Opinions on the kumho ecsta pa51
- Thread starter wheelman
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Never let price be the determining factor when choosing tires.
I made that mistake 20 years ago with a set of Kumho Supra Ecsta's.
From the minute I left the tire shop there was a consistent groan at any speed.
I thought it was from a bad wheel bearing, but my repair shop informed me it was from the tires.
Everyday, for the remaining years I had those tires, I loathed driving that car.
Since then, i've avoided Kumho tires in general.
that's just my opinion
I made that mistake 20 years ago with a set of Kumho Supra Ecsta's.
From the minute I left the tire shop there was a consistent groan at any speed.
I thought it was from a bad wheel bearing, but my repair shop informed me it was from the tires.
Everyday, for the remaining years I had those tires, I loathed driving that car.
Since then, i've avoided Kumho tires in general.
that's just my opinion
Well, at least you picked the best tire out of a group of low grade questionable tires.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/spiderChart.jsp?ttid=254
I would suggest going up one level in quality. General G-Max-05 or any of the other ones here on this mid level list. Still affordable, and they still don't really suck. The BF Goodrich I heard is a good tire but they wear very fast, (
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/spiderChart.jsp?ttid=253
.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/spiderChart.jsp?ttid=254
I would suggest going up one level in quality. General G-Max-05 or any of the other ones here on this mid level list. Still affordable, and they still don't really suck. The BF Goodrich I heard is a good tire but they wear very fast, (
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/spiderChart.jsp?ttid=253
.
I had a set of these Kumhos on my Saab 9-3 several years ago. They had really good grip in the dry. Average in the wet but got noisy quickly.
The tire rack review of the general made me skeptical. Noise was a big one the review of the kumho was decent overall. Snow traction isn't a big deal for me since I'll buy a set of snow tires for winter on my stock wheels anyway.
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I’ve had these in 215/45/18 on my AWC 17 Lancer for about 2 years/15k~ miles.
I got them for free so I wasn’t complaining but they’re way better than I expected.
The car is noisy anyways but I didn’t notice too much tire noise. I’d say I drive about as spirited as you can get in a normal lancer & the tires have plenty of grip. I’ve only had one instance in the rain where the rear slid a bit that was more me & turning don’t think different tires would have helped. My sister used the car in light snow covered roads & drove just fine.
The factory Dunlop SP sport tires that came on it were much noisier, less traction, & less MPG’s. I’ve had bf goodrich comp 2’s & id rate the pa51s just slightly below those. No complaints from me on these tires even if I had paid for them.
I got them for free so I wasn’t complaining but they’re way better than I expected.
The car is noisy anyways but I didn’t notice too much tire noise. I’d say I drive about as spirited as you can get in a normal lancer & the tires have plenty of grip. I’ve only had one instance in the rain where the rear slid a bit that was more me & turning don’t think different tires would have helped. My sister used the car in light snow covered roads & drove just fine.
The factory Dunlop SP sport tires that came on it were much noisier, less traction, & less MPG’s. I’ve had bf goodrich comp 2’s & id rate the pa51s just slightly below those. No complaints from me on these tires even if I had paid for them.
I appreciate the real world feedback. I had the BF Goodrich comp 2's a few years ago. they were pretty darn good. They did seem to not like the cold weather though. They would always shake in the morning until they warmed up.
Yep- companies certainly don't improve their product with tech advances in 20 years.Never let price be the determining factor when choosing tires.
I made that mistake 20 years ago with a set of Kumho Supra Ecsta's.
From the minute I left the tire shop there was a consistent groan at any speed.
I thought it was from a bad wheel bearing, but my repair shop informed me it was from the tires.
Everyday, for the remaining years I had those tires, I loathed driving that car.
Since then, i've avoided Kumho tires in general.
that's just my opinion
I'm guessing you are driving a dinosaur- which one is it?Exactly!
Just look at Hyundai. They couldn't build an engine in the 80's when they were first introduced to North America.
Fast forward 30 years and they still can't build an engine!
Now see that would just be awesome to haveYou know it! Got myself a 400hp Triceratops!
Im on my second set. The first set I ran to about 45k They run quiet wear evenly and provide good dry traction. No complaints at all from me.
a realistic, palatable price paid for a reasonably good-enough product is always a factor.Never let price be the determining factor when choosing tires.
I made that mistake 20 years ago with a set of Kumho Supra Ecsta's.
From the minute I left the tire shop there was a consistent groan at any speed.
I thought it was from a bad wheel bearing, but my repair shop informed me it was from the tires.
Everyday, for the remaining years I had those tires, I loathed driving that car.
Since then, i've avoided Kumho tires in general.
that's just my opinion
when my vw passat needed 4 replacements for its kelly edge tires i politely told the nice manager at discount tire that my limit was $500 all-in. with a 10% military veterans discount and a skosh of wiggle room on his part i got a set of continentals.
my sister had a lower $400 price limit for her in-town-only 2006 toyota highlander. same nice dt manager, a little more time to wait, wiggle room and a courtesy extension of my discount all worked out in her favor for milestars. yeah, milestars…but she is a heckuva lot better-off and safer now with these humble, new, warrantied shoes than with the worn-out sandals her highlander had before.
all-in included tax, installation, repair, disposal, environmental charges.
having good-enough now can be preferable to waiting for perfect later.
i don’t know about kumho ecstas, sorry.
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A couple of posts about Ecstas in this recent Kumho thread, including mine. With respect to noise, I'll admit that was not a priority in that particular car (Flowmasters albeit without the drone thanks to some resonators).
what year/model of jetta? what are you trying to accomplish with new wheels/tires? location and driving style?
I have a set of G-Force Comps and love them. Stagerred setup on a Fox Body Mustang.
Car hooks great, handles great, and so far have been very robust as far as wear is concerned.
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When making an informed decision, price is a factor, but it's certainly not the only factor.
