Need new tires for my 2001 M6. My Goodyear F1 GS-D3s are gone after less than 20k miles. Looking for something cheaper and leaning towards the Kumho MX. What kind of mileage can I expect? I run 2-4 autocrosses a year - are they any good at autocross?

 

You might want to read the description of the MXs at the bottom of this list.....

From Car & Driver magazine:
Although they used a 325 BMW as a test mule, you are very likely to experience similar results with your C5. To minimize variables such as driving techniques, track surface temps, etc, C&D enlisted the help of the Tire Rack and their test mule vehicle. Although the track used was small, it's lined with sprinklers that can soak the asphalt. "It took three days to perform all the tests. We accerated to 50 mph and then braked to a standstill. There was a benefit to that lower speed: It ensured that we were measuring the braking performance of the tires and not just brake fade."

"In addition to factoring the wet and dry scores, we gave points based on a tires's price and tread-wear grade, which is a rough estimate of how long a tire will have usable tread." "Our test focused on measuring performance, so we decided that results in the dry-lateral grip, for example - would carry the most weight."

So, without further adieu, here're the results:

(Best to worst):

NUMBER 1: Goodyear GSD3: "As an all-around performance tire, you can't beat this Goodyear. It was the best performer in all three wet-track tests and was very competent in the dry. It generated .94g on the dry skidpad, only .01g off the first place (dry) BFGoodrich and tied with the Yokohama and Hankook.
The Goodyear gripped so well, that you might not have been certain that the road was wet. It held onto the wet track with .82g of stick, an impressive figure considering the worst tire in that test made only .67g.
...And like the Continental, the Goodyear had a high 280 trad-wear grade. At $145, ieach, it's $34 cheaper than the most expensive (guess which tires have THAT distinction!).

2nd place: Continental ContiSportContact 2: "It simply didn't feel as sporty as the others.....on dry surfaces, the Conti never rose above third from last among 11 tires. It felt soft and imprecise. But in the wet, the spread from best to worse was 15 percent, which made for a larger point spread (giving the Contis a boost). Plus the Continental had a 280tread-wear grade that was the highest (tied) for this test.

3rd place: Yokohama Advan Neova AD07: Excellent dry performance, but a bit on the slippery end in the wet stuff - expensive at $175 apiece.

4th place: Michelin Pilot Sport PS2: "At $179, the PS2 is the most expensive tire in the test." Competent, but expensive sums up this tire.

5th place: Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212: At $99 each, these are the least expensive tires - very good on dry pavement, but "greasy and slow to recover" on the wet stuff.

6th place: Dunlop SP Sport Max: "In the dry, the tire seemed to lose its confidence..."

7th place: Pirelli P Zero Rosso Asimmetrico:"In the dry-lateral-grip test, the Pirelli tied for second to last, and it finished seventh in the dry-braking test.

8th place: Toyo Proxes T1R: "...the Proxes never placed higher than eighth in any test"...nuff said!

9th place: Bridgestone Potenza RE050A: "it felt dull and disconnected and was somewhat soft and imprecise when driven hard."

10th place: BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD: Outstanding performance on dry surfaces, but very scary on wet surfaces - don't get caught in a rainstorm wearing these shoes...

11th place: Kumho Ecsta MX: "They didn't offer much grip and the time of 30.28 seconds in the dry autocross was .62 second slower than the fastest tire. That may not seem like much, but our course was only 0.3 mille long, and on a longer track, that gap would be commensurately greater." "And although the MX - at $136 per - was the third-least-expensive tire in our test, the high score in the price category wasn't enough to regain ground lost in the performance tests."
On a congratulatory note, the first place tire is made right here in the USA by an American tire company.

By the way, the GSD3s have better than average thread life when compared to all other ultra high performance summer tires. Another tire that has this same longevity is the Nitto NT 555 Extreme ZR, although I'm not sure if they come in your size tire.

