Kumho Tyres

[carlo]

Has anyone got an opinion on these or whether different tyres can make a significant difference to handling characteristics?

 

Just put two Kumhos on the front of my 405 (replacing Hankooks), and it seems to have turned it into a soft, oversteering tub of lard with zero steering feel. (Well maybe a slight exaggeration)

Chappie at the tyre bay said "All new tyres like that Sir, very soft when they're new'"

 

Certainly don't remember the Hankooks being like it, they really seemed to suit the car. Think I'll change back soon.

[Guest]

Has anyone got an opinion on these or whether different tyres can make a significant difference to handling characteristics?

 

Just put two Kumhos on the front of my 405 (replacing Hankooks), and it seems to have turned it into a soft, oversteering tub of lard with zero steering feel. (Well maybe a slight exaggeration)

Chappie at the tyre bay said "All new tyres like that Sir, very soft when they're new'"

 

Certainly don't remember the Hankooks being like it, they really seemed to suit the car. Think I'll change back soon.

 

They did the same thing to my 306 when I had a pair fitted. That's why I run a mile from Kumhos and only use them for burnouts. They're quite good at that.

Annoying thing is, I can get a set of Kumhos at a massive discount because WATANABE_FATHA'S mate is an authorised dealer.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Put them on the back. I had this issue with Kumhos on mine but they improved after 2000 miles.

[carlo]

Any opinions on the best tyre for fwd handling and especially steering 'feel'? Tempted to put a pair of Michelins on the front but are they worth the extra?

 

Those Hankooks do seem very good.

[skattrd]

Any opinions on the best tyre for fwd handling and especially steering 'feel'? Tempted to put a pair of Michelins on the front but are they worth the extra?

 

Those Hankooks do seem very good.

For me it varies between the cars, but for light fwd cars I do like Toyo Proxes (T1-R or T1-S, not PX-4) and they're generally my first choice unless I'm doing a lot of mileage in the car.

I've got Falken SS-595's on my Alfa atm, and they handle great, but I think anything would on that car.

[dollywobbler]

Not a fan of Michelins. They just play on the brand name and don't seem to care much about whether the tyres are actually good or not. I seriously rate Hankooks. Transformed my last BX, though they were powerless to make my Saab 900 involving to drive. Good grip levels though. Have just put some Matadors on the rear of the BX. I'll try them out on the front at some point as they could be made of Teflon for all I'd notice with them on the back (well, ok, the back end hasn't mysteriously jumped out on me yet).

 

It seems there are some really good mid-range tyres out there. Usually more expensive brand designs that have been shipped off to where labour is cheaper. A budget tyre is still a budget tyre, but there's no real need to fork out for 'proper' rubber.

[John F]

Different tyres can certainly behave differently on the car. I wasn't able to get four of my usual Nankang NS2 tyres last time I changed them on the Calibra, and ended up with a pair of Accelera tyres on the front. These were completely pants, and refused to track up properly - only solved by putting the Acceleras on the back and moving the NS2s to the front.

 

I seriously rate the Nankang NS2 as a budget performance tyre. They last well, and they provide excellent grip in the dry and quite good grip in the wet (= good rain profile). Definitely recommended at the price (about £45 per corner).

[Luxobarges_Are_Us]

Hankooks are the new Michelins.

Kumho are good but not THAT good.

[Morgan84]

Well,if VW were happy to put them on new Polo's as standard equipent,they can't be that bad. depends though on the tread pattern you got - Solus are the T rated,Ecsta are H and above I believe. Ive never heard bad of Kumho in recent years,though they used to be crap many moons ago. Hyundai and Kia fitted them as standard kit as well on some models

[Split_Pin]

I have Khumos Ecstas on my FWD and they are ok but havent lasted very long. After about 10k they are getting a bit low. Tracking was done last year too!

 

I have Yokohama Paradas on the Astra and for £60 each fitted I'd say they were an excellent mid-ranger. Good grip, esp in the wet. Fine for my 3k per year but rubber is a bit soft for higher mileages though. Previously I had budget 'Lassa' tyres on the old wheels and they were hard wearing but abysmal in the wet. I could hardly pull away from junctions or even put my foot down in 2nd gear in the wet!

 

As a side note, ignore what Shit-Fit Esq say, part worns are 'FTW'. I got a Dunlop SP for £35 from e-bay for my other car and it was hardly part worn at all. Tread is about 7mm. My friendly local garage fitted it for nowt when the car was in for something else too!

 

Had Uniroyal Rainsports on my old Corsa. The grip on the dry was ace, but in the wet it understeered badly and for some reason they always seemed to get punctured by nails. Might just be bad luck that!

[Spiny Norman]

I've got Kumhos on the front of my old Saab 900 and they seem fine.

 

Incidentally, how do you pronounce Kumho? Is it like a desperate plea to a unresponsive hooker?

[Morgan84]

I've got Kumhos on the front of my old Saab 900 and they seem fine.

 

Incidentally, how do you pronounce Kumho? Is it like a desperate plea to a unresponsive hooker?

 

Coo-Mow !

[michael1703]

what tyre pressures are you running?

 

manufactuers recommended pressures might not be suitable for cum whores, maybe need a half dozen psi more?

[Spiny Norman]

According to the gauge on my trusty Draper £9.99 foot pump, about 34/35psi, which is a couple over what it suggests in the handbook.

[stormee]

Had Kumhos on my Passat's front axle and they were OK. A bit on the loud side but nice in the wet and good breaking performance, even usable in winter. My BMW seems to prefer Continental Premium Contact 2, though. An affordable tire which I would recommend in any case.

