Kumho ECSTA SPTs - anyone tried?

[skremese]

Hi all,

Been reading the forum for a while - thanks for all the great info! I have an '01 Turbo that I purchased used in May with 17K miles. I've got about 22k now and it's still riding on the original PZeros. While the tires have tread left they are very hard and slip a lot, especially when cold.

I'm looking to get new tires. I do participate in occasioanl "driver education days" - intend to do 5-6 a year (have done 1 already and 1 aborted (long story - highway debris kicked up and punctured my front radiator on the way)).

Anyway, I've been doing research on the forums, web & tirerack. While it seems almost universally agreed that the Michelin Pilot Sports & PS2s are the way to go they are roughly 2.5x more expensive than Kumho ECSTA SPT (from Tirerack anyway).

So the question is - for the money, do the Kumho's suck? Are they way worse than the Mics in dry traction, noise & wear? I'm most concerned about dry traction (rarely drive the car in the wet), noise would be next as I do use the car for pleasure and wear is a distant 3rd since the Kumhos are so cheap. :)

BTW - saw lots of folks advocating the Kumho MX but they don't seem to come in the right size for the TT rears (295/30).

Any opinions anyone might have would be appreciated! Thanks in advance,

Steve

[vasilik]

I got the Kumho ECSTA SPT for my C4S about a month ago and I really like them.

They look nice and at least for me they are less noisy than my original Pirelli.

Thanks

Vasi

[Danyol]

I tried them, went to Michelins after 6 weeks.

My car is a daily driver, wet grip isn't too good , I found that both Michelin & Pirellis (OE) felt more "planted" at speed (>80).

New tires always seem to to be quieter, although I must admit the Pirellis were really noisy toward the end of their life.

Car & Driver had the MX ranked 8th out of 10 performance tires if I'm not mistaken. http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?se...rticle_id=10252

[smelvis]

YEah I have them on my 02 TT...agreed that the grip isnt what the Contis had...but for the price I have accepted it. My car is a daily driver and I am not tearing up ALL that often. I havnt found the road noise to be an issue though, and I like the look of them alot. I would suggest them if you are looking for a "decent" tire, thats great for the $$$...if you are are tearing it up everyday, go for the Contis.

[viszla]

Hi all,

Been reading the forum for a while - thanks for all the great info! I have an '01 Turbo that I purchased used in May with 17K miles. I've got about 22k now and it's still riding on the original PZeros. While the tires have tread left they are very hard and slip a lot, especially when cold.

I'm looking to get new tires. I do participate in occasioanl "driver education days" - intend to do 5-6 a year (have done 1 already and 1 aborted (long story - highway debris kicked up and punctured my front radiator on the way)).

Anyway, I've been doing research on the forums, web & tirerack. While it seems almost universally agreed that the Michelin Pilot Sports & PS2s are the way to go they are roughly 2.5x more expensive than Kumho ECSTA SPT (from Tirerack anyway).

So the question is - for the money, do the Kumho's suck? Are they way worse than the Mics in dry traction, noise & wear? I'm most concerned about dry traction (rarely drive the car in the wet), noise would be next as I do use the car for pleasure and wear is a distant 3rd since the Kumhos are so cheap. :)

BTW - saw lots of folks advocating the Kumho MX but they don't seem to come in the right size for the TT rears (295/30).

Any opinions anyone might have would be appreciated! Thanks in advance,

Steve

[viszla]

Hi all,

Been reading the forum for a while - thanks for all the great info! I have an '01 Turbo that I purchased used in May with 17K miles. I've got about 22k now and it's still riding on the original PZeros. While the tires have tread left they are very hard and slip a lot, especially when cold.

I'm looking to get new tires. I do participate in occasioanl "driver education days" - intend to do 5-6 a year (have done 1 already and 1 aborted (long story - highway debris kicked up and punctured my front radiator on the way)).

Anyway, I've been doing research on the forums, web & tirerack. While it seems almost universally agreed that the Michelin Pilot Sports & PS2s are the way to go they are roughly 2.5x more expensive than Kumho ECSTA SPT (from Tirerack anyway).

So the question is - for the money, do the Kumho's suck? Are they way worse than the Mics in dry traction, noise & wear? I'm most concerned about dry traction (rarely drive the car in the wet), noise would be next as I do use the car for pleasure and wear is a distant 3rd since the Kumhos are so cheap. :)

BTW - saw lots of folks advocating the Kumho MX but they don't seem to come in the right size for the TT rears (295/30).

