Tire Rack Consumer Reviews

Initial Review, 18,000 Miles on Tires
July 04, 2012

I had previously driven on a set of Kumho ECSTA ASX tires and the OEM Michelin Symmetry tires on my Odyssey. This set of Kumho ECSTA Platinum LX is without question the best tires I have experienced. At first drive, the Platinum LX tires were much quieter than the ASX or Symmetry tires. Wet traction, particularly hydroplaning resistance, was far greater with the Platinum LX which was a big surprise to me given the asymmetric tread design. I had thought uni-directional tread designs were better at resisting hydroplaning but I was clearly wrong.

With the Platinum LX carrying a ZR speed rating, many friends thought I was crazy to put such a high end tire on a minivan. I am of the philosophy that one should put the best tires one can afford on any vehicle due to safety reasons. With the Platinum LX priced at only $88/tire here at Tire Rack, these were one of the cheapest tires in my size and turned out to live up to that ZR speed rating pretty well. I honestly couldn't explore the 149mph speed limit of the tires nor pitch my minivan on a test track to test the 10/10th handling, but this set of Platinum LX surely gives me a true sense of safety under any weather conditions. Although I do switch to driving on winter tires (I have a set of Continental ExtremeContact which I also purchased and reviewed here on Tire Rack), I did drive a bit in light snow and ice on these Platinum LX tires. I must say that the Platinum LX handled just as well as my Continental ExtremeContact winter tires in these conditions but without the noise associated with winter tires.

Overall, I am an extremely happy customer with the Kumho ECSTA Platinum LX. I would definitely get another set if they remain available and have already recommended these to all my Odyssey owner friends.