unpocoloco

Hey all,

I'm having some real indecision here on which tire to buy: the Kuhmo Ecsta LE Sports or the Kuhmo Ecsta 4x's. I use them year-round, in wet and dry (but no snow, and very slight ice 1-2x per year). Want good handling without a really loud ride.

On Tirerack,
LE Sport: $128/ea
4x: $147/ea

The LEs are "Max Performance Summer" and 4x are "Ultra High Performance All-Season".

However, the reviews actually gave the 4x's higher dry traction rating than the LEs! (9.0 vs 8.6).

I live in Texas so snow is absolutely not an issue, which is why I'm wondering if these reviews are skewed. That is, perhaps there's the old "...for an All Season tire, these handle really well" bias? Can all seasons actually have better performance than the summers? In particular, what about between these two?

Looking forward to some input to help break my mental gridlock!!

Thanks!

speedracer2169

Go 4X they summer tires don't do very well with temps under 45 degrees. Maybe invest in some new wheels with stickier tires for the summer and switch to these in the fall

unpocoloco

That sounds like really reasonable, smart advice. Thanks!! I'll go with the 4X's. Appreciate it!

speedracer2169

No problem if you have any more questions pm me

JCrane82

iTrader: (3)

Those are two totally different tires with different purposes. How cold does it get in Texas in the winter? I would go with the max summer tires as long as it didn't get below 45 F for more than a couple days of the year.

The ratings on Tire Rack are specific to the tire type, meaning that the le sport will have better dry traction than the 4x solely based on it being a max summer tire compared to an all season.

Maybe the summer high performance SPT would fit your needs better than either of those.

speedracer2169

I ran the SPT when they first came out when I had my Lancer Evolution took them off in a week the sidewalls are too soft and Kumho tends to run on the bigger side and they rubbed during hard cornering. I switched the BFGoodrich G Force Sport right after and that was a much better tire. However the LE sport and XS from Kumho have much better improvements. I run the XS on my track wheels and love the grip not to mention that price

JCrane82

iTrader: (3)

Very odd that you saw rubbing. Were you running the correct size? The SPT doesn't run wide enough compared to other brands to cause rubbing, unless you were pushing the limits of fitment (or wrong size).

I also previously had the SPT's, and I liked them. I didn't find sidewall stiffness an issue, but I also had them on 18x8.5" on a Audi TT Quattro, which is a completely different car than the RX-8.

I currently have the XS in 265/35R18 on 18x9 on my RX-8. I love the tires and the dry traction they provide is fantastic. I almost chose the LE Sports, but there didn't seem to be much information about them.

speedracer2169

yea i had stock wheels and was running stock size soon as i swapped them out rubbing went away and much better performance.