Kumho Ecsta PS31

Been using this tyre for about 2 years. This is a well balance tyre for my car's daily/spirited setup. Mostly downtown commute and once or twice a month burning the carbon they say. Front -2.5 camber and -1 camber for rear. FWD and about 1.3Tons.

Great traction for high speed corners with mid bumps (highway expansion joints), abit lackluster in hard trailbraking. Tyres are easy to regain traction if you jump midway through the bends. Yes I've jumped multiple times during mid corner and tyres pick traction back up predictably. Please do bear in mind my daily commute is also like a race track XD. Surprisingly well behaved during wet as well. The tyres will provide a little vibration tingling through your steering when its about to lose traction. That's what I felt on these tyres weirdly. My other previous tyres didn't. Easy to control during understeer. Good breaking during dry. Tyres are noisier than Advan Fleva so do keep that in mind. If you're on a budget, you won't be disappointed in them. Just don't expect them to be like proper UUHP or better than Advan Fleva(10% better overall). I would buy this again no doubt if I'm on a tight budget.

After several years of using Toyo CR1 tires, I started looking for v-shape tires to make me more confident driving in the rain. 1st time using this tire, I'm quite excited, the feeling I get is the same as Toyo, comfort and not too hard. The most win when driving in the middle of the rain, even when the water stagnates even once, the tire never floats or runs to the side, even though the tire is a bit low.

Good grip on wet cornering, also day grip is excellent. But the wear is quite short then the tyre got the tear mark.

I put these tires on my daily driver, a 2016 Scion FR-S to replace some Taiwanese tires the car had when I bought it, I live in Puerto Rico and here it rains a lot, after I installed the tires everything felt perfect, but then, It started to rain and I noticed that the car was hard to control, I felt the car slipping and sliding, even on a straight line, even worse if I hit a puddle of water, no matter how shallow it was. But then I really got scared, one day after leaving my house for work in the morning and I hit a patch of wet smooth concrete that had a diagonal on it, the car was under acceleration but not something major, maybe 15%, all of the sudden I felt the car turning to the right as I tried to correct the car did not respond at all, lucky for me just after the concrete there was asphalt, but then the front tires had regained grip, and I had over corrected, so I found myself going the wrong way backwards! nothing to do just full brakes and brace for impact, lucky for me the tires gripped on the asphalt, and I ended up inches from the barrier, i did not hit nothing nor anyone! Since that moment, every time it rains I get scared while driving, I can feel the tires slipping on wet white lines on the pavement, I have to be aware of everything when it rains, lines, puddles, shiny concrete, everything, and every time I get over that patch of concrete where I slipped when it is wet, I can feel the car like it is driving on ice! completely out of control, Scary stuff indeed. I see the good wet traction reviews, but for me and my car, that is not the situation. Other than that, great tires, but man they do not like water

Poor wet performance and I was not even driving like a mad person. Traction control constantly kicks in even when accelerating slowly when moving off from toll booth

Well fitted into my car. Reasonable grips and price.

Replaced original tyres which were Continental PC5. I like the look of these tyres with the chequered sidewall. The front tyres started to peel after 6000 miles and I put this down to the softer compound, driven on hot Malaysian roads. No vibration so decided to keep using them until they are worn.

For amazing 2 years and half i wore it. Daily driving to work travel back and forth. Amazing tyre but my sizing rims not fit to 205/45 tyre feel a bit stretch. But for the high speed quite noise for my car, because of the size of my rims. Touge on Genting, ulu yam and so on i feel like wow this tyre definitely grip but a bit soft. After i change to 215/45 yes! Comfort mode turn on. What a amazing city run and yes still using until today. Definitely worth the money for tight budget.

Once I install them ,I notice a huge difference in noise verses contentail one. The tire has very low sound . The nice design also gives a good look for the car . I recommend them .

