Falkens vs. Kumhos - CEG Archives

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OK, about to buy new tires for my new 17" rims. I've narrowed it down to either Kumho ECSTA Supra 712s or Falken FK451s. At the place I'm getting the tires from, the Falken's are roughly $70 more expensive. Anyone here think that I should go with the falken's or the kumho's taking into account the difference in price? Thanks in advance.

Bryan

ContiExtreme Contacts.... oops what was the question?

Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
ContiExtreme Contacts.... oops what was the question?

Originally posted by RogerB:

Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
ContiExtreme Contacts.... oops what was the question?

that's how the postcounts add up!

Originally posted by deftoned989:
OK, about to buy new tires for my new 17" rims. I've narrowed it down to either Kumho ECSTA Supra 712s or Falken FK451s. At the place I'm getting the tires from, the Falken's are roughly $70 more expensive. Anyone here think that I should go with the falken's or the kumho's taking into account the difference in price? Thanks in advance.

Bryan

Back on topic...

No experience with the Falkens, have the Kuhmos on my car now. For the price they're not bad but don't confuse them with high performance rubber either. Better than all seasons but not in the big leagues. I won't be getting another set for my car. Decent straight line grip but turn in isn't very sharp and cornering limits aren't very high. Got about 35k miles out of them and they're almost on the wear bars. Have you considered the Yokohama line? Don't even know if they make an AVS Intermediate for our car anymore but it's cheap and better than the Kuhmo, and will wear about the same. I did find performance dropped off pretty badly with them as they aged and wore though. They were top of the line tire technology in the mid-to-late 80's but tires have come a long way since then.

Scott

i'd take the 451's. if my t1s's dont last long or i cant find them for a reasonable price (i know that they are pricey), the 451s will be what i'll get.

Originally posted by Pigeon:

Originally posted by deftoned989:
OK, about to buy new tires for my new 17" rims. I've narrowed it down to either Kumho ECSTA Supra 712s or Falken FK451s. At the place I'm getting the tires from, the Falken's are roughly $70 more expensive. Anyone here think that I should go with the falken's or the kumho's taking into account the difference in price? Thanks in advance.

Bryan

Back on topic...

No experience with the Falkens, have the Kuhmos on my car now. For the price they're not bad but don't confuse them with high performance rubber either. Better than all seasons but not in the big leagues. I won't be getting another set for my car. Decent straight line grip but turn in isn't very sharp and cornering limits aren't very high. Got about 35k miles out of them and they're almost on the wear bars. Have you considered the Yokohama line? Don't even know if they make an AVS Intermediate for our car anymore but it's cheap and better than the Kuhmo, and will wear about the same. I did find performance dropped off pretty badly with them as they aged and wore though. They were top of the line tire technology in the mid-to-late 80's but tires have come a long way since then.

Scott

Yok's replacement for the AVS Intermediate is the AVS ES100. Check them out. Good price, better reviews than the Kumhos.

I've never heard of those Falkens, but that doesn't mean much.

Originally posted by Pigeon:

No experience with the Falkens, have the Kuhmos on my car now. For the price they're not bad but don't confuse them with high performance rubber either. Better than all seasons but not in the big leagues. I won't be getting another set for my car.

Ditto, decent for the money but not great. The best tire in the ~$85-~$100 price range IMHO.

Originally posted by Pigeon:
Decent straight line grip but turn in isn't very sharp and cornering limits aren't very high. <snip>
Scott

I chuckle when people say the 712's aren't the best handler. SVTCole, in a bone stock E0, kicked everyone's butt (including the FI guys) at the SZ '02 auto-x with Ecsta 712's.

Originally posted by bigMoneyRacing:

I chuckle when people say the 712's aren't the best handler. SVTCole, in a bone stock E0, kicked everyone's butt (including the FI guys) at the SZ '02 auto-x with Ecsta 712's.

Well, yeah, but the sun was in my eyes, and...

I dont know much about other tires but personally i think the Kumho Ecsta Supras arent anything to brag about at all. I got them on my 98 CSVT and handling isnt all that hot. They are horrible in the rain. Dont know if its just me but my car is totally stock right now and in the rain with these tires, they spin all the way through second and into third. Not to mention that my friend has them on his Prelude Si with 17"s and took a turn only going 15 mph and slid and crashed into a pole. Caused $1,500 in damage.

hey csvt1214 welcome. check out the new england forum. your from bristol? wtby here. i frequent rt6 every now and then. how long have u had your ride?

