sleddog

I am looking into putting new sneakers on my targa and am thinking of the Kumho ECSTA Supra 712. They are listed on tire rack and appear to be a good value. This is for my targa that doesn't go on the track and doesn't see winter.

Has anybody had any experience with these tires either positive or negative?

thanks in advance

GrantG

I highly recommend the Kuhmo MX tires. Cheap and very good performance (225/45 and 255/40 on stock 17" Cups). Some of the Kuhmos were recalled (might be the 712's but I can't remember)...

sleddog

thanks for the response, the recall was on a different tire:

Richmond, CA. 4/5/04. Kumho Tires announced today that the ECSTA V710 racing tire may have defects and all tires should be returned to the manufacture for replacement. There have been no major incidences reported regarding this tire, however Kumho is not happy with some inconsistencies in testing this model.

jdoc7

Many on this particular board hate Kumho's, especially the 712's because of their poor performance in wet and dry conditions compared to pricier Michelin PS's or Bridgestone SO2's. I, for one, think they are an absolute bargain for the type of driving I do. I drive my vehicle at most, once a week as a Sunday driver, I do not autocross or race and have had Kumho 712's on all my Porsches. For what I use them for, they are wonderful. I remember another thread where someone stated that "Putting Kumhos on a Porsche is like wearing a fake Rolex with an Armani suit." How shallow. I suggest determining what kind of driving and how much you will be doing and go from there.

sleddog

Thanks,

It is a daily driver from april through thanksgiving and sees rain, highway,etc. No autocross or track events. As a result, my needs may be less demanding than others.

kkim

I second the recommendation on the Kumho MX tire. Nice stiff, sticky tire with good wear characteristics and wet driving capabilities. I've used the 712s on a different car and found the sidewalls soft for spirited driving.

Another good tire to consider for daily driving is the Yokohama ES100.

jcnesq

I had a set or two of Kumho 712's in the past. They were just fine for daily driving and had a very long life.

993Brendan

I have had many sets of MX's and love them. The 712s are just ok.

Jon 'Bama

I have had a few sets of Exsta 712s on my previous Boxster S, They are a great value for the dollar.

I find they were great in the Wet, much better in fact than my Pirelli P Zeros the car came with.

Positives:

Cheap
Pretty good dry grip
really good wet
wear well, much longer life than P0's

Negatives:

Flat spot, bad but once they are warm they are round again
quality control is not so great, lots of tires start out "out of round" if you buy them make sure you Hunter gsp9700 road force balance them to be certain you got good ones (www.gsp9700.com to find a machine near you) in fact use the gsp9700 for all tires it is an amazing piece of technology
noise, they can get loud, more so when worn, but so do the P0's

I used my 712's on DE's without any issues, in fact I liked them better than the P0's, but not close to the S02's. Of course the S02 is 3x the price.

I have recently tried a new brand of tire Fuzion ZRi. I have a little less than 1000 miles on them, including 1 DE and I have been very impressed. Again they are much better than the P0's that came on my 993. The Fuzion's are made by bridgestone/firestone to compete with the Kumho/sumitomo type cheap tires and the quality seems much better than the Kumhos to me. So far I like the grip a lot, dry and wet and the price $405 mounted and GSP Roadforce balanced on 16's can not be beat. Take a look at the Fuzions IMO they are better than Kumhos for the same or less $$

Jon

sleddog

I originally wanted the the MX but it appears they don't make on in the 205/50 17. For those with the MX, what sizes do you guys have on your porsche's in the front?

GrantG

Go with the 225/45/17 in front. Works fine with the 7" stock rims. Bigger patch in front will give you better braking and less understeer...

Edward

Sleddog,

I've had my MXs on my daily-driven 993 for about 6K miles now and they're excellent. Have yet to experience rain but I can say that so far, they feel very good and responsive, are still quiet, and breakaway progressively. Oh and they look like they haven't even worn any! Definitely go with the 225/45-17s up front.

Edward

Rick964

I'll give another thumbs up for the MXs. I'm on my second set and use them for street, autox and DE and find them to stick well and wear well. I've even autox'd them in the rain and found them to be a pretty good rain tire. Before I switched to the MXs I ran S-02s and I am bot going back.

Martin S.

I too have the MX tires...great value, no complaints.

vuugti

I had the 712's on an M3. Too soft for DE, rain was a scare. More to do with air pressures than tires, but the sidewalls are soft. Thanks for those of you weighing in on the MX's, sounds like a good deal!

Andy