Yoko vs Kumho & Predictable Handling at the Limit

[hgray]

Having read the archives, and Tire Rack articles, I am leaning toward Yoko ES100's over the Kumho 712's for my 81SC Targa, but the deciding factor will be "predictability".

I live in the Pacific NorthWest. For me, predictable handling at the limit (especially in the wet) are factors in selecting tires. I would gladly give up a few 1/100's of a g for predictable handling.

I have gone through the archives and have found lots of positive comments about how predictable the Kumho's are at the limit.

Any comments on the predictability of Yoko's versus Kumho's at the limit, especially in the rain?

[Porschekid962]

are you talkin street only tires here? i just put a set of dunlop sp 8000's on my car and got to find out how well the handle in the wet this past week since the skies opened upon socal and dumped quite a bit of water down. i was actually a little surpised on how good their grip was and how predictable the point comes when traction is lost. plus, at 125 a tire they were a pretty good deal. hope you get what your looking for.

[hgray]

Porschekid962.... oops, should have said that it was for street tires. Thanks

[JackT]

I have had 2 sets of Kuhmo 712's. They are very good tires for the price. What I have found though is that a couple drivers eds make them noisey. They continue to handle well, but have a good bit more road noise on the highway.

[s_wilwerding]

I had Kumhos on my 911, and I have the Yokos on my Boxster. They are both good tires for the price, but I like the Yokos better, especially on the track.

[jmohn]

hgray:

I haven't tried the Yok's but I do use the Kumho 712's and been happy with their "wet" performance; sorry, I can't quantify their "predictability" but I have never "felt" out-of-control with them in any rain.

A short story: A couple years ago we went to my youngest brother's wedding, which was a couple hundred miles away. Even though it was raining (rather heavily at times), we (my wife and I) decide to take the SC (Kumho 712's on it with about 7-8K miles on them). Our daughter and her fiance followed in her Maxima (I don't know which tires, whatever Nissan put on their 2001 Maxima's). When we got there, Andy (her fiance) said they were experiencing some mild, occasional hydroplanning (we were trying to maintain 65-70 MPH) and asked if we had noticed it, we told him we hadn't felt any hydroplanning (or any problem on a couple "clover-leafs" I took rather faster than necessary). Fortunately, for the Maxima, it stopped raining for the trip home

Good luck,

Jerry M
'78 SC

[TerryBPP]

I have Kumhos on my car. They last forever and they handle great. But I have never had Yokos so I can't compare.

[Doug Zielke]

Harry,
I know Stuart (over at Weissach Performance) is a big Kumho fan. Talk to him.

But, I have Yokohama AVS Sports on the 'Bomber, and think highly of them. Stickier than the ES 100's, but they also don't last as long with a nut-bar (me) behind the wheel.

[Porschekid962]

can anyone compare the yoko's and kuhmo's to dunlops?

[callipygian911]

i've got the es100's on my targa and love them. they handle terrifically in the wet. i should know since it's been raining every day this week in san diego and i've been out in it. i was really surprised at how well they did on wet, slick pavement. they work great in the dry, though they don't corner quite as well as my mich pilot sports did. but yeah...great performance wet or dry. i'd personally go for them over kumho's (which reputedly suffer from chunking, and require shaving...blah).

[Erakad]

I've been researching the tire thing (since it is a $400+ investment) and have settled on the Kumho 712s. Currently have Dunlops...they're ok, but have never felt Dunlops wear too well. I was tempted by some Conti ExtremeContacts, with claims of better wear, wet handling etc. Really, based on Tire Rack comparison charts, they look good...but then again, after talking with the local tire guys and y'alls comments, I went conservative and the Kumhos...on Friday that is! Can't wait to get some rubber between me and the road so I can start drivin' again.

[braddb_82SC]

I started experiencing front fender rubbing the day I switched from Dunlop SP 8000's to Kumho 712's. I did not get an alignment at the time so I assume the tire offset was at fault.

-Brad

[singpilot]

Have never had anything but Kumho 712's on the 911SC. I drive them every day, rain, snow and shine. Around town, thru the canyons in SoCal, at limit at the track. Then drive them across the desert on the commute from Vegas to L.A.

Will replace them with exactly the same tires.

[Mark McClure]

I have kumos on my Targa.....maybe these are a different compound in Oz. I have found them fine up until a certain point. It seams that once you start to loose traction....sideways..... then the tread closes up and thee is very little grip. In the wet they are a bit of a handful as well. Last week I had the car sideways just going into a roundabout. P Zero's for me next.

Cheers

Mark.....

[speeder]

I have the AVS ES100s on my SC, they are fantastic in the wet for a performance (wide) tire. They are a good all-around tire, I use them for DEs also, but the sidewalls are a little soft for really hard core speed-freak driving. But for the $$ I don't think that you can touch them. Don't know about the Kumhos.

[old_skul]

I have run AVS Sports for years now. They are fantastic tires, far better than either the set of Bridgestones that came on the car or the Pirellis I had on my other set of wheels.

They are extremely good for summer hot pavement and rain. I can't say I've ever experienced hydroplaning with them. Once it gets cold out, however, they do harden up and take much longer to warm up and get sticky. They also have balance issues when cold.

So I put Blizzaks on my other set of wheels and run those during the winter months.