Kumho Ecsta SPT reviews?

[mercman]

Looking to buy some new tires for the SC in the Spring. Anyone have any experience with the Ecsta SPTs? My car is 100% street driven on the weekends. Prefer a good compromise between performance and road noise.

Thanks,

[redstack]

I have them on my wifes MB 230 coupe. Maybe 10k miles on them. They seem comparable to the Conti Sport Contact 2's that were oem on the car. Good performance, did an autox with them and was impressed. Not sure about the road noise if installed on a 911. Not the quietest tires I think.

[BMWDavid]

I recently put a set of them (SPT's) on my '95 M3. They replaced a set of worn out Bridgestone S02's.

They are a lot softer in turn in than the S02's. I'm not really sure I like them in that regard. They are very quiet road noise wise. The ride is not nearly as harsh as they S02's were. For the $85 or so they run not a bad choice.

Also bought some for my '06 GTI. Not mounted yet. The GTI has Conti Sport Contact 2's. Should be interesting how the VW feels.

David

[jbrinkley]

+1 on softer, have them on the 911 now, had SO3's before, also had spt's on the 02 GTI that my ex got.
very predictable.
I like them.

[Netspeed]

Hopefully this link works. This tire has 399 reviews over at tirerack.com

http://www.tirerack.com/survey/SurveyComments.jsp?additionalComments=y&tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Ecsta+SPT&tirePageLocQty=&commentStatus=P

[rnln]

mercman,
can you tell me why are you looking at spt? I am looking at asx for better tread life, seem like everything else is the same beside the look.

[mercman]

Thanks for all the replies...

I'm actually open to other suggestions. I believe the ASX are all-season, I didn't consider all season since my car only sees duty on nice weekend days -- all I have time for! The price/performance of the SPT is pretty hard to beat.

[Jays72T]

I have the ASX (under 100 miles) and cannot review the SPT but after 6 sets of various Kumo tires on 4 different cars, best tire for the $$. Kumos do tend to wear a bit faster though but I get a credit at Americas Tire for my next set.

[rnln]

how about sumimoto HTR Z? Anyone experience this brand. Tread life is not high but price is extremely lowed.

[PatrickB]

You should consider Falken 451/452 if your use is purely for street. Not a better street tire out there for the money IMHO! Check out Edge Racing for the best deal.

www.edgeracing.com

[KCinBR]

Earlier this month I mounted Kumho Spt on my 88 Carerra with new Rota wheels 225/45-17 front and 255/40-17 rear. I have about 1k miles on them, just normal driving, have not been to the mountains yet. They seem like very good tires for the way I drive. They are quiet and the ride is a little harsher than my 15" Pirelli's but keep in mind I have 2" less sidewall. I chose them because of the online research I did before I made the purchase. I wanted tire that could be driven in the rain without fear of traction problems. the price was good to $322

that's my review......and I'm stickin to it

[Tim Hancock]

I have them on my 951 presently (to replace my FK451's). They stick pretty good and are OK in the wet. I do not track my cars, but like tires that look like more like traditional tires compared to the newer spiral patterned treads. For the price, thay are a decent tire. Over the past ten years, I have tried several "cheap" "high performance" tires on my many German cars, and have found that Avons (presently on my 911SC), Fulda, Falken, Sumitomo all offer fairly sticky tires for the average daily driven sports cars. Most do not last very long, but that is to be expected with cheap sticky tires.

My favorite all season tires for my 924's, BMW and Audi have been the Falken Ziex 512 (recently redesigned as the Ziex 912). They are reasonably priced, great in the wet and stick fairly well in the dry. I just put new sets of the ziex 912's on my Audi, BMW and on one of my 924's and they seem as good as the Ziex 512's that they replaced.

[MikeTheYounger]

I've got a set of SPT's on my daily driver New Beetle. This time around I didn't have a big budget for tires (225-40-18), so I was impressed with their performance for the price. Grip in both wet and dry I find to be very good. They are not the most quiet tire out, but they are not loud by a longshot. I have not tracked or autocrossed them, but I plan on it in the '08 season. I have only heard favorable things about the SPT's from other people in the VW world, and I am happy with my decision to purchase these tires. When I need new tires, I'd seriously think about another set.

The tires I ran before the SPT's were Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3's. Very quiet and dry/wet grip was superb, but the SPT's are right up there for a lot less $.

[WERK I]

I like 'em. I have them on the ( 235x 17 & 285x17 )930S and they are a very quiet and predictable tire. Excellent in the rain. Not a good track tire by any stretch of the imagination, since traction will drop off fast once the tires get hot.

[01sport]

mercman,
My 911 is a fair weather weekend car as well. I chose Kumho MX. They perform good and even my wife (who never says anything about my cars) said they look good. Not rated so good in the rain though.
Jeff

[PeterCarrera84]

I use the Sumitomo on my Cup 17's I like them. I think they are good in the rain, with their V pattern. HTR Z II (225/45 & 255/40)

[schoward]

Put SPTs on my SC last spring. They are fine. Low noise and car feels nice and nimble. No issues in wet. Only complaint w SPTs is sometimes the appearance bugs me as the sidewalls are kind of busy. Hard to beat for the money though.

[qcwang]

mercman,

I am using SPTs as my "track" tires. As a novice autocrosser they have performed very well for me. They are actually very quiet on the road and have good grip. Never used them in the wet so I cannot comment. I have been very happy with them and will probably get them for my street tires once my current street tires wear out. I do notice that at the track at Streets of Willow, they do well but do get "greasy" and loose a little traction when they are really hot at the end of a session.

I think treadwear is 320 and with about 4 SOW DE's and about 5 autocrosses, the rears are almost at the wear bars and the fronts still have a way to go. Now that I learned more about tires, I will use a more aggressive and softer compound with a lower treadwear next time around. But for what I have done so far learning to autocross, they have been more than adequate.

Hope this helps!

[Gordo2]

I have Kumho Ecsta Sports (205/55Z/R16 & 225/50Z/R16 ) mounted on my 6 & 7 Fuch's and have no complaints. Had them on since April '06 (~7k miles).

I can't speak to noise. My car is a Targa with a loud exhaust and other stuff that makes it rather noisy.

As for performance, I think they are a great buy for the money. I don't track the car, but I do run it pretty hard. I went from a set of worn Dunlops and immediately noticed a marked improvement with respect to dry pavement traction. I could easily spin the rear end out with hard throttle in a turn with the Dunlops. The newer Kumho tires take more effort to break loose and recover quickly provinding a really solid/stable feel. They have been good on wet pavement as well. No problems hydroplaning/drifting or floating.

Gordo

[JBO]

I'm on my third set of rear tires and the front Dunlop SP 8000's still look good. When the rear SP's went out after about 4k miles, I switched to G-Force sports, and they lasted about 5k. So I looked for a Z rated tire with a high rating and the highest wear rating, and went with the Kumho Ecsta ASX several months ago. I am very happy with them so far. We will see how long they last. If I can get 7,500 on a set of rears I would be happy.