Any opinions anyone might have would be appreciated! Thanks in advance,

Steve

I run the Kumhos and have found the hype about their inferior wear to be just that, hyperbole

they are a bit louder, perform well wet/dry, are a bit slow to warm up and round out in the am

i will not return to michelins (which i have run on all of my porsches and bmws) unless i hear something about safety

i have had my car re-alligned to non-porsche specs and think this has a huge impact on the tire chewing issues in these cars

ps speaking of safety: when you pull the wheels takea look at the inside beads on the rims for perpendicular cracks; these are caused by hitting curbs (you can buy a car with the wheels scrapes nicely covered cosmetically) they can crack across the rim slowly and leak air or abruptly at speed

[skremese]

I saw this thread that I started early last year has bubbled to the top again. I did go ahead and purchase the Kumho's and am glad to state that I'm very happy with them.

I have put about 6000 miles on them and they are exactly what I suspected - not as sticky as the Michelin's or Pirelli's (never tried the Contis) but still very good, quiet (easily carry on a convo at highway speeds, no drumming noise), look great, and seem to be wearing very well. I have not driven the car extensively in rain but when I do I'm happy with the way they handle.

I did also bring the car with the Kumho's to the track three times for DE days (once at Thunderhill, once at Infineon and one autocross). These tires, for me, are excellent. They are predictable in their breaking point both through feel as well as audible feedback. For someone learning at a DE event this is great because they really squeal near the breaking point.

And then there is the price - they've gone up about $10 a tire since I bought them but are still almost 50% the price of the Mics. In my opinion, the 10-20% better grip in the Mics doesn't warrant the extra expense and reduced longevity. Besides, isn't a little bit of sliding at the track fun? And who drives that fast on the street (or should be)? :) But maybe I'm showing my age (did finally have a kid in the last year).

-Steve

[smistry007]

I've had the Kumho's also and for the bang for the buck, the other more expensive tires are too hard to justify....

[joyride5]

SPT's are great tires regardless of cost! If you factor in the cost, it's a no brainer.

Excellent wet grip and great dry grip for a wear rating of 330.

[deepblue5280]

I replaced the PS2's with the Kumho SPT's recently as well, (Sumitomo was another option). I have found the sidewall a bit softer, but grip is about 95% at around half the cost. I am confident that if you were to a do a tire life/grip/cost comparison, the SPT's would be an obvious choice. Kumho also makes a great track tire.

[DRMitchell]

I've not had the SPTs on sports car, but on a Jag S-Type. For my street driving style (maybe mildly-fairly aggressive) the SPT sidewalls would be too soft for your Porsche. I've had several pair of Kuhmo MX on c5 vettes, and was happy with the perfomance until they reached near end of life, where the noise quotient went through the rood and wet handling went out the window. Both tire models for me for most of the tread life handled very well in the rain. BTW, didn't see what model porsche you have, but MX tires aren't made in 996TT stock sizes.

[skymast]

I have had them on a few cars now and they are fine for me, with the exception of the fact that the flat spotting really bothers me. I personally think they look good on the wheel and the price / performance was what i was looking for.

Here is the way I would recommend people assess whether these are the right tires:

1. Is price a major consideration? if yes, the kumhos might be good for you. If no, buy the more expensive ones, you will be happier.

2. Do you want / need the best (meaning, is the last 10% of refinement relevant to you)? if yes, you will hate the Kumho's. If no, then the Kumhos might be right for you.

I am personally a price / performance type of person. if you are a performance only person, you probably wont like them

[DesignerGenes]

I ran Kumho Victorracers on the track on my 1996 Carrera Coupe. When I sold it and bought my 2005 911 Turbo S, I discovered that Victorracers don't come to fit my 11" x 18" rear wheels. I bought a spare set of turbo technology wheels and some Kumho Ecsta SPTs.

These are great tires! They're "Extreme Summer Tread" (road) tires, according to Tire Rack, but have excellent traction on the road course I run (They were recommended for the track by countless reviewers). I've just discovered that they're rain track tires too -- stable as hell at 110 on wet pavement! I haven't switched them off the car in 5,000 miles, and they're giving me great road mileage. They're not as loud as the tires that came on the car -- Bridgestone Potenza S02As. The Potenzas are on the "dress" wheels now, and I'm beginning to wonder when they'll ever get used.

Porsche lists 44 psi rear and 36 psi front for this car with the standard tires. I set the Kumhos at 40 and 32, cold, for the track; they warm to about 44 and 36 after two relatively slow loops of the 4.5 mile course, and have just the right sidewall stiffness at that. Mine is a street car that races. If you've lowered your suspension, corner balanced your car, etc., you might believe paying for PZeros or something similar to be worth the money. I laughed at the high-end tire store weenie who looked at me so disapprovingly for "putting cheap tires on such an expensive car."