As some of you know I acquired a set of used Kumho 712s when I bought a set of OEM wheels. I have now driven the car with these tires and what follows is my review. As many of us get to a point where we need to replace tires, I thought this might be helpful information to share.

My Kumho 712s are essentially the stock size, 205/55-16 and 245/45-16, they are mounted on stock wheels, they are used so they do not have poor quality brand new characteristics. I have been driving the S for a while already this year on the S-02s and the alignment has not changed, so I believe this is a very back to back comparison.

My first impression, and I quote, was "these tires suck!" * **

In further analysis I concluded they do have nice turn in, they are consistent when they exceed the coefficient of friction and start to slide and are rather predictable when sliding. I imagine if you do not drive the car very hard these tires would be a great option, but for me they just do not have the grip I am used to. In conclusion I would say, once again the age ole adage is true - you get what you pay for.

My Spa is now a handful to drive. VTEC at the wrong time and the backend gets loose. Traveling through a long corner it is not at all uncommon for the turning radius to start tightening up as the backend starts to drift out, under hard braking the ABS is more prone to engaging because the fronts can't get the grip I am used to. Although it is fun to drive because the limits of adhesion have been lowered, I don't imagine these tires will last very long because it is so easy to scrub and slide them.

Conclusion, for me, as soon as these wear out I'm going back to the S-02s, unless Kumho comes out with the 245/45-16 in their new MX, which is a better performing tire.

* see new reply dated 5/5, my opinion has changed slightly

** see new reply dated 10/9, my FINAL opinion has been registered

 

MX baby. hey were great in the rain at shannonville!!!

 

you review seems to be very consistent with what we are experiencing down here in LA. (not L.A.) The 712s work great for daily driving, but are proverbial "red headed step children" when compared to s02s on the track/autocross.

We found that the heat cycles tended to harden the 712s quickly during the day, but relatively quick times were possible with a change in driving style/mentality.

I would be interested in a comparision with the Yokos AVS 100s, but they are back ordered into the next decade....

 

I raised this issue a while ago in another forum, saying that they were popular with "ricers". That brought out several folks from the woodwork, insisting that I was calling them ricers. I tried to explain that I was talking about performance characteristics and that the typical ricer wasn't as concerned with performance but, rather, looks and cheap price. I didn't get far.

I've never owned them, never will and won't buy pretty much anything in that price range due to lack of overall performance. I look at Tire Rack's surveys and tests to get basic information first. Right now, it looks like the Yoko ES100 (?) might be useful but only if price is your first criteria. I like the Potenza RE730s I'm running now but even they are a step down from the S02s. Prices have dropped on the S02s, making them easier to buy compared to lesser tires.

End result - if I were to be tempted to buy 712s, I'd buy snow tires so I could drive year 'round...

 

Jeff - I hear ya!!!

The only reason I have them, is well, they came on the used wheels. In fact I was happy to get them used because I had heard good things about them and was seriously thinking about getting them, but I too had checked them out with other owners in the BMW Club and had read through all the info on the Tire Rack web site, and I was getting mixed signals. BMW guys said bad, S2000 guys saying okay. Conclusion - BMW guys were right.

I bet ya they don't last on my car till fall.....

 

id give the 712s my , for the price they are unbeatable.. I had to settle for those when I was on vacation.. i called about 70 places across the state of VA looking for S02s with no luck.. and I couldnt drive back to NY with a donut.. so 712s it was..

 

Well I'm glad I opted for the Goodyear EAGLE F1 GS D3's after reading your report Doug. I did the same and read as many reviews by endusers as I could find with the tires on similar cars, and similar driving styles......fast and aggressive.

 

It won't surprise Triple H that I am on my second set of Kumho 712's and consider them a good trade-off for the price. Yeah, they don't have the grip of the S-o2's but I don't track my daily driver. I think the ECSTA's have taught me how to handle sliding better

50% of the price for 80% of the performance is OK to me What did Airgate have to say about them... I thought he was a big Kumho fan??? Btw, one of the guys on our Longwood drive this past Sunday had the Kumho MX's and liked them alot... but he had them on 17" wheels, I think

 

Well, I'm not a representative of Kumho by any stretch, but I do like the tires quite a bit and they wrok very, very well for me. What I like more than anything is their predictability.

I have 46k miles on my '02 Sebring Silver, so I go thru some tires. I've had the S-02's, Michelin Pilot's and S-03's. Out of that batch, I only liked the S-02's. What convinced me to try the Kumho's was after a nice drive with Rick Hesel where I was behind w1ngman (Dave) and every turn, corner and curve he took, the car was handling well. No tire screaching and no drifting. Precise handling.

Thinking that Dave may drive differently than myself, I asked if I could drive his car and he agreed. I gave it all that I could, how I normally drive and di not have any problems. I knew, at that moment, that a set of Kumho's was for me.

Since then, I've gone thru about 3 sets of Kumho's. I've driven on them as fast as 130mph. I had them for 3 events on the Dragon (where else could a set of tires be tested so well on 11 miles with 318 curves). I autoX'd with the Kumho's twice and once of them placed me 1st in my class with the local chapter SCCA.

Are Kumho Ecsta Supra 712's like Bridgestone Potenza S-02's? No.

Don't kid yourself, they are indeed different tires, but as Jerry stated, 50% of the price for 80+% of the performance is not something I'd call a trade-off.

 

Actually, I agree with most of the stuff here.....

The 50% price & 80% performance is probably just about right. And there is no question they teach you how to handle slides, because they do it more frequently.

For me however, I just can't make the compromise. Going from the 712s on the street to the R-compounds on the track is too much of a difference. I want my summer daily driver to be more like the way it feels when I go to the track or to an autocross. The 712 is not as sticky as the S-02 and it never will be. You can call me greedy; I'm okay with that. The 712 does offer a lot of good qualities as I mentioned originally. Everybody has to go with what is good for him or her. The people who know me, know that I am going to expect the best performance, and it is only fair to tell them how they stack up in my mind so they can make the right purchasing decision for their needs.

The Kumho MXs are the tire to watch in my mind. Kumho themselves rate the MX as a superior tire in performance to the 712, however 245/46-16 is not a size they have made yet, so for the OEM wheel, the MXs are still not a great option.

Now as far as the OEM wheels, thank you Raul, thank you, thank you, thank you!