The Kumho Ecsta KU39 receives substantially more praise than criticism for dry and wet grip, quiet running, comfort and value. Handling and steering feedback are also generally liked, although they attract fewer comments than grip. Tread life draws more favourable than unfavourable reports, with some mid-life and end-of-life accounts supporting good service, but around one in ten reviews raise wear concerns. Most accounts do not identify a stage of use, so they cannot establish a typical lifespan or consistent grip retention. Repeat reviews give varied experiences, and changes in scores alone do not show a common deterioration pattern.
What owners mention most counted across 114 reviews
I bought the Kumho KU39s to replace factory fitted Bridgestone RE050s which were very disappointing in terms of wet grip off, with frequent loss of traction from a standing start away from a junction or roundabout. The Kumhos were a revelation with far improved levels of traction, braking and comfort in city driving and highway speeds up to 70 mph. The only real criticism I can make is the vibrations and noise levels in excess of 70 mph. This tyre is an excellent budget choice proving how much progress Korean brands have made of late and certainly worth buying instead of a regular budget tyre.
Dry grip is not far from average.
Struggles to handle the power on wet accelerations.
Gives you a nice and easy feeling on what the front tyres are doing on corners.
Been using it on my 730Ld for almost 5k miles and seems to be wearing normally.
A decent choice given the price the value/price index.
Which tyres do you drive?
Researching the Kumho Ecsta KU39? Rate the tyres you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
I'm always in a hurry, take corners and accelerate very hard. When i got the car, it had these tyres on the rear and though they were at 3mm they lasted until May, around 4 months - 8k.
I replaced them with the same tyres (Kumho Ecstas) and i've done around 12k (6 months) since then and they are now totally worn so they have worn quite well tbh.
Dry grip they are very good, in the wet they aren't bad and do keep it together.
My only gripe is that ever since they were fitted there has always been a vibration at 70-90mph. Removed and rebalanced twice with no luck, this was the same issue with the previous set so i'm not buying again. But i would recommend these tyres.
Second time I've used this tyre on two different cars, the result both times....awesome. Switched from nasty run flats to these and have them on all corners, car grips well in all conditions. Dry grip rate is outstanding, you can feel the tyres biting as you accelerate and push into corners, equally in the wet they won't let you down, they heat up quickly offering extra grip! One thing I didn't realise was the lack of rim protection, my alloys are £550 a piece from BMW and although I'm extremely careful when parking a flange protector wouldn't have been a bad thing.
Only had these on for 2k so far and still looking as new, would definitely buy these again, a great tyre for a fraction of the price of the bigger brands.
I really rate these tyres, I used to swear by continental sport contacts but just couldn't justify the price and quick wear on a bigger tyre. These are almost as good, not quite as progressive but unless you are really pushing it's not an issue. Wear much better than continentals, I've had them on the back for about 8000 miles now and they're showing very little sign of wear. Just got both fronts replaced as well and they make a huge difference.
These tyres are definitely a great option but left more to be desired. when they heat up they become a bit unpredictable, and on a heavy car they exaggerate body roll. They definitely have extremely high levels of grip in a variety of good and bad conditions but seem to be a bit funny when cornering. I probably wouldn't buy these again, but definitely a solid choice of people who like/ need streched tyres.
Great tyres, they have 95% performance and life a premium Conti/Goodyear tyre but at 50% of the cost. Have had these on cars before and have lasted well, the grip in dry is excellent and wet is very good. The only negative is they are a slihtly bit noisy than others but not very noticable.
Used on my Audi 90 Quattro, 24,000 miles in last 18 months, great tire and perform well in the corners and wet, really can't fault and might buy again depending on price of others
i still use them on my Audi 235/40/18 and i can say only the sidewall is not as hard as need to be for low profile tire but otherwise very happy !
I drove them for 30k km which i think is not that bad - still above 3mm left so i hope they will do 40k km
Apart from the side wall i can say they are very good ! Nearly time for new tires and i'm planning to try something else but may go again for them - 90 quid fully fitted - i can't go wrong !
Buy with confidence!
Got 4 of these to replace the cheap budgets that were on my new (to me anyway) car when I bought it. Doing a mix of motorway & city driving & I can't praise these enough.
Dry grip is good, like others have said wet isn't as good but 100% better than the tyres that were on before!! I don't understand people complaining about wear, I've just done 10k with mine on & they've hardly moved, still plenty of life in them (6mm)
Let it be said that I never wanted Kumho tyres on my car. I was a horrendous brand snob until I got these.
Dry grip- second only to Bridgestone RE050s. That is very high praise from me. These tyres stood up to twisty roads well into triple figures and were utterly confidence inspiring. They managed speed runs at 160+mph on the German autobahns and never showed signs of blowing out or failing (or I probably wouldn't be here today). They also took on track days and were phenomenal.
Wet grip- still very good, but definitely less grippy and not very progressive with it. They had a tendency to 'snap'- comical the first few times, irritating from that point on unless I was provoking the car.
Wear rate was incredibly good. I had them on my car for many thousands of miles, and they refused to show signs of wear at the front... but they wore at the back, eventually. Took them a while though.
Road noise was acceptable, they were comfortable. The only thing I will say is that they are not progressive. They grip and they grip and they grip and then suddenly you're backwards, with very little warning.
