Just replaced the stock rubber today (after 27k, worn down through the threads) with a set of Kumho Supra712s priced at $84ea. With shipping and installation, the total cost set me back all of:

$430.

Gotta love our TireRack sponsors!

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=ECSTA+Supra+712&vehicleSearch=false&partnum=24WR8ES712&fromCompare1=yes&place=2

[I'm reposting from another thread to help get the word around.]
[http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=72552]

I'll follow up with some pix.

Tires fresh off the UPS truck, heading for the Firestone shop...

Tire Balancing is a critical step of the process...

Inside the Operating Room...(An Outpatient job while we ate at the tasty Chinese buffet across the street.)

Voila!

Good to go for at least another 20k.

you will get way more than 20k out of them. they just get noisey at 20.

beers

you will get way more than 20k out of them. they just get noisey at 20.

beersThat "20k" crack was made in jest. I'm still trying to get over those stock tires having worn down through the cords after only 27k. I'm sure I'd do better if I wasn't so throttle happy, but I don't see myself backing down on that anytime soon. This car is just too much fun at pulling g's.

(By the way, swoope, I think you'll like my summer vacation photos when I get around to posting them. A lot were taken in your neck of the woods.)

You put a set of tires in the back seat of a RX-8, that just amazes me, I very seldem left anyone sit back there, much less put something like tires back there. I guess we are all different.

Congrats on the purchase though.

You put a set of tires in the back seat of a RX-8, that just amazes me, I very seldem left anyone sit back there, much less put something like tires back there. I guess we are all different.

Congrats on the purchase though.


You saving it for something?? :D

It's a car!!!!! :p

i understand the comment on putting tires in the back seat....although when i get tires from UPS they are pretty clean, even though they are shipped unwraped....just have the tracking stuff taped onto them.

I just wrap them in a towel and stick them where i can. Or take the wheels off the car and put the wheels and new tires in the truck and drive them down there, but that can be a pain.

You should have seen it when I had to drive the miata to an autox and the tire trailer was broken...so I had 4 tires/wheels (15") in the car along with a jack, 2 jack stands, a tool box and a cooler. It was cramped, even with the top down.

You saving it for something?? :D

It's a car!!!!! :p

I guess I am, just a clean freak when it comes to my car.

You want to really freak? There's an adult-sized person in the back seat with those tires!

(The fourth tire was in the trunk.)

Bah, I got 2 new sets of ultramegasuperHIperformance tires for free. Of course I took them from teams over ALMS weekend at mosport when they were done racing. Freshly scrubbed. :D

ahha, I just wanted to say ultramegasuperHIperformance.

Enjoy the new rubber!!

Brice just wants his backseat clean for when he... umm... yeah, you know... nevermind... lol

Back on topic, how do you like them? I went for TOYO Proxes4's. Expensive, but I didn't want to sacrafice grip...

TheColonel, is that even possible back there? You might be on to something........

All the more reason to have rubber in your back seat. Heh!

As far as the Kumho Supra performance, I haven't pushed them too hard yet, although the minor dry cornering I've done has been joyful. I'll be hitting the "skidpad" (read: cloverleaf) after work today so I should be able to give a more thorough report before long.

Ok, here's the word after a hot night out on the town...

This is the hardest I've ever pushed my 8. I cranked them to the limit on several occasions and they always talked to me while being pushed to the climax. They'd squeal with delight very predictably before breaking away into an uncontrolled spasm. Hitting the g-spot where they just can't take any more was easy to find. Just listen to them and they'll tell you exactly where it is. They've left me thoroughly satisfied, yet I'm already eager for another go at it.

I'm lovin these tires, and they're lovin me back. In short, I now know why they are called...

KumHo's.

Ooooohh it's possible... :D

I cranked them to the limit on several occasions and they always talked to me while being pushed to the climax. They'd squeal with delight very predictably before breaking away into an uncontrolled spasm. Hitting the g-spot where they just can't take any more was easy to find. Just listen to them and they'll tell you exactly where it is. They've left me thoroughly satisfied, yet I'm already eager for another go at it.
That's awesome, but what about the tires? ;)

P.S. Don't you hate when they talk like that?

I don't know how much of this is psychological vs how much is actual tire performance, but I'm continuing to push this car harder than it's ever been pushed before.

More fun than what's allowed by law.

Kumho 712 are mediocre at the VERY best....I've had a set and was thorougly dissatisfied with them..they are also TERRIBLE in the rain as well. THey are cost effective nonetheless.. Not a tire that I would compare against anything else really though in regards to performance

Fuzion ZRi's are the best for the money as far as I've tried.. I'm testing out a set of Nitto555's now.

