Saw today on Tire Rack... the new Kumho Ecsta SPT in the stock 235/45-18 for $118.

Finally - a decently priced (and performing) alternative in the stock size for 05 sedans with sport wheels. My Turanza ER33s are about gone... thank goodness. Hopefully, more manufacturers will follow for this size.

 

Wow that is 1/3 the cost the Turanzas from the dealer.

 

Except I wouldn't put those tires on my car.
Couple of reasons:

1. Kumho's higher rated MX's were ranked last in Car and Driver's and Tirerack's
test of 11 Max Performance tires. So you know the lower rated SPT's are probably even worse.
2. They're 28 pounds each. Yikes what pigs. That's heavier than the
stock Turanza's which are heavy enough at 27 pounds each.
More weight = more rotational mass = worse performance and gas mileage.
3. Made in Korea - enough said there.

If you want to stick to the stock size, go for the Continental ContiSport2's
for a couple reasons:

1. There're only $181 each. What's an extra $240 overall when it could make the difference of you having an accident or not...or saving your life or not.
2. There one of the top rated tires on the market
3. There only 24 pounds each. Less weight = less rotational mass = more performance, better braking and steering response, less strain on engine = better gas mileage.
4. Made in Germany - need I say more

Only drawback to the Conti's is low treadwear. They wear a bit fast.
But again, tires are the ONE thing keeping you to the road.
I just don't understand why people go CHEAP when it comes to tires.
It would be like forgoing ABS brakes and airbags on your car just
to save a couple hundred bucks. That's insanely retarded.
Get the best you can afford when it comes to tires.
And the Conti's are the best for the price in the 235/45/18 size.

 

Yeah.....what he said! FYI, I put a set of ContiSportContact 2's on my Sedan last month and am very pleased. No report yet on treadwear but I never expect Max performance tires to last more than 12K miles or so. -T

 

According to my local Discount/America's Tire Store
Manager, he says most cars average about 25-28K miles
on the ContiSport2's
Less if you drive like Mario or your commute involves
twisty canyon roads, more if you drive Miss Daisy or your
commute is mostly highway miles.

 

Errr....and what exactly is wrong with "Made in Korea"?

Just because German cars are considered more refined than Korean cars does not mean that the same should be held for everything else. Please don't generalize.

 

It wasn't a generalization.
What exactly is made and/or invented by the Koreans that is at the top of
it's class in anything or vastly superior to something made/invented by the Germans. Especially when it comes to anything automotive.
I'd be interested in your response proving me wrong.
Facts are facts...not generalizations.

Oh and German cars aren't "considered" more refined...they ARE.
Again, facts are facts. No need to try to be all PC about it.

 

I had Supra 712's on my previous vehicle and experienced no problems...

I wouldn't buy a Korean car over a German car either but I'll admit they can screw a car together much better than the Germans.

I've got a better one: Firestones. Now that was a set of hard, crappy rubber. Made in America -- need I say more? LOL

 

From the Car and Driver Test:
On dry surfaces, the Conti never rose above third from last among 11 tires. It felt soft and imprecise, two qualities not in the vocabularies of performance tires. Geswein grouped it with the other "dull and disconnected" tires.

Not exactly stirling comments on the Continental either. I agree more manufacturers should carry our size.

 

You're right, facts are facts. So, I guess it would concern you that the #2 electronics company in the world is South Korean. That's right, Samsung is the world's second largest electronics manufacturer. And LG, also another South Korean company, is pretty high up there too. Yes, I understand Germany has an important electronics company of their own in Siemens. But their brand recognition is no where near that of Samsung's, or even LG's. And with a name like Siemens, it's no wonder they can't catch up.

"What exactly is made and/or invented by the Koreans that is at the top of
it's class in anything or vastly superior to something made/invented by the Germans."

And once again, this is a generalization. Before saying something is a fact, please do your research. You might not sound so partial or one-sided then.

Thank you.

 

You are obviously not very educated about the Korean industry. Samsung and LG make much better phones than Siemens. In fact Siemens money losing mobile phone division was sold to BenQ a couple of months ago. Samsung is kicking Infineon's *** in the semiconductor industry. Samsung and LG/Philips are top when it comes to LCD technology. German engineering is great, but the Koreans are making pretty good stuff nowadays.

 

Maybe true, but every CDMA phone is made by Qualcomm. Just the brand is different. Nokia is the only one that has there own chipset.

 

Just to get the discussion back on topic, both my wife and myself have kumho all-seasons on our cars. While my tires are so new I can't comment on handling performance, Cheryl's car is totally different from her stock turanzas.

Also, I was just talking to a guy last week that regularly tracked his 350z, and he had kumho mx's. Despire what C&D had to say, this guy swore by the tires as the best track tires he had ever put on his z.

 

I would be more inclined to draw my own conclusion from the reviews of people who drive the tires daily than a biased mag such as C&D. I believe most magazines will lean towards whatever product is "donating" the most...except for perhaps consumer guide.

 

The Koreans are great for producing adequate duplications of existing products, but that's the extent of it. The thing that most people hate about generalizations is that there's usually a lot of truth in them . UBCool, jbx