is much higher and more predictable. At under $90 each, they're an incredible bargain.

Initial Review, 100 Miles on Tires
March 10, 2013

Ok people I am going to be straight forward as I see people complaining about this tire. Look it is pretty much the cheapest tire you will get off tire rack. If you want quailty then pay more. You get what you pay for. Overall it is a good tire. I have only put 100 miles on them so this is a glimpse and I will do another review in the furture. It performs great during the dry but have not had them in the rain yet. It does not snow too often where I live so I cannot say about its snow ability. The tire is a little loud when driving and is not the smoothest of rides. I have even babied them and its still a rough drive. I'm not the best driver so I am used to it. C'mon people its a low profile tire of course its not going to be smooth. I am just hoping I get better tread wear than the other reviews. The way I drive I am probably going to eat through the tread anyways. I think it is more of a track tire than a daily driver. It would be perfect for a car that is only driven on the weekends. Just my opinion.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 25, 2013

The OEM tires worn out at 33,000 miles which is utterly shameful. I've only driven this set of Kumho tires for about a 1000 miles but the car is definitely handling snow in northeast like a champ. It now cuts across 6-8 inches of snow with ease. Wet traction is also excellent assuming no excessive speeding. These tires have been very quiet at all speed so far. The only knock against these tire would be losing 2-3 MPG when compared against my original low rolling resistance tires. But overall I gladly take the trade off with increased wet/dry traction, quietness, and longer tread wear for the MPG loss.

Initial Review, 8,000 Miles on Tires
January 27, 2013

So far these tires have met all my expectations. They do seem to be wearing a lot longer and better than the Kumho's they replaced. That's considering they went through two intense days at Road America for a HPDE. Speaking of which, the tires communicated well, and provided huge grip for a street tire. Short of a dedicated R-compound or DOT legal slick, these tires are the top for dry grip; better yet these tires can also handle real wet days. My car is a fairly heavy, rear drive V8 and they griped the road with authority. I know they cost twice what several other brands cost in the Max performance category, but it seems like I'm getting twice the wear out of them for a car that does street and track. If you're a drifter looking for some tires to smoke up in an event, save your money and get something else cheap. If you're looking for a street tire that can handle its own at the racetrack, this is it.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
January 29, 2013

I've had Continental ProContact, BF Goodrich, other, I don't remeber the brands through my long driving history and had never had Michelin tires before.
Purchased these tires to replace Yokohama AVID ENVigor that lasted about 35000-40000 mi until they became bold. A difference in ride became obvious and noticeable right away. The ride became more solid and soft: a softer feel when driving over bumps or rough joints on a freeway, the car became more stable at cornering when making a sharp turn or taking a ramp to exit/enter a freeway. Winter traction and hydroplaning are excellent. Civic is a light car, so of course, it will be sliding from side to side on the snow or side wind when driving on a freeway but with these tires, the car is stable on the snow surface and the same when driving over puddles that gather along dividing wall on freeways. No hydroplaning at all. Yokahama were good tires but the car felt lighter with them and with the Defenders, the car ride has improved significantly. However, fuel economy decreased maybe by 1-2 mpg which is not a big deal. Since this Michelin Defender is made from a different compound than Yokohama, it is probably softer which, in turn, results in a slightly lower fuel economy. I drive 60-70 miles a day. 30 miles to and from work + around the area where I live. I usually put from 1500 to 2000 mi a month. From now on, I will be only opting for Michelin tires. You cannot go wrong with a classic old brand and no more those Kumho, Yokahama and other crappy Chinese or Taiwanese brands. It is like comparing BMW and Honda in a ride quality. Also Michelin claims that they will last for 90k mi here:
which I doubt. I'd like to see it at least how they will be wearing out after 25-30k miles on them if I don't change the car before that. Recommended.

Initial Review, 0 Miles on Tires
February 25, 2013

Tire was purchased as a spare for a Hyundai Elantra, since the car did not come with one. Was able to get it mounted at a local tire store. Have not needed to use the tire yet.

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
January 08, 2013

My wife drives the car primarily, but I get enough time behind the wheel both in city and on the highway. These tires seem to be wearing well so far. They are due for rotation, but haven't shown any significant disparity between the front and rear. They have been very competent in the wet weather especially under braking which was a key feature in choosing this tire for this area. Also very good value and the 205/55 x 15 is not as available of a size as it used to be. It allowed for a slight bump up in tread width from the stock 195/60. I'm glad Kumho offers it. I would buy this tire again based on value and above average performance.

Initial Review, 1,500 Miles on Tires
February 19, 2013

The difference in tire noise from this and all other tires I've tried is magnificent. It's like driving an entirely different car. My Conti Extreme Contact DWS I previously purchased had much stiffer and tighter control on dry and wet pavement, but were so loud they could drown out the stereo and wind noise even at highway speeds and volumes.

One drawback that I noted in other reviews of the tire was an issue with flat spots after parking the car for more than a day or two. It's noticeable, and I'm not sure whether it causes permanent wear issues with the tires, but will provide another review with more miles on them again later. The flat spots seem to go away after about 20 minutes of highway speed driving.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 12, 2013

Tires seem to have better traction (both wet and dry) and ride quality that the Kumho ASX's I had on the car previously. Seems to be a much better made tire. Hopefully I can get more than 24K miles on these, as this has been the most mileage I have gotten off of any of the ultra high performance all season tires I have had on my MazdaSpeed 6.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
February 13, 2013