[mattblack]

According to the gauge on my trusty Draper £9.99 foot pump, about 34/35psi, which is a couple over what it suggests in the handbook.

 

Might be an idea to get a proper gauge and actualy set them to the right pressure?

[Spiny Norman]

Might be an idea to get a proper gauge and actualy set them to the right pressure?

 

Surprisingly it's within a pound or two of my 'proper' tyre gauge.

Tyre pressures are only a guide anyway, and recommendations are just that. I usually experiment a bit and rarely find the published figures give the best ride/noise/steering balance.

[Betaphile]

Has anyone got an opinion on these or whether different tyres can make a significant difference to handling characteristics?

 

Just put two Kumhos on the front of my 405 (replacing Hankooks), and it seems to have turned it into a soft, oversteering tub of lard with zero steering feel. (Well maybe a slight exaggeration)

Chappie at the tyre bay said "All new tyres like that Sir, very soft when they're new'"

 

Certainly don't remember the Hankooks being like it, they really seemed to suit the car. Think I'll change back soon.

The last set of Kumhos I had were on a Ford Laser about ten years ago and I didn't think they were up to much - replaced them with a set of Pirelli P5000s which made a massive difference (relatively speaking) to the handling. From the driver's seat it felt like the Pirellis had a much stiffer sidewall, since there was a very noticeable reduction in general wallow and, especially, the lag time between turning the wheel and feeling the front end turn in. Didn't make any noticeable difference to ride comfort either.

 

I mention this not because it has any particular relevance to what Kumho is producing these days (I'm sure it doesn't, a decade is a lifetime in contemporary tyre technology). But in my experience, different tyres do have a significant effect on a car's dynamics. And as has been pointed out upthread, the type of car matters here too - some tyres work very well with some suspension tunings and horribly with others.

 

That's partly why choosing tyres is such a pain - if you get it wrong, you're stuck with a crap set until such time as you've accumulated enough mileage that you can justify binning them and splurging on new ones. You can mitigate it to a point by buying from brands that you've actually heard of, but even then it's not foolproof. I once had a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D2s which were phenomenally good. Replacement time came - on went their ostensible successor, F1 GS-D3s. They were shite - noisy, rubbish in the wet, and a far harsher ride to boot. The other example I vividly remember was from Yokohama. I'd had a set of A539s which were superb. Now, 539s run a notoriously soft compound so I was prepared for the wear rate to be less than impressive, but in fact I'd been pleasantly surprised. On that basis, on went a set of C-drives. I maintain that Yokohama accidentally made these out of competition compound because I have never seen road tyres wear as quickly as these did - they were absolutely stuffed within 10,000km of pretty gentle driving.

[Father Ted]

Any opinions on the best tyre for fwd handling and especially steering 'feel'? Tempted to put a pair of Michelins on the front but are they worth the extra?

 

Those Hankooks do seem very good.

Michelins on the front of the C8 and Goodyear Excellence on the rear (swapped from nearly bald goodys on the front to the spare which was an unused Mitchy and a scrapper spare also an unused matching Mitchy - total cost of tyre change - £50 )

Anyway, handling is much better with the Mitchys up front.

 

The Micra has any old shite on it, not a single corner matches, and it handles like a walrus with ginger shoved up its bum in the wet. But Im used to it.

[Father Ted]

Has anyone got an opinion on these or whether different tyres can make a significant difference to handling characteristics?

I once had a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D2s which were phenomenally good. Replacement time came - on went their ostensible successor, F1 GS-D3s. They were shite - noisy, rubbish in the wet, and a far harsher ride to boot.

 

One of the reasons I searched so hard for an obsolete Michelin Pilot MX (as fitted OE to the C8) - deleted by Michelin in 2009, even Mitch UK couldnt locate one. I eventually found one on a scrapper that had just lunched its cam belt. Unused spare just like mine - worryingly with a similar mileage to mine too.

Good ride and handling, and they wear far better too - the C8 will eat tyres in as little as 10K miles. The Goodyears have covered 6K miles and are already down to 5mm

[CortinaDave]

I had kumhos all round on my cougar and they were a huge improvement on the super shite "stunner" tyres it had before.. Really poor lifespan though, they were completely borked in under 8000 miles.

[carlo]

Actually done about 700 miles on them now and have certainly improved, don't feel as soft any more.

[ashmicro]

I had the recommended Pirelli P6000s on my S Type, and they were shite. So much so that they nearly caused me to have an accident on a very wet day. I replaced them with Kumho Ecsta tyres, which were quieter, and didn't cause the arse of the car to slither about in the wet.

[Polystratus]

Not a fan of Michelins. They just play on the brand name and don't seem to care much about whether the tyres are actually good or not.

 

 

Whats the Toyo's like for the 2CV, ok I know Michelins are the original tyres for them but they're over £100?

[worldofceri]

I had the recommended Pirelli P6000s on my S Type, and they were shite.

 

'Sfunny, I was going to say P6000s are great; I had them all round on a Megane Scenic and couldn't fault them, but then it's a lighter, much less powerful car than an S Type.

 

In general, I've always found an improvement in swopping budget tyres for branded ones, be they Goodyear, Pirelli, Continental or whatever.

[RoadworkUK]

I have Kumho Excsta (si!) hoops all round on the Audi, and they're GRalright. Not the razor-sharpest tyres in the world, but the fact that my car is vastly over-tyred has done quite a lot to tame the understeer that FWD A4s excel at....

 

The rears came free with the AMG monoblocks they contain and still have about 3mm overall, the fronts went on about 13k ago and have almost totally expired on the inside edges. Could just be that my toe-in is all over the place, but To Be Honest I don't think 13k for a £60 a corner tyre (215 45 17) is three bad.