I just ordered a set of 18" Volk TE-37s , and I'm looking for aftermarket tires now. The Kumho Ecsta MXs seem to be great tires at an affordable price. But how would these tires compare to stock Advans? Anyone has ever tried those?

 

Not even in the same leauge. The Advans are light years ahead of anything Kuhmo can make. Everyone knows here that I don't like "cheap" tires.

I have to say this: Why would you spend over 2grand on wheels then look to skimp on the tires? Spend the extra money on Yokohma ES-100 or Toyo T1S. I have said this and will stand by this, the tires are more important than the wheels. I do this for a living. You go out and buy really great wheels, then decide you can't afford to spend an extra 50-100 for per tire to get great tires. You have an EVO! Come on.

No offense is meant here, just complete bewilderment.

 

Well, I was told the MXs have more grip than most tires on the market including the Yokohama AVS Sports, Michelin Pilot sports, and the Potenza S-03. The only tires that have more dry grip are the BF Goodrich T/A KD.
I just want to know from those who have tried these tires.

 

I've never used MX before, but looking at tirerack's review about it, they do look like a good set of tires.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...tireMake=Kumho

 

There is more to tires than grip. How about tread life? Rain traction? The AVS sport is a little old. Look at the Toyo T1S or the Yokohama ES-100. The T1s is on the high side of the price range, but it is an exceptional tire. The ES -100 is also a UHP tire, that is a reasonable priced tire. It is a great all around tire.

If you are going to use it for track use, I'd go with a second set of wheels, like stock Enkei's with Toyo RA1 race tires. These tires are D.O.T. approved but have a treadwear of 40 which means it is a full race tire that can be used on the street. Obviously you can't use it in the winter or neither will you get lots of milage, but it STICKS and LASTS. I sell all these tires in my business.

One last thing, you can't buy Toyo's at the discount tire companies because Toyo protects its independent dealers unlike most tire compaines. And Tirerack wants to sell it's product line so it chooses tires it sells. They are one of the largest Kuhmo dealers and they get a lot of money from Kuhmo for advertising.

Of course I an biased to my brands, so I admit that. But I am race tire dealer and would like to think I know my tires.

 

The Toyo TS1's have a tread wear of 280

The Kuhmo MX's have a tread wear of 220

The stock Advans have a tread wear of 160

My conclusion to all this is the Kuhmo is a great real world compromise to the stock tire....and it's available in 18"...Toyo's will be too hard for the Evo!!!...my 0.02c

 

Wow, excellent point! Comparing wear ratings from different companies is so telling.

Here's something to read:

http://tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/general/utqg.htm

 

IMO Kumho's are a good tire for the money. I'm sure the MX's are a decent tire with a higher treadwear # if you're looking for longer life out of your tire. The Victoracer is used with great success by several top autoxer's in my region. There are plenty of tires more expensive than Kumho's that aren't as good.

 

I'm going to try the Advan 032R s-compound. Treadwear 60. Too bad our 046 doesn come in S-compound

 

I have them..and for 128 bucks for 245/40/18s.. I love em. They are slightly louder..stick almost as good and look clean on the rims.
The yokos really hook up well so with the MXs I could just barely feel a little bit of difference..but not much at all. I'm quite surprised with the Kumhos.. I was going to purchase a set of AVS Sports but read the tirerack review and the Kumho price turned me on. I'm not into driving the car at 10/10th's all the time..maybe 9/10ths and these tires work very well. The increased sidewall height does take some of the stiffness away..very, very slight..but you can tell the tires absorb more shock.. I think a set of 245/40 Advans would feel the same way or very close. Hard core drivers might want a 245/35..but I plan to raise the spring rates and lower the car..so these worked out fine.

 

I have a set of Kumho Escta Supra's on my OZ and they are amazing, but your evo is awd with more than double the horse so.....

 

Escta's and MXs are totally dif compounds..

 

Thanks,
I'm going with the same setup you have except the rims.

BTW, do you have a picture of the whole car? I want to know how those 18's look on your car.

 

I was also planning on the Ecsta MX tires. The price performance ratio sounds very good in my opinion. These will replace the stock Advans when they wear out soon. I need to drive my car about 2k miles a month, and can't afford expensive rubber 3-4 times a year. But when I eventually buy new rims for AutoX I'll mount some good rubber on those, that's for sure.

gtr: Any reason for the S compound over the H compound? Tirerack's review seems to indicate H compound may be a little better for AutoX and mild track use. I think that Maxi and/or Claudius also have given favorable reviews to the H compound.

 

Well, S is soft and H is for hard. I'm planning to use the S for auto X. H is suppose to be designed for road track which Claudius and Maxi does. I don't think Claudius autoX

Too bad we can't get S compont advan 048 which are suppose to be excellent tires with better rubber technology