Good enough to stay on corners when chasing sports cars like M3 or Gti's. Even put up with a GT3 once if you set the pressure very low like 205kpa front and 195kpa rears. But the front wears quite fast in this set up. Rear holds well so you do need to rotate this tyre every 7000km if you plan to do so. Be warn, this tyres also chips if front pressure is low. My third set after Hankook Evo 2's and that was marvelous! Used it for one year. And wet condition is very confident if you set pressure to 225kpa front and 215kpa rears. My size is 205/45 16. Breaking is also good if set up propperly. If you plan to get a set make sure it's not more than 1yr old. Havent tried the recent years like 2023 manufactured, surveyed at a friends recommended shop asking RM275 a piece. Definately risen in price. I bought mine for RM195 a piece at Denai Alam for a 1 year old tyre. I do wonder how the performance is for recently manufactured tyres. Now I'm usin Sumaxx Z1 semi "s" tyre made in china for a promo price. Normally use for track days. I would recommend the PS31 only as an alternative which is safe if you dont have a budget to go for Hankooks Evo2's or something similar.

One if the better if not best bang for your buck uhp summer tire options. Living in Atlantic Canada, our roads tend to take a toll on most tires, so tread life is usually shorter than expected elsewhere. That said, they still lasted longer than the Goodyear assurance that were on the car when I bought it, as well as the Cooper rs3 g1 that these replaced. Grip was very good in real world conditions, and only started having a bit of an issue with deeper water near the end of the usable tread life.

When I received my Fiesta which I bought second hand with these tyres fitted new I was amazed at how well my 2005 Ford Fiesta Ghia 1.6 Duratec held on the roads... I'm from South Africa and drove it from Gauteng where I bought it to Cape Town where I was staying at the time... At 1st I didn't care what tyres were on there vehicle... To be honest, I didn't want a Ford cause of previous experiences when Ford and Mazda vehicles tended to look the same... I was still doubting my love for the vehicle on the drive down to Cape Town... Once I hit those windy bends along the coast in the Cape I fell in love with the Ford Fiesta and the Kumho Ecsta SP31 immediately... She held onto the bends so that it felt like I was back in my school days where I did middle distance running... I was in control of my body and the car and which ever way I leaned to in the bends with the steering firmly in my hands the car went... Was romance at once and its where I fell in love with the car... I held my lane through bends and curves with precision making sure I stay either to the inner line of the lane or precisely in the middle between the lines of the lane or just on which ever part of the road I wanted her to... Raced a RUN-X RSI which was around the same age as my Fiesta through traffic and even through all the accelerating, braking and bobbing and weaving on a wettish road surface she did as I wanted her to with my braking being precise as I had learnt my brake travel distance allowance of the tyres and vehicle... Kuhmo Ecsta SP31 tyres were made for that Fiesta as they were poetry in motion... Raced a 2007 Polo 1.6 which was a newer car than the Fiesta at night on the N1 highway going into Cape Town from Bellville and the grip from the start to the acceleration to the top end speed my Fiesta would allow (was Factory Governed at 195km is what the speed reading was on my speedometer) was with so much of ease that I found myself often running into the governer and having the vehicle run its fuel cut off-on process with me often thanks to the Kuhmo Ecsta SP31 tyres... I know it was cause of those tyres cause when I put new tyres on I wanted a tyre to last more than 40 000km to 50 000km not knowing I was going to be missing out on what I could do with the Kuhmo Ecsta SP31 tyres as I was advised at the time to get the Falken turds which were a harder compound tyre allowing the tyres to last longer... Not knowing my ride would be a harder ride, and that if I hit pot holes the rims would feel the punch as they later become un-balance-able and I had to send them in for repairs... The stopping with the Kuhmo were very responsive and urgent when needed... They did start to slide around quick corners on wet roads when they reached 35 000km which made for some fun driving... The Kuhmo Ecsta PS31 195/50 R15 tyres even saved me and a few mates lives the one drunken night when we were driving on the same N1 highway I would take from Bellville going to Cape Town just about every day... We came down the hill around a snake type bend and there was a carlaying in its side with its under carriage facing towards us on a dark area of the highway where the lights weren't working... Thanks to the vehicles quick responsiveness and the confidence I grew I the tyres I could swerve well hitting the brakes with a vehicle of 4 adults in it without the vehicle sliding or wanting to roll as I turned rather quickly on a dry road surface going down a hill at 160km/h and quickly coming to a stop not far from the vehicle nor from where I started to hit the brakes and swerve so that we could help the mptoist in the vehicle that had rolled... I don't know what speeds they were doing around the same bend I was going 160km/h that same night and at various times I would hit the speed governer of the vehicle down and around the same snake bend part of the hill, all I know is they weren't in a Fiesta nor did they have Kuhmo Ecsta SP31 tyres on their vehicle... Would I recommend them to anyone, obviously yes as I haven't had a tyre that has brought me so much pleasure as the Kuhmo. Ecsta SP31 has with regards to pleasure, speed, handling and control on wet and dry surfaces on long winding bends, long straights and short straights aswell as in short fast corners and turns in the city between the tall buildings as the Kuhmo Ecsta SP31 tyres have...

