Im sure this has been brought up before...but I couldnt find anything in the search.

The price differance is $85 for all 4 (A520s being more expensive).

Are the A520s worth the extra price? Does anyone know which tire is lighter?
Which has better grip? Road noise? Etc?

 

The road noise on the Ecstas is pretty quiet, but when you get on it at the turns, it gets pretty squeely. The A520s grip better...which I found while test-driving an Integra with those tires on. For the buck, you can't go wrong with the Ecstas. If they only made the sidewall stiffer, the Kumhos would be so much better.

 

I've had for and the A520 are FAR superior. The only advantage the 712's have is tread wear (they last longer). HTH, -C

 

Kumhos = high treadwear, low price, grippy
A520 = lower treadwear, higher price, grippier (is that a word)

 

I have both

Kumhos on the CRX
A520's on the GS-R

Kumhos
Pros: Cheap, good enough for the average street enthusiast, good breakaway characteristics/predictable tire, excellent in the rain, fairly quiet for such a cool tread pattern, low wear

Cons: The performance drops after some time, not approved by me for autoX, noise also increases after some time, thinner than other tires (compare the Kumhos to another tire of the same size, Kumhos are usually slightly thinner)

A520
Pros: tenacious lateral grip, stiff sidewalls make it a very responsive tire, still very reasonably priced, cool looking tread pattern, as they wear down dry traction still remains pretty good

Cons: LOUD, omigosh they're loud and they only get worse as the miles roll by, due to the soft compound they wear out faster than the average tire, the stiff sidewalls make it a terrible drag strip tire (chirping 3rd gear easy), track along with road imperfections easily, as they wear down wet traction is scary

The Kumhos are on my CRX which has been parked for over 2 months because of pending motorswap and time constraints. With about 15K miles on them and -2 degrees of camber on the CRX, they're holding up nicely with proper rotations. I will not get these tires later for my CRX because it's my autoX toy.

A520's on my GS-R are being replaced tomorrow. I could probably get about 5-10K more miles out of them, but they're getting loud to the point that I just don't want to deal with it. If it were still the dry summer season, I'd probably tough it out....but lately it's been raining and I just don't want to risk sliding around. These tires are being replaced by Sumitomo HTRZ-II's because

1) Sumitomos are supposed to be much quieter
2) Performance is still pretty damn good, despite the price ($79 special for 205-45-16)
3) Didn't go with the Kumhos because of the Kumhos not being as wide.

 

my kuhmos lasted only 20k miles. theyre oook but not the stickiest things out there. im not buying them twice thats for sure.

 

Guys.. what about the Yokohama Paradas? Anything good about these tires beyond the cool tread pattern?

 

Haven't tried them myself, but talking with a rep over at Yoko about my tire needs, he recommended the A520 over the Parada. The Parada just doesn't have as much grip with the longer tread life.

 

A520's here Or M7R's as they are called in Japan but just a tad softer compound

 

i think you should look at the falken azenis also. these will be my next set.

 

Street or autox tire?

Street: depends on how ling they must last (Kumho=lasting power, Yoko=grip).

AutoX: A520. The Kumho can't match its grip even with the lower price (value).

For a street tire, the Parada is a better choice than the A520. I've had 2 sets of A520s and they stick very well. The Parada has a much more lenient treadwear rating but less grip. It does have more grip than the Kumho from what i've heard, but I don't have personal experience.

So if it's a street tire only, choose between the Parada and the Kumho (Parada= more $$, and a bit more grip).

AutoX: A520 or Falken Azenis. Flaken grips more but is much more expensive.

 

i have 205/45ZR16 kuhmo's on my car, what do you mean not wide enough?

 

"San dimas high school football rules!!!"

 

Matt youre a moron!

 

wat is the average milage that each tire will last..i'm gonna be getting new rims soon and am looking for some good 205/45/16 tires to get.


[Modified by TKBLAZER, 2:27 PM 9/7/2001]

 

I've got them in 195-50-15 for the CRX. Comparing them to the 195-60-14 Sumitomo HTR II's I have on the stock CRX alloys, the Sumis are a tad wider.

My friend replaced the tires on his Z28 with the Kumhos also and they were also slightly thinner than the original 245-50(?)-16's that were on there before.

Another friend had them in a 15" size and noticed the same thing, he noticed because, when stacking the wheels, the rims actually touched when normally the sidewall rubber would prevent that.

Good street tire nonetheless.

 

the fact that they are not as wide, means they weigh less...

well actually, i researched it, and they do tend to weigh a little less then other tires...the kuhmos that is

 

Really? They weigh less? Thats gonna big a part of the decision making