Input needed on Kumho 712's

[Stu]

Since I ate my ES100's in no time, and am currently rocking 2 Borbets, 1 bottlecap, and one basketweave....its time for tires!!!

I'm on a college budget, and don't want to spend too much money. I'm looking at the Kumho ecsta 712. Has anyone run these on their E30? 205/55/15 will be the size I'm going with.

I'm particularly interested in traction and steering response, not so much on-the-limit grip.

Any input is appreciated.
Thanks

[fabianyee]

u're still using 15" wheels for your 3.0 monster??? or is it for another car?

[Beej '86 325es]

If you're on a limited budget, I'd say go for this tire. I've run a couple of sets of these and they definitely last longer than any other "performance" tire I've used. Not the stickiest of them all, but for the price, you can't beat them. Of all of the performance tires I've used, these are also the best in the rain.

[bwanac]

I ran these on my type A's. Same size and all.

I will say that they last a pretty good while. And their traction for the price is pretty unbeatable. I am amazed at their response and wet traction for such a cheap tire. Go for them!

:up: :up:

[E30godz]

yea they were my first tire, i had 225/45's on my 16X7's, they were pretty grippy....thoughit seems as though a lot of people have problems with cum hos though.

[LikeCDoos]

my buddy just got Kumho MX's on his e36 M3. Seems to like them alot so far.

[Rosica]

Re: Input needed on Kumho 712's

They were the absolute worst tire I ever owned; my Yoko A520's put them to shame. They had no dry grip, no predictable limit, things only got worse when they got hot. I had 215/40/17 and stock 195 p7000’s blew them away. They were VERY good in the rain, and lasted me $20k miles, which is an accomplishment. I your looking for a performance tire, keep looking.

[1990m3]

i ran the 712's when I was in college too on my M3.

They suck, bottom line. But, you need tires, and they are cheap. I like my Dunop D40 M2's that have been sitting on the stock wheels for like 8 years now. They have much better grip than the Kumho's

[bwanac]

Re: Input needed on Kumho 712's

They had no dry grip, no predictable limit, things only got worse when they got hot. They were VERY good in the rain. I your looking for a performance tire, keep looking.

Everything right there, is true. Not a performance tire at all, but for a daily driver like mine they were pefect. And their wet grip is as stated "VERY good."

[Stu]

Great, thanks for the input guys. Looks like we have a toss-up here. I pretty much just need these to get me through the summer, and partially through next semester. Won't be doing any DE's during that time, so I shouldn't be getting them too hot.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for other options, but I won't discount the Kumho's.

[jflower]

Stu, just keep your eyes on em... every set i've seen has had really weird premature tire wear that was not caused by any of the normal human errors (inflation, camber, donuts, etc)...

you get what you pay for, but these are a good buy so long as you keep a watchful eye on them.

[Tangent]

The only experience I've had with them is on my Camaro in 245/50/16 and 255/50/16. They worked great for me, far better than the BFG Comp T/As or the Dunlop D40 M2s they replaced. They definitely did not like colder weather though. I found that on cold days (and cold is very relative in California, I'm only talking about below 50* F) the traction would be horrible until they got warmed up. Can't compare them to the ES100s that I have now though since my E30 is an entirely different beast from an 89 Camaro...

[BingM3]

I have used 235 40 17 on my e30 M3 and 235 40 18 on my 635, good tire for the value and Z rated!!!

They have a long life compare to Pirelli's and Dunlop's I've had before.

[M50Webber]

Have had them on 2 cars (1 e30, 1 Z3, they came on the cars) and I can say without question:

THEY ARE THE WORST TIRE I HAVE EVER USED.

No grip.
No predictable handling.

So you would think they would be quiet and comfortable right? Wrong. Not particularly quiet, and not comfortable at all. They would drift at 20 mph though. You just couln't get the drift to stop smoothly... Scary.

My favorite trait? If you left the car parked for more than a few days, you get nice flat spots. Yay. Makes you think they would be soft and sticky. But they aren't! It is like Kumho set out to make a tire with all the bad traits tires have and none of the good.

On the flipside, I LOVE my Ecsta MX tires - but they look like they are probbaly gonna last only about 6000 miles.

YMMV,
Chris

[BingM3]

To best help you, read this link, The TIRE RACK would be your best reference as they have actually done testings for all tires in comparison.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/uhp.jsp