I've had a few requests for pictures after the install. So here they are. They are Kumho Ecsta SPT in 245/40/18. Ordered them from Tirerack.com for 125.00 each. So far they're much quieter than stock Potenza's, and I think they look much better also. Ride has softened a bit. I'll keep this thread updated after I put on a few hundred more miles. The guys that installed them gave me props for the car and tires. Some had never seen an 8 up close, so I had to show her off.

I do want to thank Swoope for all his help and answering many of my questions.


My baby's dirty AGAIN. So don't look at the car just the tires. I left the next weekend open for my first Zaino application.

 

A few more.....

 

looks very good,

and yes i went by tuffy today. they were very nice, and the price is very good. but on the way home i had the dreaded sudden power loss thing go on for the third time.

i think i am going to hold off everything till i get that issue sorted.

btw get the air press up to 34or 35 psi.

beers

 

Yeh that was my next question. Good deal!



Damn Swoope! Your just having the worst luck with that. Hope they can get it fixed permanently this time. Yeah I haven't done much with them yet, just got home not too long ago. Thanks for the tip!

 

yea,
i am not real worked up about the issue. i am sure they will find it. it took quite a while and lots of parts to get kys fixed, but they did.

and i really dont mind going to the dealership. i am glad they dont have any 06s on the lot!!!!

beers

 

Nice pictures. Thanks much! Did you realize you did a self-portarit in the 5th picture in the 1st post?

BTW, Tire Rack says the tires have wear indicators to indicate when they should be rotated. How does that work?

 

lol. yeah I did notice but only after I uploaded it. Oh well, there goes my anonymity.

Funny you should ask. I was just going over the warranty. I'm not for certain but I'll look into that and see if I can post a pic of the wear indicators for ya and how it works. Actually I missed that part when I ordered them. I just ran across it in the warranty info.

 

After looking at them closer. It's marked(around the outer edge just below the tread) R1,R2,R3 etc..... but still haven't seen an explanation in the paperwork. Maybe Kumho's site has some more info. I'll check it out.

 

But you must have done a really nice wax job to get a reflection like that

 

Ah ha! Kumho Tire Rotate Wear Indicators

 

hahaha thanks but actually I haven't waxed it in about a month or so. I'm planning my first Zaino application this weekend.

 

wow,
nice find. i will have to see where i stand. i have put 13k miles on mine and rotate every 5k.

very interesting.

beers

 

Yep, just kinda stumbled across that page. When I read it it made the whole concept a little easier to understand. Just wonder how accurate it is.

 

i would say damn accurate...

i have put 13.5k miles on these tires. rotated ~ every 5kmiles. r1 and r2 gone. r3 is still visable. i dont know that i will change the rotation from every 5k. i have the car up in the air for an oil change anyway. so i do it then.

but great idea that works. so i think from looking at this should get 35 to 40 k miles out of these. i will be bored with the wheels and size before then.

beers

 

I had these tires on my 8, Orignal size 225/45/18 and I didnt like them.

I found the steering not as responsive, the traction was worse the ABS kicked in acouple of times!!! When I didn't think I was braking that hard

Now I switched over to the OEMs.

on the plus side, the Kumhos are alot quiet, cheap, will outlast the bridgestones
and they look better then the bridgestones.

 

Cool! Well that's good to know. I was the same way with the Potenza's. Rotate every 5k. I'll probably just stick with that.

 

I just got the Kumhos installed about a week ago. The original Potenzas lasted 23,000 mi believe it or not (though they were dangerously bald).

Anyways, immediately after installing the Kumhos, I noticed the ride got worse. The steering wheel starts to shake around at ~50mph. Thinking perhaps the balancing was off, I took the car back in last week and the tire shop rebalanced them. Didn't make any difference.

Long story short, TireRack is sending over two new tires tomorrow so hopefully these tires are not lop sided as the other ones seem. I am hoping betwen 6 tires, the shop can find 4 decent tires that are not out of round. So anyways, I am understandably dissatisfied with the Kumhos. Shop told me "get what you pay for" and I'm starting to wonder if this is true. The ride was perfectly smooth with the Bridgestones and the wear was OK. I got the Kumhos out of cheapness, hopefully it works out but so far I think that was a bad decision.

Lesson learned, would never buy Kumhos again.

 

^What type Kumhos did you get?
Well I know I don't have that problem. I took her for a trip down 408 at about 75mph right after the install. Smooth as butta . I saw an increase in ride quality over the Potenza's right away. FYI the problems you described aren't exclusive to the Kumho brand. I've had some bad experiences in the past with some pretty high quality,high dollar tires.

 

I had balance problems too.

But after 300miles it seemed to go away.

I had previous Kumhos on my other cars and for the money they are good tires.

 

Kumho Ecsta SPTs 225/40/18

The tires already have about 300 miles. Hasn't got any better. While it is true, any tire brand can produce out of round tires, based on this experience I don't think I would risk next time going with these tires. Of course, previously I've always owned lifted trucks with big knobby tires so I could care less about a rough ride that goes with the territory. But the 8 has been the smoothest thing on earth I've ever driven and its a shame to now suffer from vibration. Hopefully the problem goes away with the replacements...

 

correction, they are 225/45/18

 

I've talked with a few other 8 owners who have these tires in this specific size, and they all love them. Well good luck with that. Please keep me updated on the outcome. Much appreciated.

 

That's what it seems. Pehaps this is just an anomaly... Will do.

 

Interesting.. I always wondered what the hell they were talking about.. I just rotate them every 3k miles with my oil change. So, I doubt it matters.. I will try upping the psi to 34 though..

 

excellent! i ordered these same tires and they will be in tomorrow. they are getting installed on saturday by my Mazda dealer, i cant wait!