Tire suggestions?

[89911]

I need 225/50 and 245/45 16" tires for dry, summer driving only. I use a track tire/wheel setup for tracks. I have been checking out TireRack's inventory and notices they don't carry all brands. Any reason to check out brands like Toyo's? Also, dug into the personal ratings area and got increasingly confused. Not too many unaminous remarks on any tire. The prices of Kuhmo's scare me. Something about putting a $76 tire on my fine piece of German machinery that doesn't seem right. Then again, It is just for summer jaunts around the suburbs here. Sorry about digging up a too frequent post, but I wanted the very up to minute data! Any other place other then TireRack also. Hate to see one company have such a Monopoly.

[911driver]

You can also get them in N2/N3 porsche OEM ZR ratings for a few bucks more.

I have 13K miles on a set of S-02s 215/45/17 on a non-pcar, and they still look new, just rotated them.

'77 911S Coupe

[carnut169]

The Kuhmos are a good tire, and for the price they are a great tire. I have yet to hear of anyone complaining- and have seen them on all types of high end cars.

[rs911t]

I have Toyo T1-S tires on the M3 and like them just fine. http://www.onlinetires.com sells Toyo. The new Yokohama ES100 is inexpensive. No idea what they're like.

[nostatic]

I have the Kumhos and in 5K miles have zero complaints. No problems dry or wet. Sometimes you get more than you pay for (or alternatively, you can pay more and not get much more).

[jmohn]

I have the Kumho's, I bought them from Tirerack. I'm happy with both.

Jerry M
'78 SC

[89911]

Just wanted to check. I use Kuhmo VictorRacer for track tires over the past 2 years. Almost sounded to good to be true. Sometimes you pays less and get more or is it pay more get less or pay almost as much and get slightly less or is pay just as much to get just as little . Seriously, I have usually found that by spending less sometimes on inferior quality, you end up having a product last substatially less then spending more and having them last longer. Seems like these get a thumbs up from the folks here. Enough for me to pick up a set. Thanks.

[nostatic]

I agree about paying less, then paying more later on. Having learned and relearned that lesson many time, these days I usually "go high or go home" and buy what I really want. That being said, from time to time there are products that give you 95% of the bang for 50% of the buck. If you can live without the missing 5%, it is worth the savings.

[Jeff]

I have heard nothing but good things about the Toyo Proxes TS-1s. A friend of mine who used to race profesionally loves to race Toyos. Will probably put a set on my car when my Yokohamas wear out.

[sammyg2]

I'm really happy with my new Yoko AVS intermediates. $275 for all 4 delivered to my door from tire rack , hard to beat.

There may be a few better tires out there, but very few better values.

[grey71]

I have the Kuhmos also. These seem to be a great tire. I have about 3k miles on them. The only problem that I seem to have is a vibration at 65-70 mph. They have been balanced 2 times and I still get it. Perhaps I just have a bad tire.

Grey
81sc Targa

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by grey71
I have the Kuhmos also. These seem to be a great tire. I have about 3k miles on them. The only problem that I seem to have is a vibration at 65-70 mph. They have been balanced 2 times and I still get it. Perhaps I just have a bad tire.
Grey
81sc Targa

Grey, I've heard from a few local shops that Kuhmos can be difficult to balance and that they produce a higher average of "troubled" tires than most other brands. Take it back and have the tire replaced. Once they are correct & balanced they seem to be a great deal. Most people rave about them. Good luck.

[grey71]

The tires were bought in Flordia and I bought the car and I live in Atlanta. Not sure where he got the tires from. Not sure where I can get the tire replaced. I do believe that its a bad tire. The shop that tried to balance them last said one of the backs is bad.

Grey
81sc Targa

[Vipergrün]

Check out the Bridgestore S-03's and RE730's. I have the RE730's in the sizes you mention. They now have the Gen II version, which seems to have addressed the road noise problem. I am on my second set of rears and really like them.
When I replace all four, I'll probably go with the S-03's. I believe both of these tires got 4-star ratings.

I was lured by the cost of the Kuhmos, but the lower price scared me too. Guess I should have done my homework on the Pelican boards

[89911]

I caught this post on www.epinions.com when I was doing a search on tire prices. Its on the internet so it has to be true!

Review from a NON-Kumho employee
Mar 28 '02

Author's Product Rating


Handling and Control:

Pros
cheap...