Kumho 712 are mediocre at the VERY best....I've had a set and was thorougly dissatisfied with them..they are also TERRIBLE in the rain as well. THey are cost effective nonetheless.. Not a tire that I would compare against anything else really though in regards to performance

Fuzion ZRi's are the best for the money as far as I've tried.. I'm testing out a set of Nitto555's now.With the performance I've been getting from these Kumho712s, it's hard for me to imagine what I would be able to do in this car with better than "mediocre" tires (http:///#). I've been doing max-g turns to the DSC limit, max braking from extreme speed, and max green light accelerations (although not exactly the most demanding tire test with an 8). I am more than satisfied with them so far.

I have not slalomed them. And I have yet to experience their wet traction. (I'm only on day4.) These are the only tires I have tried on an 8 outside of stock. It would be no surprise for me to learn that there are better performing tires out there. But if anyone knows about a better performing tire that costs less than $84 bucks, then I'd like to hear about it.

Yes, cost effective was exactly what I was going for. And ironically, cost effective is exactly how the RX-8 (http:///#) and I got together in the first place.

Kumho 712 are mediocre at the VERY best....I've had a set and was thorougly dissatisfied with them..they are also TERRIBLE in the rain as well. THey are cost effective nonetheless.. Not a tire that I would compare against anything else really though in regards to performance

Fuzion ZRi's are the best for the money as far as I've tried.. I'm testing out a set of Nitto555's now.

I can't say that I agree with you on that. I switched to the 712s when they first came out a few years ago and have been very impressed. I have used them to do track events at Sebring and found that they were better than the more expensive tires I had been using.

As far as rain is concerned, these tires are great in my experience. The first time I had rain at the track I couldn't believe that these tires were so controllable. I actually look forward to rainy track sessions now.

Are you sure that you aren't confusing the 712s with the 711s, which were supposedly a lower performer, although I never tried them myself.

The choice that I am facing now is whether to go with 712s in 245/40 or try the new Kumho SPTs in the stock size, 225/45. I just turned over 20000 miles and will need new tires soon.

As much as i love Kumho tires, there are a lot better tires to be had than the 712's ,Fuzions or Nitto's. I've driven Kumho's for years, but think i would replace the stock Potenza's with a P Zero Nero or even a less expensive Toyo Proxes 4 both equally good tires. Not to mention the tons of other great tires out there like Michelen ,Falken Yokohama. The list could go on and on, BUT For 84 bucks maybe i should rethink the above. Hope everyone enjoy's their new tires.

I can't say that I agree with you on that. I switched to the 712s when they first came out a few years ago and have been very impressed. I have used them to do track events at Sebring and found that they were better than the more expensive tires I had been using.

As far as rain is concerned, these tires are great in my experience. The first time I had rain at the track I couldn't believe that these tires were so controllable. I actually look forward to rainy track sessions now.

Are you sure that you aren't confusing the 712s with the 711s, which were supposedly a lower performer, although I never tried them myself.

The choice that I am facing now is whether to go with 712s in 245/40 or try the new Kumho SPTs in the stock size, 225/45. I just turned over 20000 miles and will need new tires soon.

had the 712s on my supra. the spt is a much more advaced tire. in handling an the rain is amazing. i am running the stock size and just hit 4k miles on them. they just get better and better. and for 105 a pop it is a hp bargain.

beers

I'm sharing a reply I sent to another member in case it has info that anyone else can use:


I'm still loving the tires. No complaints at all. The weather around your town is not significantly different, tire wise, from what we have in Houston. We've recently had a little bit of rain, but I haven't pushed the tires too hard on wet roads yet so I haven't found those limits. But there's been nothing at all to cause concern. They're doing everything I ask of them and then some.

Regarding size, that link in the first post takes you straight to the size I bought. That $84 special price is a same-size replacement for the stock rubber on my sport model. I would have liked to gone wider, but I couldn't justify $120 for one extra centimeter in width (and it jumps to $340 extra to get 255s). One way to justify the extra cash is that the wider tires will help protect your rims from curb rash.

Granted I think for around 80-90 bucks a pop...... probably the cheapest Z-Rated tires around from a name brand..so for overall value it's definitely there...I've never tried the 711's...I had the 712's.

