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[dwells]

Hey everyone, considering new tires for my car and interested in trying out one of the less expensive high performance tires for my summer set. We get a bit of rain here in Mass, so wet handling is a factor as well. Right now I'm stuck between the Kumho Exsta LE Sport and the Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110. I hear a ton of of good stuff about the Hankooks, but not a lot about the Kumhos.

Opinions?

[VMRWheels]

Both tires have been fairly popular, however I'd probably run the Hankooks. I bought a set a couple years ago, and really liked them. For the price they perform well, are quiet, etc. They do tend to feel a little sloppy when you push them, but for everyday street driving they're a great summer performance tire.

[dwells]

Anyone else? The Kumho tires seem better rated by Tire Rack, but I'd love to hear first hand experiences.

[Astephens94]

I have the kumho ecsta le's on my car. Coming from run flats, these were a fantastic upgrade for me last summer!

Quiet ride, good grip, overall good value for the price I paid

One thing to note, I am at 4/10 tread in the back, 6/10 in the front. We had an insane thunderstorm in pa last week and I did hydroplane at 60 on the highway (first time that has happened in this car)

Overall very happy so far, is imagine hydro planing will happen more and more frequently as the treads wear down further

[Deemo]

hankooks for sure! went through 2 sets on my old g35 and just bought the first set for my e90, love them.

[Gary@TireRack]

We actually tested these tires on the street and on the track against each other in this recent test :

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...&affiliate=AH8

[dwells]

Originally Posted by Gary@TireRack

We actually tested these tires on the street and on the track against each other in this recent test :

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...&affiliate=AH8

Interesting, thanks! Have you guys had any long-term experience with these tires for day-to-day driving? Looks like the Kumho's are slightly better in the track testing, but my major concern is day-to-day livability and if the tires last well and age well.

Originally Posted by Astephens94

I have the kumho ecsta le's on my car. Coming from run flats, these were a fantastic upgrade for me last summer!

Quiet ride, good grip, overall good value for the price I paid

One thing to note, I am at 4/10 tread in the back, 6/10 in the front. We had an insane thunderstorm in pa last week and I did hydroplane at 60 on the highway (first time that has happened in this car)

Overall very happy so far, is imagine hydro planing will happen more and more frequently as the treads wear down further

Thanks for the feedback, glad to hear someone around here has tried them! How many miles have you gotten out of them so far, and other than the hydroplaning incident, have they aged gracefully in terms of grip, road noise, etc.?

Originally Posted by Deemo

hankooks for sure! went through 2 sets on my old g35 and just bought the first set for my e90, love them.

How many miles did you average on them? Any issues as they started to wear in terms of road noise, etc.?


Thanks!

[accel]

Originally Posted by VMRWheels

Both tires have been fairly popular, however I'd probably run the Hankooks. I bought a set a couple years ago, and really liked them. For the price they perform well, are quiet, etc. They do tend to feel a little sloppy when you push them, but for everyday street driving they're a great summer performance tire.

I do not know about these particular kumhos, but do have V12 at my car. They are pretty sticky, but I can somehow complain at steering feel loss. Imho, their sidewall is too soft.

On another hand I switched to non rft at my other car, and pretty satisfied. No steering feel loss, comparable performance, much less torque steer at Mini Cooper S. I had to buy kumho ecsta 4x for that one , because of limited tire selection for that car. But it turned to be pretty good tire.

[hawaiianeze]

I'd choose V12s they're an amazing tire for the price, although for your driving conditions I'd highly suggest continental DW, sounds like exactly what your looking for

[VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by accel

I do not know about these particular kumhos, but do have V12 at my car. They are pretty sticky, but I can somehow complain at steering feel loss. Imho, their sidewall is too soft.

On another hand I switched to non rft at my other car, and pretty satisfied. No steering feel loss, comparable performance, much less torque steer at Mini Cooper S. I had to buy kumho ecsta 4x for that one , because of limited tire selection for that car. But it turned to be pretty good tire.

They are known for having soft sidewalls, and I agree with you there. It's not terrible though.

[Rollo`]

If you are running 18 inch staggered wheels you should get the Goodyear F1 Assymetric 2 from Tire rack...they are currently on sale and the 3rd least expensive set in our size and they have an 80 dollar rebate as well.

I just purchased them this week.

[flip4335]

Originally Posted by dwells

Hey everyone, considering new tires for my car and interested in trying out one of the less expensive high performance tires for my summer set. We get a bit of rain here in Mass, so wet handling is a factor as well. Right now I'm stuck between the Kumho Exsta LE Sport and the Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110. I hear a ton of of good stuff about the Hankooks, but not a lot about the Kumhos.

Opinions?

I had both over the years, although the Kumhos I had on my previous Mercedes C230 Kompressor were all-season tires. Mind you, the C230 was no 335i, but I had good fun on those shoes. Just a note, after a certain tread depth, the grip tends to deteriorate... fast. Also, they start singing... loudly... on smooth pavement.

On the other hand, I wore out two sets of Hankooks due to the review below:

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...12-evo-page-10

As far as grip, the above link describes the grip as sneaky grippy. Coming from RFTs with the stiff sidewall, yet unforgiving ride, I felt sooooo much better in the 'kooks, but missed the stiffness of the RFT sidewalls. On my door was the solution, since I occasionally cross triple digits. I increased the tire pressure to 35psi Front and 41psi Rear and, voila, riding on rails, especially with my Quaife ATB differential! This was well below the recommended 39psi Front/45psi Rear, but I allowed 3-4psi for heat/temperature expansion.

Since then, I have come to appreciate the ContiExtremeContact DWS all-season for its wet grip and long lasting rubber. My wife has it on her M-B E350 4Matic, and my son has them on his Porsche Cayman S, his previous E46 M3, E90 M3, and E90 335i, so I guess he swears by them!

If you already have a winter set, go with what you like/need, otherwise, I would consider the Hankooks first, followed by Kumho, as far as performance/budget ratio goes. But if you really want excellent grip IMO over a long period of time at a competitively reasonable price, try the Conti DW/DWS brand.

With that said, the Eagle Asymmetrics are on closeout sale and considered to have massive wet grip. You can't beat them for the price, currently $476 after mail-in rebate.

Previous summer setup: Hankooks looked pretty aggressive and handled really well for the price:





Winter setup: Style 269M reps with Conti DWS... performance snows because we don't get that much! Dedicated Winter Contis, just in case.



Current setup: I HAD to try the Michelin Super Sports just once to see what all the hubub was about, so I got them on sale with a $70 rebate. Just awesome!