This is the 5th different tire that I have tried for my 2003 Cobra which is upgraded to 500 HP and 600 Ft-Lbs at the rear wheels, so finding a tire that can get going off the line has been a struggle. I can say that OVERALL, these are the best tires I have ever owned, but they are also the most expensive. The responsiveness and ride comfort/noise level are better than the two different Kumho and Goodyears that I have had. The Kumho XS had a bit better traction from a dead stop, but they are softer so that is to be expected. Cornering grip and off the line grip is great for a tire that should last 20,000 miles, however, like the description says, these tires DO NOT WORK WELL IN COLD TEMPS!!! When it is below about 40 to 45 degrees it's like driving in the wet until the tires are warmed up which can take a few miles, and even then the performance is FAR lower than when the temps are above 50 to 60 degrees. Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase, and had I not upgraded the car to a 208 ZO6 Corvette I would have purchased them again. I had put about 10,000 miles on the tires when I sold it and there was about 65% treadlife remaining on the fronts (265-35-18), and about 50% left on the rears (315-30-18), and that is with quite a few smokey take-offs... 20,000 was what I was hoping for and would have gotten there no problem. The only other tires I had for the car that lasted that long was the Kumho XS, which I would rate as a close second, (probably a tie in performance ratings) but I could never get them balanced so there wasn't a shake over 100 mph, and once the treadlife was below 50% they were a bit sketchy in heavy rain, but that is somewhat to be expected for that type of tire.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
January 07, 2013

I have about 10,000 miles on these tires now. I drive very aggressive and came from a set of Aurora H107's. Those were rated as all seasons but are definitely summer only with unmatched treadwear and dry cornering paired with nonexistent wet traction, hydroplaning and snow traction. The car slides around in the rain as if I was on ice. It won't even move in the snow.

I needed to trade my performance for practicality. Enter the Kuhmo ecsta4x. The dry cornering just isn't there compared to the Aurora's, but it's still good enough even for me. Hydroplaning and wet traction is excellent. Driving 80 through a downpour is stable and easily done. Snow traction is acceptable, deep snow traction is less than acceptable - but that's what I have my snow tire set for.

Treadwear is iffy. 10k on them and they're halfway done (but again very aggressive driving).

I would recommend these tires to an aggressive or average driver that wants a great balance between wet and dry traction.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 20, 2013

This is a very good tire I must say. I have used Kumho before on track cars, and I have to say for a street tire this is a very descend and affordable tire. They seem to be wearing very even and fair (with a good alignment of course). I admit, the tire is slightly noisier, but you can't really tell. I do appreciate the cornering characteristics on the car, the steering is very responsive, and even when loading the tires heavily, the tires allow for good steering control, and the tires still act the way you want them too. In one instance I had to make a quick dodge to the left, because a car decided to change lanes without looking. When loading the front tires and reacting with the steering, the car was able to maneuver quickly and safely, the interesting part is the tires allow you to control the car well, and in turn translate this reaction quickly to the road. I have tested tires in the past, when the car did not produce enough grip, and when you quickly turned the wheel to one side and back, it was almost just as the suspension reacted but the tires really didn't. these guys make sure your very movement is in fact translated to the road, and that is something I can appreciate. I think they are great all season tires, I have not had too much experience in the wet with them, but they hold themselves well during light rain. The Toyota Steering is very smooth, but also very loose, these tires seem to cope with that well, so you they give you good confidence when it comes to controlling the car. I am happy with the purchase.

Initial Review, 11,300 Miles on Tires
January 11, 2013

I have driven on these tires for 11 months including 2 trips from upstate NY to Chicago. My experience in wet and dry driving has been good. I have only driven the car in i bad snow storm. I didn't get stuck, but I would prefer to have a different all season tire for snowy conditions. The tires were rotated at 9,000 miles. Treadwear seems normal. Unless I have a real serious driving problem this winter I will keep the tires until the tread wears down.

Initial Review, 500 Miles on Tires
February 19, 2013

So I have this tire only for 500 miles, but I am writing initial review. Later, after several thousands miles I will do follow-up.
These tires are replacing horrible Kumho Ecsta Platinum LX tires I had on VW CC since I bought a car. Those were installed by dealer, so I thought, OK I will drive them untill I wear them out. What a mistake. After 12,000 miles two tires developed flat spots, started to coup, became extremely noisy. Anyway, after some 18,000 miles, of which 6,000 were pure torture, I decided that it was enough.
I got these Pilot Super Sport because I wanted summer tires, which is appropriate for European vehicle. In Europe, from where I am coming, cars come with summer tires not all season tires, and then in winter we switch to winter tires. Here in the U.S. it seems most of the people for some reason love all season tires.
Anyway, Michellin's were drastic improvement. I could feel improvement immediately in handling and braking. Improvement in handling was drastic, but in braking was amazing. The brake pedal now feels stiff, no changes in stiffness during driving like with Kumho's. Since I got Pilot Super Sport, ABS did not activate at all for now, although I drive spirited. Hard accelerations do not result anymore in spinning for no reason, and ride, oh well, it does not seem like I am driving any more on four rolling rocks.
I will do follow-up after 5,000, 10,000 and later. So far, they live up to their reputation.
Here in Southern California there are few rainy days, so I cannot say anything yet on the wet performance, but I believe it will be equally impressive.
If you plan to buy new performance tires, do no look further then Pilot Super Sport!

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 20, 2013

My BMW is rear wheel drive with traction control. I purchased 2 of these tires to test them out as my rear wheel tires. My old tires seemed like slick tires compared to these. I could never drive this car in the winter with the tries I had on it. I was extremely impressed with the no noise level and traction in light snow, slush, wet and dry conditions. I just purchased 2 new ones as my front tires. It was a smooth ride home. I am A Kumho fan.
I had to leave home quickly one morning. I was facing a rain/snow storm "2 inches of slush". I doubted the tires and my safety. These are the best tires for this type of sports car............