Other inexpensive tires and their corresponsing thread life:

General Exclaim UHP: Worse than average
Sumitomo HTRs: Much worse than average
Toyo Proxies 4: Worse than average
Falken Ziex ZE-912: Worse than average
Avon Tech M500: Worse than average
Kumho Exsta SPT: Worse than average
Firestone Wide ovals: Worse than average

 

hey all i can tell u is my goodyear runflats went 21k for the front and 24k on the rear and were down to noyhing imean gone .....i put on kuhmo run flats and now have 59k on them and they look great .i do not run them hard and i love them .....they are a lot quieter -softer ride -and as far as i can tell grip as good as anything ...went on a cruise today and just happened to look at them with some other club members -heck they look like there not hardley any wear on them at all.

 

I had my Kumho Ecsta MX's installed after my mods at ECS.

I put down 430 at the wheels and I have to say that my tires when warm stick like a fothermucker on WOT. Road noise is absolutely minimal and the ride for everyday travel is great !!!

I have put approx. 8000 miles on my Z the last 7 months and the tires pretty much look new.

Now I can't make comments on the autoX'ing as Ive never done it....but coming from the run craps the MX's are huge improvments !

 

I've had mine for nearly a year and am completely satisfied with them, I do normal driving and got them from tirerack at much cheaper price than goodyear stock tires

 

I just removed them from my Car.

I rate them as follows:

1. Straight Acceleration (dry) - 7
2. Turning a corner and accelerating - 3
3. Wet Weather Accelerating Corner or Straight - 3

I dont see the "Traction Active" Message anymore with the new tires.

I can only speak for Kumho - I didnt like them.

The Goodyear Supercar tires I have now probably are too expensive.

IF I had to throw out other choices

1. General UHP (verdict still out)
2. Firestone Runflat
3. Goodyear GSD3

 

When I put tires on the 98 Pace Car I had two different tire stores tell me not to use the Kumho MX but to go with the Kumho ASX. Both stores told me that they lasted longer and was better on the street. So I had them istalled on my 98 Pace Car and my 92 coupe, no problems on the 98 but having bad balance problems with the 92. I would not use them again for this reason. I'm still run Goodyear F1 GS on my black car in sig

 

I have had the GY F1s and Toyo Proxes and have the Kumho MX on right now. I only have ~ 4K on them and they seem to be holding up. I can't speak to the longevity though. I have tracked them a bit, and I think they are great when hot. They are very slippery, however, when cold. They are very good in the rain as well.

I thought the Toyos were the nicest ride around town, they didn't seem to track the road quite as bad as the Kumhos and certainly not as bad at the GY.

I think the Kumhos look great and are nicely priced for a garage queen. If you are going to be driving at the limits much I think there are better tires out there.

A fairly new tire in this segment had been getting great review and are from a company that has been around a very long time, better know in Europe.

http://www.vredestein.com/

Ultrac Sessanta

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1852667

I would try these if price is one of the most driving considerations (forgive the pun).

Speed

 

I've had the Kumho MX's on my car for a few years now. They are great tires but the treadwear is very low - 220. This means that they won't last as long as say the Michelin's (treadwear of 420 or 440....forget the number....). I can tell you, that's absolutely true. My sets have only been lasting a year to a year and a half. I 'd race and I only drive it on the weekends or long trips so I'd have expected them to last longer. They offer good traction (can't beat them in the wet weather!) and you can't beat the price for runflat capability. I've had both the non-runflat and the runflat and both are capable tires with huge noise reduction over the stock tires. However, my next set of tires will be the Michelin's as I want something that will last longer.

 

It does not matter to me what I get for the street at this time!

Because no matter what tire I get is not going to offer any traction in any condition whatsoever! (Well if it is a drag radial maybe )

I don't like to drive it in the rain and I've had the Kuhmos before and they were much quieter than the GY RFT's I've got now!

I will use the Kuhmo's again because I liked them before and they are quiet too!

And as stated when HOT the offer good traction!

Thanks,Matt