I asked a local tire shop for a price on Continental and Pirelli all season tires and they suggested Kumho which I'm not familiar with. They recommended the KU31's which cost $255 a tire opposed to $380 for the other two. I read up on the Kumho tires and they seem like a good quality tire but I was wondering if any one has ever used them. I'm using the factory rims 255 40R19.
KUMHO Tires Canada / Tires / Passenger / Ultra High Performance / ECSTA SPT

 

Hey there, I used Kuhmo Ecstas on my Audi A6, wouldn't normally as I'm a Pirelli / Continental / Bridgestone fan but they came brand new with a new set of alloys I bought for the car.

To be honest they worked well, lasted ok and had decent grip. When on the Bridgestones sometimes I'd throw her into a bend every now and again just for fun and really knew the limits. I tried this in the dry with the Kuhmos and they broke away a little sooner for sure and I wasn't totally confident in the wet, probably because of this.

If you're an average driver, usually keep to the limits but sometimes like a little straightline speed, I'd say get them.
If you like to throw her around some in the twistys, race from light to light etc etc pay the extra money

 

Thanks for the reply Jim. I have winter tires on right now, even though they weren't needed this year. Last fall I bought rims and winter tires which set me back $1400 so I didn't want to go nuts again as I'm saving for a new house and a second store. My driving has mellowed down a bit as our traffic laws have become pretty strict. My foot is heavy on the highway but I stay in the range of non suspension They are converting all of the intersections by my store to round abouts so this should be a good tire test. If I had the "R" I would definatly invest in one of the other two brands.

 

No probs Paul.........I've always been a branded tyre kinda guy, having usually been travelling 50k - 60k miles per year, but thats changed in the past 2 years or so.

I liked the Kuhmo's a lot and they're considered an upper mid range tyre I believe and good all seasons..........If you're driving has mellowed a bit you could save some serious coin and have decent rubber too....all good

Just for reference mine were 255/35/19

 

I do run Kumhos on my Cruze . I can't complaint about their performance but I wish that car came with Michelin or Continentals instead

 

After a long talk with the tire guy I decided to purchase Michelin Pilot MX4M 97H. He told me that Kumho has come along way but they wear fast and I do allot of highway millage and the Pilot is much quieter.

 

Kumho's are a low-range tire, not even mid-range. I experimented with two sets of Kumhos years ago and decided they are not worth the money you save. They have generally low grip dry and wet, are not quiet and are not comfortable. The two sets I had both had problems with hard spots and could no longer be balanced with about 1/2 the usable tread life remaining.

I'll never purchase kumho's again. If you are looking for affordable, the new Conti DW (summer) and DWS are excellent lower priced tires.

My favorites include Michelin, Bridgestone, and Continental, depending on the application. For a big cruiser like the XJ8, I would run the touring Michelins or Continentals. Ride would be important to me. JMHO.

Have you priced tires at Tirerack.com? They will ship to your dealer.

 

My experience with Kumhos was great. I had a BME 750 E38 with Michelin Sport Pilot's on it when I got it, and like every Michelin tire I've ever owned they were dry rotted. I tried a set of Kumho Ecsta ASX tires and was happy with them. I went through two sets in 85,000 miles, and the second set still had tread on them when I sold the car. The ride was fine, they were quieter thatn the Michelin's, and the handling seemed decent, although I didn't throw the big sled around very hard.

 

My X350 came with mxm4's......very satisfied, I've put nearly 10k on em and they show almost no wear.

 

I'm not exactly sure as to what type of performance you are looking for from your tires! If the price is the only motivation then sure Kumho tires (Kumho Tires: Buy From TireVan | Get Mobile Installation) you mention will work fine and they are reputable. These are only 30k mile tire though! So, I'd say consider Cooper Zeon RS-3 which will last you about 50k and is about the same price as Kumho! Plus, you'll be supporting a US company through Cooper tires