Kumho Ecstas for S1

[Tom]

I need some new tyres and am very tempted by the Hankook Rs ( @ £248 a set delivered from Camskill). I'm trying to compare them in price to the Ecstas and have hit a few problems...

Firstly, there appear to be about three different types available in S1 sizes. The V70s and a couple of others (KH11 and Sport KU31). Has anyone used either of the other sorts, or are people just referring to the Ecsta V70s when they talk about Kumhos...??

Secondly, if the V70s were the ones I ended up with, Camskill sell Soft, Med and Hard. Which of these are the ones to get?

I know I know this must be the umpteenth tyre thread but an hour of trawling and I couldn't find any reference to anything other than V70s, and then no mention of compound....

TIA

[woody]

Have a search on seloc - ther have been quite a few threads about the kumho's on there over the last few months talking of them as a good budget choice IIRC.

[Tom]

Have a search on seloc - ther have been quite a few threads about the kumho's on there over the last few months talking of them as a good budget choice IIRC.

Cheers.....

(can't remember Seloc login info faction....)

[Tom]

Sweet, appears of the other two the KU31 has been used before. This means it's between the KU31s @ £172 a set, and the Hankook RS2 Z212s @ £248 a set....

[Bob vanM]

the 31's are a road tyre (same leage as T1R apparently) I have just bought them but not driven yet so cannot say anything about therm.

the V70A are semi slick (compare with Yoko A48 or Toyo888) not tried these but seen on the Ring on 'chouka' S2 Elise, and they were good (he used 1 size wider than normal ; think 205 / 245 )
not sure about the compound you should choose.

[Tom]

I've just fitted a set of these Kumho Ecsta Sport KU31s to my Elise ( @ £181 a set delivered from Camskill ). Ed's also fitted a set to his Sport 160.

I've done about 120 miles so far, including a decent blast home yesterday, and first impressions are very good. None of the 'wooliness' I experienced with the T1Rs, which were horrendous for the first 1000+ miles. As for pressures I've started with 24F and 26R. Will give them a little while longer just to see but current feelings are a little more air is needed in the fronts. Was using 25.5F and 26.5R with the T1Rs so will maybe try these pressures next (measured using Draper Digi checker thing). They also seem to produce less road noise.

Will keep this updated from time to time, and maybe Ed'll post up his thoughts.....

Either way, for anyone who's unsure, I'd very definately recommend them over the T1Rs, although I've yet to see how they'll cope on track....

[fd]

V70 soft - sprinters budget choice . . .

Fd

[Tom]

Done about 1000miles and still really liking them. I upped the pressures to 26F and 27R and the slightly iffy front end has gone away. They seem to have the same problem as T1Rs in that the sidewalls are too soft. Solved that with slightly higher pressures both with the Toyos and the Kumhos. Seem to cope really well with standing water also, what with the NB - Edin road being a bag of balls and the amount of rain we've had over the last month or so....

Overall: Similar to T1Rs, but with less road noise. Also, the Kumhos don't tend to snatch at standing water liked the Toyos did (as far as I can tell - will need to go and find some big puddles.... ). Big plus though is they're great from the start whereas T1Rs aren't.

Result =

[ed]

Missed this post first time around. NOt done as many miles as Tom but from what i can gather very little tread roll unlike the t1Rs. Great in the very wet, not had much chance to push them in the dry.... Ive read they melt on track but i wont be doing alot of track work this year.
Cheep like the budgie, love them!!!!

[Mikie711]

V70 soft - sprinters budget choice . . .

Fd

Not really a budget option as they are the same price as 048's.