KUMHO TIRES??

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I have 4 new Kumho Solus HP4(+ alignment) from Sears on a 05 Ford Focus. Thank you all for helping me choose an economy tire. Waiting to finish break-in now.

? I think the front tire contact patch is bigger than the rears because fronts look squashed, and rears don't have any squash. Should I keep all 4 at 32psi cold anyway? I am thinking increasing pressure in the fronts to shrink the contact patch would reduce road noise.
 
Engine in front = more weight = tire squash. Keep the psi at the recommended pressure on the label on the door sill, or maybe up to 2psi more for high-speed highway use. Anything else affects ride quality and tire wear.
 
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
I also dont understand why the "big 3" have to move production to mex/china when the Asian companies can make darn good cars right here.


Easiest question of the day.

Labor unions. The death of the USA auto industry.
 
I've used a couple sets of Kumho's.

Currently my truck has 275/55/17 Road Venture APTs. They have about 60k on them and are nearing replacement. Awesome tires. They went up in price, so I bought BFG Long Trail Tour's this go-around from Tirerack.

I also had a set of Kumho OEM's on a new Aveo that I owned for a year. Those were also great tires, they were Kumho 722's IIRC.
 
To All,

I will be trying the Escta LX Platinum on my Outback to replace the Cooper CS4 that would never balance. I was shocked how wobbly the Coopers were & my old Potenza RE92A @ 52K never shock as much.

Nevertheless, hopefully the Kumho w/ eliminate the wobbling!

Regards,
~Button
 
Originally Posted By: Button
To All,

I will be trying the Escta LX Platinum on my Outback to replace the Cooper CS4 that would never balance. I was shocked how wobbly the Coopers were & my old Potenza RE92A @ 52K never shock as much.

Nevertheless, hopefully the Kumho w/ eliminate the wobbling!

Regards,
~Button


A non-defective tire shouldn't wobble. Maybe you should ask for a warranty claim on the Cooper CS4.
 
PandaBear,

The Tire Store is going to do a warranty claim & I'm switching to Kumho's because I've lost faith. There's no money out of my pocket for the switch despite the Kumho being more expensive.

Regards,
~Button
 
Glad you started this thread... I'm in the same situation. Currently have a '05 Chevy 2500 with close to 50,000 on a set of Kuhmo road venture a/t's. Been really happy with them but wondered if there was anything better for the buck. Looks like I'll be replacing them with the exact same. To spend $600 mounted and balanced for a set of decent truck tires is pretty good if you ask me!
 
I only use Kumho tires.

They are the only tire I have ever purchased that is consistent with their quality, quiet, long lasting, and grippy all in the same package.

I recently upgraded to their "top of the line" Ecsta LX platinum. I will never go back. There is no other brand that can do what this tire does for this price.

I like these tires so much, I put them on both of my cars. They are unbelievably quiet!
 
KLowD9x,

Thanks for the feedback! I'll be going to Kauffman Tire on Monday to get the Kumho's. Hopefully it'll eliminate the wobble that Coopers caused!

Regards,
~Button
 
I have the kh16's on my new car.. for an oem tire its impressive.
Much better than previous oem tires i've had.

Its not really a performance tire for all the fancy
"grand touring H-rating"

I dont think it will be too good in the winter but I'm about to pick up 4 steelies and 4 continental extremewintercontact winter tires for the snow belt here.

Since stock rims are 17" and replacement tires are about 120$ each

buying 4 15" steel rims with winter tires for about 550$ shipped/mounted/balanced is a decent deal and I get more confidence in the crazy lake effect snow here.

back on topic- the KH16's
Rain-- low to moderate hydroplaning --not bad except in bad downpour.

Dry-- good but more smooth/comfort vs performance.

Wear= unknown.

My grandma bought some kh21's for her ford taurus.
She seems to like them. I drove them in the rain once
they seems to be very decent and were about 2/3 the price
of similar tires.
 
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To All,

Just an update . . . replaced the CS4's w/ the Kumho's & the wobbling is gone! The car is so quiet & smooth again!

Regards,
~Button
 
Originally Posted By: jorton
I have 4 new Kumho Solus HP4(+ alignment) from Sears on a 05 Ford Focus. Thank you all for helping me choose an economy tire. Waiting to finish break-in now.

? I think the front tire contact patch is bigger than the rears because fronts look squashed, and rears don't have any squash. Should I keep all 4 at 32psi cold anyway? I am thinking increasing pressure in the fronts to shrink the contact patch would reduce road noise.


Focus Update
After 15 months and 14,000 miles I have an alignment problem and need new rear tires due to rapid uneven wear. I never balanced/rotated the wheels until after the ride started to get uncomfortable. On the highway I have to constantly adjust speed in order to find the most comfortable ride. The service adviser said it may be cupping. Rapid wear is excluded in the warranty.

Suspension is called "Passive rear steering" design. This is why the Focus is so fun to drive. Some research has convinced me rear wheel toe must be set to the minimum spec of 0.15 degrees each side, and Sears set them at 0.22 and 0.29 degrees, which is within spec.

After I get new tires for the rear is it ok to rotate them side to side rather than front to back? If you were me would you get another 40,000-50,000 mile tire, or an 80,000 mile tire? Kumho or Goodyear?

Thanks! Joe
 
It's OK to rotate anyway you want but, I prefer to keep the tires on the same side of the vehicle as I have had better luck keeping the belts from breaking. It seems as though anytime I have rotated in an "X" pattern or switched the tires to the other side of the vehicle, sometime down the road/couple of years I get a broken belt on one tire as compared to keeping the tires on the same side of the vehicle...Never that I can recall!

And do yourself a favor and stay with Kumho. You'll be happier that you did!
 
I have a set of the KR21s and with a little less than half the tread left I've noticed wet road traction is terrible. I can only imagine snow traction is going to be just as bad or worse.
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
I have a set of the KR21s and with a little less than half the tread left I've noticed wet road traction is terrible. I can only imagine snow traction is going to be just as bad or worse.


Grampi, I have noticed that with 1/2 tread(5/32) on most tires, they deminish quite noticably in the foul weather. I'm still in search of that tire that works still works well below that point. It seems to be more vehicle specific as I have owned vehicles that worked well in foul weather with 3/32 ramaining but, one vehicle in particular was an animal in the snow with just about any tire. Just the right balance of cast iron block/heads w/ FWD and the engine was set just about perfectly over the front wheels/axel...Animal I tell ya!
 
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I've run a set of Kumho KW-11 winter tires before, used in a milder climate with light snow, but lots of frost, and plenty of rain. They performed quite well for the duty I put them up to, actually rode quieter than the all season OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE92.

Now, I've noticed that some tires sold by Kumho and their rival Hankook are made in China. I have not been fond of products sourced from there recently due to what appears to be very poor quality control overall. Maybe their products are fine, but the way I see it, when their competitors sell products that rate just as well, and are sold for about the same price sourced from other countries.
 
Originally Posted By: lewdwig
My wife just got a set of the Solus KR21s for her SUV. I was going to get General Grabber HTSs, but she got a good deal. Now if the Kumhos only last longer than the Goodyear Forteras or Continental CrossContacts (both good tires, but wore out fast).

I was really at a toss between the Kumho & Generals. After about a week of thinking about it, I went with the General HTS.
I heard & read good things about both.
I been so used to Michelin & Goodyear for years, so this is a big trying change for me.
 
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