Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires Kumho Ecsta ASX review

I got them put on this afternoon. 225/45/17 Kumho Ecsta ASX 420-AA-A from Tire Rack for $90/ea + shipping and road hazard; total ~ $445. They were installed at 69,067 miles on the odometer. In my garage, the odo says 69,087 so after 20 miles on these tires, here is my review.

Aesthetics: They are 20mm (~1") wider than the 205's I took off. They stand a little less than 1" taller, and they fill in the wheel wells like nobody's business. No more 4x4 comments from now on! They are black, and after some Zaino tire treatment, they gleam like the sun. The words "Kumho" and "Ecsta ASX" are raised and completely flat, so they hold a very nice shine, as does the smaller "All Season". The two names are on opposite sides of the tire, with a thin ribbed stripe in between. The tread is an interesting pattern to say the very least. It is divided into three parts (inside, middle, and outside) by two very wide, and very deep grooves. I assume the two grooves are for water channeling. Each of the three tread parts are different and unique.




Comfort: I didn't get to go too fast on the way home, but I did run over 80 a couple times. The tires are quiet and smooth at all speeds so far. The fatter sidewall soaks up cracks in the highway like they are smoothed over asphalt. On rough patches of road, the tires are still loud, but not intrusive at all. As rough as some of our roads are around here, they are quite quiet. On smooth asphalt, they are silent; regardless of speed.

Performance: (DRY) I haven't had a chance to put them through their paces just yet. I am going to head up the mountain to my lady friend's house after dinner, and they will get a full work out on the way. I expect them to out handle my old Ecsta 711's, but I honestly doubt they'll stick like slicks. There are plenty of tight, winding roads in Chattanooga, and these tires will see every last one of them. I am by no means an expert in tire tech and handling, but I do have certain expectations. So far, the tires have performed quite well under the circumstances. Hopefully they will continue to impress me when we are alone on a twisty mountain road tonight.
(WET) It hasn't rained in several days, thank God. My car is too clean for that. There are no puddles to aim for, so hydroplane possiblity is unknown at this time.

Value: As I stated above in the first paragraph, the tires have a tread wear rating of 420. Tire Rack has these tires for $90, and for that price, the nearest competitor is the Continental's for $113, IIRC. For the money, there is no other tire with this tread wear. Kumho lists the tire as thier Ultra High Performance All Season tire. They also list the tire as the all season equivilent of the Kumho Ecsta Supra 712, which (IIRC) is priced $86 each for the same size.

Conclusion: I doubt anyone will read all of that, but at least read this part. These tires are great, and when you consider the price, they are unbeatable. I was very impressed with my older Ecsta 711's and the new ASX is a considerable step above. Go to Tire Rack and get them.

And I guess that no one cares.


Anyway, I'm up to 69,120 miles, so here's my 51 mile performance oriented review revision.

Performance: 1am. No cars, no traffic, no kids playing, no blue lights, no smokey bears. The tires handled very well; better than my old Ecsta's would have. The road I took is one that I have driven quite hard recently, but it's too long to be able to memorize particular sections yet. I wasn't able to go wide open through most parts, as I couldn't remember what was around the bend. I tended to go harder around right hand turns, so I'd have the other lane as a run off, just in case. Remember, this is 1am and any cars on the road, I'd be able to see thier lights from quite a distance through the trees. I was no where near the limits of the tires on the top of the mountain. Coming down in a whole 'nuther story! I came down on a road that is nothing but hairpins. There are a few linked sections, I was able to top at ~75mph, but the average speed would be ~25-30. In the hairpins, I was able to find the limits of the tires, and get some nice sound, too. Right hand hairpin turn, I would break about the same as usual, but I would inch into the turn at first and then cut the wheel sharply to swing the car. The tires handled predictably the few times I did this. They have a very nice sound when they let go, too. I only did this a few times, all of which led me to a very high traction level. It took a lot to make them let go. I really had to try to break them loose. It took a lot of effort to overload the outside tires so they'd let go. Depending on my speed and the angle/pitch of the road, sometimes it was the front tires, sometimes the back; so yes I got the 'Tour to drift.

The final test is my favorite on ramp by the mall, which I hope to do a couple times tomorrow. Coming from the main drag through town onto the bisecting freeway. There's a nice bend off the main road, then a decent straight (about 100m) before another kink at the top of a hill. When you crest that hill (~70mph), you can look back under the bridge to check for traffic. Eyes ahead, after the crest of the hill, there's another quick straight (top about 80-85mph) into the last turn. That turn has a third kink in it. The thing about this last kink is right after it, the pavement changes from rough concrete to smooth fresh asphalt. The pavement changes after the kink, so when you pull the wheel slightly to adjust for the kink, the overload happens right as the pavement changes and the back wheels come right out. I have left a couple distint marks on that patch of road. I rarely have need to use that ramp, but somehow I use it all the time.

Thanks for the review man. 'Tis a good read.

Where do you live that you need all-seasons?

I use Kumho 712's here in Miami w/ no probs, even in the wet they're great.

I live in the mountains of Tennessee. Right now I'm in Chattanooga, but I'll move to Cookeville in June. Hot humid summers, some snow in the winter, and it rains a lot. I know it's not as hot as Miami, nor as cold as Chicago, but we get a real good mix all year 'round.

Well I've had these tires for 13 months and have put 35K miles on 'em. They are pretty much worn completely out.

Let's see, in the past year:
My girlfriend (now wife) lived kinda far away at the top of a twisty mountain road; these tires took a lot of abuse going to see her.
I took a new job in GA that was a lot of freeway driving; tires are nice and smooth.
And let's not forget the countless runs at Deal's Gap.

I still can't believe I put over 35,000 miles on in 13 months. That's triple the milage I got from my old Kumho Ecsta 711's. I'll probably order these again, very soon.

I just got some Kumho ASTs in the 205/50-16 from the tirerack. Boy are they cheap @$56 each. I just drive the car mostly, though it will take a corner fairly good with this size tire compared to the winter stock size tires. I had firestones on the wheels and they were about gone....they were very responsive. These are a little mushey but part of that is full tread compared to the old ones, they are not as bad as the stock size tires of course.

These have a tread wear of 400, but at the price I don't expect them to last too long. I might try them this winter when they are new. As most of you know, I think they forgot road noise insulation in early contours and you can hear everything. These do make some low pitched thrum from say 35 to 55, but not real loud. What they will do is ride on the center tread, then when you turn a little the side parts hit and make a different noise. I only have a few hundred miles on them so maybe they will wear in some. Nothing objectional mind you. They also do that center thing on corners; they feel like a narrow tire then the sides hit and progressivley they get more bite.

I ran in some good water standing on the road, aimed right at puddles doing 60mph and didn't even notice the water was there on a divided highway. Ride is good until you hit a pothole or RR tracks/etc, they 'wap' on sharp bumps. Typical of this profile though, and some of the roads here are brutal.

They look real cool, I've had nice comments on them. They are supposed to be a high performance all season. I wanted that, and its hard to find in this size, because of spring and fall here when you have rain and lower temps. Also I don't need mega performance, and I wanted something that would last more than a year.

('95 GL ATX 2.0)

Those ASX's are the all season's right? I have ehm
I miss my summer Continentals though, I'm burning through these These tires really yelp at me when I corner, my old tires were silent. For the price I love them. They hold up pretty well and provide good traction in all situations.