Mustang Rims

Initial Review, 50 Miles on Tires
April 06, 2013

Initial review-
Amazing grip, don't have to brake on on/off-ramps, these beat the Nitto 555's and Sumitomo HTZ3 by a wide margin. Added 275-35-18 tires and GT500 SVT rims to a stock GT Mustang, simply amazing tire in the dry. Have not driven in rain yet so will update down the road.
Tire rack confirmed these were date stamped late last fall, shipping in 4 days and balanced very well. Money well spent!! Running at 37 psi currently. These do seem to pick up small rocks and sand and shed it just as fast, no biggie its a max summer tire!

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
April 03, 2013

These came stock on the 19" x 8.5" rims of my 2011 Mustang GT. I drive 6-speed with 3.55 gears, so the rear tires get a bit more shock treatment than that of an automatic.

Brand new, the tires are great. You almost can't get them to break traction short of turning the traction control off and dumping the cluth after reving up to red line. But after doing that a few times, you will find the traction/stickiness of the tire will have depleted.

They are still good all-around tires, but after a few months of driving, they lose their launch traction.

I have already replaced two sets (four tires total) in the two years that I have had the car and am about to replace another set on the rear. That would mean that about every 10,000-13,000 miles, they need replaced. The tread is not down to the cords or anything, but you can feel a major difference in the performance at the 10k wear point.

Road noise is pretty minimal for a low-profile tire and the ride is comfortable as the suspension on the GT with these tires rides very well. There seems to be a bit of roll/softness in cornering, but if you know your car well enough, you know what you can and can't do and the tires stay fairly firm. I will buy them again for all year tires, but I will probably switch to something stickier for Summer track action on street tires.

Initial Review, 2,500 Miles on Tires
February 27, 2013

Square setup on GT500 rims was a good compromise between cornering/handling and fuel economy; a square set of 285s (of the same tire) were greater traction-wise, but dragged down the MPG. I liked the 255s as a good all-around tire. Sold the car with tires a few months ago, regretfully.

Initial Review, 46,000 Miles on Tires
March 27, 2012

I have driven these tires until the wear indicators were flat with the tread. I got roughly 47,000 miles out of them (rounding to the nearest 500). I drive a 1994 Mustang GT, and my driving style is very spirited. I was not gentle with these tires, I did not baby them at all and to get as many miles out of them as I did, I'm truly impressed! The only thing I will do differently with my next set of tires is rotate them at EVERY oil change (5k miles). This is most likely due to my driving style. I think I may get some additional miles out of them with the more frequent rotation.

Driving in the wet / rain was excellent in the first half of the tread life. For the second half, and just before they needed to be replaced the wet driving took a little more care. Using common sense and slowing down when water is ponding on the road was necessary as the tread life dwindled.

I also had the opportunity to drive in light snow with this tire. This is obviously NOT a snow tire, but it did get me home before the snow storm was too much to handle.

All in all this is a FANTASTIC tire. I am on my second set for this car and recommend these to my fellow mustang owners. The cornering / handling in dry weather was outstanding. Definitely a perfect match for my driving style. I would like to note that I have 2003 mustang Mach 1 wheels on the car (17x8 rim). The tire size mounted is 235 50 17 which gives slightly more side wall. This did NOT impair performance but it did fill out the wheel well more since the car is not lowered. I also have a set of these tires on a 2005 mustnag v6 with 18x8.5 2008 GT wheels on it and they work perfectly.

Initial Review, 6000 Miles on Tires
February 03, 2012

I bought these tires slightly shorter for my 26 yr old bone stock GT so I could autocross and still drive them all over. They are not a race tire but they are a competent tire in all regards and real bang for the buck. I still have 1/2 tread left with no chunking in FL xcross heat and great hook up in rain. I can beat alot of new cars with these tires and the better gear ratio they give me. I got an extra set of factory rims and mounted new RS3 Hankooks for serious racing with 45 series tires Wow. BUT when we want to take a trip back on go the Kuhmo ASX's for another happy ride at 75-80 all day long with never a whimper. Great all around tires. They ride and handle way better than the Firestone 60 series that came on the car. Very pleased. Will be getting a set of these for the 93 Crown Vic next year.

Initial Review, 1000 Miles on Tires
December 18, 2011

I don't see my 0mi posting of this tire, but to reiterate, break in time driving is hazardous as I slid down a ramp and but now with 500-1000mi on them they stick like no other... Now I can't really even do a burnout with them after the tires are heated up... Tried doing a burnout from a patch of water and the tires still hooked up though that time I just floored it without using the brakes... Weaving around people going 45 in a 65, the tires hook up well and hold... during U-turns though, my rear tires push my car into under-steer but that's a common trait with all RWD cars... Haven't really driven in rain yet but my GF said it's way better than the last tires, but she's the responsible driver (Not parker though lol)... I can tell you the size I have with the Razor rims I have from this site (275/40/ZR17), at full lock the front tires rub ever so slightly, and you might think your tires have popped or you ran over a water bottle and it popped from the sound, but it goes away, and right now it's just a squeaking rub sound... when people say the tires don't give good feedback, it's really they aren't using the lower profile ones, the ones I have give plenty of feedback... I more than likely will get these again...

Initial Review, 30000 Miles on Tires
December 09, 2011

Bought these in the 255/50-17 size replacing the stock 235/55-17 Pirelli P Zero Nero. This size fits the stock 17 x 8 wheels and is the same diameter so no speedo correction necessary. First off, the wider tire looks much better on this car than the relatively narrow stock tires. The sidewalls bulge slightly with the 8" wheel, but this rim width is well within the tire manufacturer's specifications.

As far as performance, these tires may not be as soft and sticky as the OEM Pirellis, but the extra width provides just about the same overall grip and maybe more. My car is a daily driver, but I have also taken it to 4 road course race tracks for HPDE track days. These Kumhos have been on the track at Watkins Glen now twice, for 2-1/2 hour sessions each, roughly 100 hard laps around the 3.5 mile track. Ideally for track use you want to use ultra performance summer tires, but even being all-season tires the Kumhos performed predictably and solidly. See lap here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzxOGIeYuqQ

After 30,000 miles these tires are about ready for replacement. The original Pirellis lasted 37,000 and I have no doubt the Kumhos would have gone that long too, if not for the abuse at the race tracks (probably the equivalent of 5,000 normal miles). For a high performance tire like this, that is an excellent life span! I'm planning on buying another set.

Initial Review, 6200 Miles on Tires
December 04, 2011

Living in South Florida we get our fair share of rain and these are the best wet weather tire I have ever owned. The wet handling characteristics are excellent, my traction control system would kick in on spirited starts with the stock tires now with the Continental Extreme Contact DW's the traction control system has not kick in at all. I've used the tires in two auto-crosses (F-stock class) and one track day, so far, and while they are probably not the best tire out there for these purposes they did do a fairly good job, better for track days than auto-crosses (but tire pressure might not have been right for the AX). Since I don't have two sets of rims I wanted a tire that I could use on the track but still have a good ride and wear on the street. So far I think I got what I wanted and I am extremely pleased with these tires. The wear rating is a little higher than most other tires in this class and the price was less so I think this was a good all around choice of tire for what I use them for. I definitely will buy another set when the time comes.