I've been through tons of tires.. Toyo T1-S and FZ4's, Various Bridgestone Tires including S-03's, Michen Pilot Sports, Falken ST series, Hankook K104 and a whole bunch more........ just my opinion but I would personally rate the Kumho in the lower echelon in the performance catergory..... but like I said for the money...why not?...especially for a general daily driven car... but jump into a few sets of tires from other brands and i think most guys know what I'm saying...

Will this tire hold it's own against the other big boys? not even close.. but of course the other tires are astronomically more...

in this case, you get what you pay for

as far as high perfromance street tires go, those don't measure up

in this case, you get what you pay for

as far as high perfromance street tires (#) go, those don't measure upIf I "got what I paid for", that $84 dollars would have got me half a tire.

But as it were, they sent me whole tires. So perhaps you'd like to share what these other tires enable an RX-8 to do that I am not doing on mine.

Just so i understand it perfectly clear, because I am about to buy the same tires(i need tires badly but am poor right now)...

You ordered the 225/40/18 tire size you linked to in the firts post? Thats your stock tire size? My stock tire size is 225/45/18. Ive read that the tires you bought would cause the odometer to be off. Can you confirm this? Any other downsides for me to go from a 225/45 to a 225/40 ? Im really thinking about ordering these tomorrow.

Thanks

heres a link to the right size. the only issue is with the 40 series size is the speedo will be off a bit. will read a bit fast.

the car with turn in a bit quicker also.

i have the kumho spts love them, thought they are a bit more expensive.

beers







Just so i understand it perfectly clear, because I am about to buy the same tires(i need tires badly but am poor right now)...

You ordered the 225/40/18 tire size you linked to in the firts post? Thats your stock tire size? My stock tire size is 225/45/18. Ive read that the tires you bought would cause the odometer to be off. Can you confirm this? Any other downsides for me to go from a 225/45 to a 225/40 ? Im really thinking about ordering these tomorrow.

Thanks

Just so i understand it perfectly clear, because I am about to buy the same tires (http://www.rx8club.com/l)(i need tires badly but am poor right now)...

You ordered the 225/40/18 tire size you linked to in the firts post? Thats your stock tire size? My stock tire size is 225/45/18. Ive read that the tires (http:///#) you bought would cause the odometer to be off. Can you confirm this? Any other downsides for me to go from a 225/45 to a 225/40 ? Im really thinking about ordering these tomorrow.Yes, stock was 225/45/18 and I replaced them with 225/40/18. Earlier when I said "same size", I was speaking about width. Sorry for me not speaking more exactly.

On the original tires (http:///#), I did a speedometer check one time only. I remember the speedometer checking within one or two percent. This was with full tire pressure (http:///#) after 10 months (~10k miles) of tread wear. I have yet to do a speedometer check with the new 40%'s.

A shorter geometry will create an improvement in cornering (as swoope has stated) at the expense of ride comfort. And yes, the lower aspect ratio will have a smaller radius that will make your odometer read farther and your speedometer read faster. I crunched some numbers and by my calculations it is precisely a 2% difference. (I remember somewhere here having read that there is a website that will crunch these numbers for you.)

But it's also important to keep in mind that half an inch of tread wear is greater than the difference we're talking about here. (225x.40=90 vs 225x.45=101.25)

if you need low cost tires then fine, but don't kid yourself that these are great tires.

As far as high performance tires go, they are maybe mid-pack, probably lower

just speaking from firsthand experience, they got me by when I was short on funds, but I'd never buy another set unless I had no other choice

I just put on a set of the new Toyo T1-R tires and absolutely love them. I took my car to the track about a month ago and didnt experience any fade in the tires at all. With both my stockers and the Toyo T1-S, the tire seemed to get really greasy and almost felt like it was rolling over on itself. These T1-R's are pure gold I tell you... I ran 4 25 minute sessions that day and they were just as good at the end of the day as they were when I started.

Awesome tire!!

if you need low cost tires then fine, but don't kid yourself that these are great tires.

As far as high performance tires go, they are maybe mid-pack, probably lower

just speaking from firsthand experience, they got me by when I was short on funds, but I'd never buy another set unless I had no other choiceI was asking for someone to specify exactly how these Kumho's are falling short. I certainly didn't buy them with the expectation that they are the highest performance tires available on the market. But they are sure meeting my needs and I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again unless someone here convinces me that I can do better.

(Until someone gets beyond generalizations, I will maintain the possibility that these tires may be getting knocked on by some folks here so that they can feel better about themselves having spent significantly more.)

Try the Estca MX's love them!

Those were very tempting. Especially in the width you got them in. I'm sure that there will be many times when I will be thinking that I should have gone wider (instead of cheaper). Particularly the next time I scratch a wheel.