I have put on Kuhmo Ecsta HS52 195/50 R15 two days ago on my new second hand 2017/2018 Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost (my new Fiesta) in the hopes of having the same same effect as I was told by the salesman at the tyre garage that Kuhmo have discontinued the Kuhmo Ecsta SP31 tyres... I have a few questions now with regards to the Kuhmo Ecsta HS52 tyre:

*Is it true that they are discontinued??? And if so will I receive the same enjoyment and satisfaction as I once did with the Kuhmo Ecsta SP31 tyres on the Kuhmo Ecsta HS52???

*Why does the Kuhmo Ecsta HS52 give off a burning rubber smell when driving as I find when I stop at traffic lights and stop streets or even just at a shop I get this burning rubber smell from my car and when I feel the tyres they are quite hot and the roads haven't heat up yet as it's been a little rainy since I put the tyres on which I'm still driving nicely with as I have done a service on the vehicle and brakes being part of the surface Im really taking quite easy well driving tyres and brakes and oil and everything in... The car wants to bolt and just go-go-go while I'm trying to be responsible and sensible to the new parts and additives aswell as tyre... Are these tyres suppose to be giving off the smell as I have never driven in new tyres that have given off any smell??? Should I go back to the garage and ask to have them replaced??? Could it be a factory fault or am I all of a sudden doing something wrong like not speeding and doing what I have done with my of my new tyres and that's drive them in for 5 000km with slower than usual driving techniques and arrogance compared to in my past years???

Good tyre but wears out fast compared to other makers

This tyre does its job for day-to-day commute. It gives grip both on dry & wet road. However, for spirited drive, it needs much correction because the tyres limit is very low. But if going on highway such as Karak in the dry, you can put your trust in it because it will hold you. Just not so much on Ulu Yam roads where there’s a lot of high speed tight corners. In the rain, I wouldn’t recommend you driving on Genting roads because there really is no grip that you can get from this tyre. It’s maybe a hard compound and therefore it’s hard to get heat in it hence the no grip issue on wet road. The plus point of this tyre is the longevity with its 400 treadwear rating. After driving multiple times on Ulu Yam and Gohtong, there still is no sign of wear on the tyres. So I would recommend this tyre for someone who is on a budget driving it for daily commute only. I got it from Ah Kit (Shah Alam) in 2021 for RM145 per piece (195/55/15). Coming from a Bridgestone Potenza RE003, this really is a no match (i know it is not apple to apple comparison).

Been driving on these since I bought the car in 2017 (started with 225/45ZR17, then switched to 205/55ZR16 on stock wheels as 225/50 was too expensive). Mostly driven quicker than general traffic (not quite spirited though), with occasional hard driving when conditions permit (although the South African potholes tend to make that hard). I can't really comment much on their wet grip as I'm not the type to do something stupid in the rain, but apart from when I had unstable toe at the back it's never disappointed in the wet. In the dry, they're excellent. They don't break loose unless I'm very deliberate, and even then the car is very easy to control. That being said, they do wear very quickly. I'm looking at 20-25k km on a set with rotation. So if you're looking for durable tyres, you'd best look elsewhere. But if like me you don't drive that much, then they give excellent grip for the money. And I can't say much about noise, as this is after all an inherently noisy car. I can definitely recommend them.