Originally posted by deftoned989:
OK, about to buy new tires for my new 17" rims. I've narrowed it down to either Kumho ECSTA Supra 712s or Falken FK451s. At the place I'm getting the tires from, the Falken's are roughly $70 more expensive. Anyone here think that I should go with the falken's or the kumho's taking into account the difference in price? Thanks in advance.

Bryan

I know nothing about the Falkens and if you don't know anyone who has used them, I would stay away from them. The Kumhos are the best bang for your buck tires. Yes the Yoko AVS 100s are better but they are at least 30% more experience than the Kumhos. Tirerack did a comparison review of the Kumhos and Yokos and the Yokos did win but not by 30%. I have owned both Yokos and Kumhos and neither tire impressed me on the how long they lasted.

Well, I ended up going with a set of 215/45/17 Continental extremecontact tires that a few people suggested. When I get back home for thanksgiving I'll post my thoughts. Thanks for all the input tho.

i dont know the other tires but i would highly suggest the bridgestone so3's..
very very good for the $$..

Originally posted by izzodesh:
i dont know the other tires but i would highly suggest the bridgestone so3's..
very very good for the $$..

Or for that matter the bridgestone s-02's, they're 50% off at most firestones, making them about 125 per tire in a 17"

Originally posted by CSVT1214:
Not to mention that my friend has them on his Prelude Si with 17"s and took a turn only going 15 mph and slid and crashed into a pole. Caused $1,500 in damage.

That sounds like a bad driver, not bad tires

Originally posted by deftoned989:
Well, I ended up going with a set of 215/45/17 Continental extremecontact tires that a few people suggested. When I get back home for thanksgiving I'll post my thoughts. Thanks for all the input tho.

I think you'll be satisfied with them. My dad just put a set on his SHO and is very pleased.

Originally posted by CSVT1214:
I dont know much about other tires but personally i think the Kumho Ecsta Supras arent anything to brag about at all. I got them on my 98 CSVT and handling isnt all that hot. They are horrible in the rain. Dont know if its just me but my car is totally stock right now and in the rain with these tires, they spin all the way through second and into third. Not to mention that my friend has them on his Prelude Si with 17"s and took a turn only going 15 mph and slid and crashed into a pole. Caused $1,500 in damage.

a similar thing happened to me. while going the speed limit one drizzly night, i changed lanes, and the car started fish-tailing. at the time, i had Kumho Ecsta Supra 712s in 225/45/16. the tires are unimpressive. even when it's dry, they take awhile to warm-up enough to put down traction. perhaps they are priced below their competition for a reason.

Originally posted by deftoned989:
Well, I ended up going with a set of 215/45/17 Continental extremecontact tires that a few people suggested. When I get back home for thanksgiving I'll post my thoughts. Thanks for all the input tho.

Hey Roger and ibub,,, how you likin my post I made earlier?

I'm loving mine so far, no, they're not gonna give you the handling of true performance tire, but they're a lot cheaper, last a lot longer, will be a lot better in rain, have a good warranty, and are good performance wise as far as all-seasons go. I had vibrations while braking and for some reason, when I got these tires, it went away. The ride is real good, and I'm still breaking them in and want to get a RSTB before I really push them. They feel a lot different than the nittos I had, so I gotta get used to them before knowing how far I can push them. Also toying with air pressure. Running 39 in front and 37.5 in back, seems to be good.

Anybody got something to say about how they are when pushed to their limits? Will they let you know before they lose all their grip? I mean like will you hear them squealing before you crash or are you just gonna crash?

I've gotten mine squealing coming off a cloverleaf several time. Even though they were squealing, it felt like I could push it more (still plenty of grip) but I'm too chicken to try.

So I guess I'll have to wait and see how they handle an autox next year.

Cool, can't wait till I get these broken in.

Originally posted by Kremithefrog:

Originally posted by deftoned989:
Well, I ended up going with a set of 215/45/17 Continental extremecontact tires that a few people suggested. When I get back home for thanksgiving I'll post my thoughts. Thanks for all the input tho.

Hey Roger and ibub,,, how you likin my post I made earlier?
I'm loving mine so far, no, they're not gonna give you the handling of true performance tire, but they're a lot cheaper, last a lot longer, will be a lot better in rain, have a good warranty, and are good performance wise as far as all-seasons go. I had vibrations while braking and for some reason, when I got these tires, it went away. The ride is real good, and I'm still breaking them in and want to get a RSTB before I really push them. They feel a lot different than the nittos I had, so I gotta get used to them before knowing how far I can push them. Also toying with air pressure. Running 39 in front and 37.5 in back, seems to be good.

Anybody got something to say about how they are when pushed to their limits? Will they let you know before they lose all their grip? I mean like will you hear them squealing before you crash or are you just gonna crash?