Cons
VERY DANGEROUS

The Bottom Line
STAY AWAY, they are very dangerous and could get somebody killed. Just pay the extra money for some REAL tires.



Full Review


I recently purchased a set of these tires for my BMW Z3. I was running 16" on Michelin Pilot HX, and upgraded to 17" rims so I needed some new tires. After reading the review posted already I thought these seemed to be a great deal seeing as they are about $150 cheaper for the set.

Boy was I wrong! My previous handling and performance on the Michelin's was perfect, no sliding or skidding of any kind. I slid about 45 degrees while making a U-turn coming out of the tire shop on a sunny day just after getting the kumho's put on!

The worst experience was about two weeks ago turning onto the highway at like 20mph my car totally lost control, spun a few times and almost fell off the hill! I went last week and had to dish out another $600 to put some Michelin tires on my car and have had nothing but smiles with them since.

I think the previous review was very unethical, even from a kumho employee. Recommending tires that could get people killed is totally wrong! Please do yourself a favor, and invest a few hundred extra to save your life, STAY AWAY FROM THE KUMHO's!

Recommended
No

Amount Paid (US$): 400


What are you people trying to do, get me killed!!! And I thought of you as my friends. I personally know that you don't just "get on it" on brand new tires. Isn't the internet wonderfull!

[JavaBrewer]

I would take the word of Pelican members currently running Kumhos over anything posted on epinions.com anyday. That said I broke down and spent a few more $ and ordered new BFG g-Force KDWs from Tirerack. They should be on for the weekend and I'll post a some followup once I've run them around for a while.

[jmohn]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 89911
[B]I caught this post on www.epinions.com when I was doing a search on tire prices. Its on the internet so it has to be true!

Review from a NON-Kumho employee
Mar 28 '02

Author's Product Rating


Handling and Control:

Pros
cheap...

Cons
VERY DANGEROUS

The Bottom Line
STAY AWAY, they are very dangerous and could get somebody killed. Just pay the extra money for some REAL tires.



Full Review


I recently purchased a set of these tires for my BMW Z3. I was running 16" on Michelin Pilot HX, and upgraded to 17" rims so I needed some new tires. After reading the review posted already I thought these seemed to be a great deal seeing as they are about $150 cheaper for the set.

Boy was I wrong! My previous handling and performance on the Michelin's was perfect, no sliding or skidding of any kind. I slid about 45 degrees while making a U-turn coming out of the tire shop on a sunny day just after getting the kumho's put on!

The worst experience was about two weeks ago turning onto the highway at like 20mph my car totally lost control, spun a few times and almost fell off the hill! I went last week and had to dish
---------SNIP----------

I really don't care which tire anyone buys, just read the opinions and make your decision; but this whole "review" is just silly. What do you want to bet this guy doesn't even own a Z3? The cheapest tire on the market would allow you to make a U-turn or a 20MPH turn onto the highway without losing control (hell, you could perform these "maneuvers" on the rims!). So...either this is all a lie (and a poor one), or...the Z3 is the most pi$$-poor handling car ever built (if I were BMW, I'd be annoyed).

Jerry M
'78 SC

[nostatic]

He failed to mention that he put ArmorAll on the treads before leaving the tire shop because it made his new tires look even more rad.

[RallyJon]

There is a difference between tires that were designed to be inexpensive to produce, and tires that are inexpensive because they're an older design or being discontinued.

I drove on RE71s for years, and they were great tires. They started at $170+ per tire and in the end were <$70 per tire. Same great tires, just different marketing priorities. I suspect the AVS Intermediates are the same way--they used to be Yoko's high-end Summer performance tire.

The cheaper Nittos or Kumhos are built to a price and they're built cheap by design. A scary thought for a high performance car.

I did try the Kumho MX on another car and was pretty impressed. They're a bit pricier than the other Kumhos, and with good reason. They're darn close to AVS Sports in performance.

[JEB]

agree about paying less, then paying more later on. Having learned and relearned that lesson many time, these days I usually "go high or go home" and buy what I really want. That being said, from time to time there are products that give you 95% of the bang for 50% of the buck. If you can live without the missing 5%, it is worth the savings

Very well said Nostatic. I agree 100%.


As I have said here before, I think that tires are one place that one should not skimp. They are too important.

I have S-03's and love them.

Jeb
'79 930
'97 Toyota Land Cruiser