Kumho Ecsta PS71 Reviews - Page 2

Have 4 of theses on a 2022 Peugeot 208 EV, noisy tyre, car isnt quiet as it was with the original Michelin E-primacy but the michelins are fierce money. The tyre pressure monitor came on when driving one day and i stopped and checked all tyres and they were ok , i even ran my had around all tyres to see if there was a screw or a nail in the tyre and nothing so continued driving and after about 10 minutes the car very noisy and handling was bad so i knew i had a puncture and pulled in. I have a compressor in the boot so i tried to pump up the tyre and air was flying out so i got the tyre sealant and it was workig but the tyre was blowing up in lumps so i knew the tyre was all twisted. When i looked at the tyre there was a big piece of rubber that came away from the tyre so i seems to me the tyre was bad and deformed and these tyres are only a little over half worn also from the picture you can see cracks in between the treads. Whe i was looking up tyres i did see a lot of people complained about thes tyres loosing their shape and thats exactly what happened to this tyre. On my experience i wont be buying kumho tyres again . The tyre is gone back to the garage that fitted them so i will wait and see what happens. I now have to buy 2 new tyres even though the kumhos are only half worn.

Dry:
If you're driving in hot climates (from 20C up) they're quite good (8/10) because handling, braking and stiffness feel just right. They are super noisy for a summer tire, above 90kmh they feel on par with Vredestein Quatrac Pro which are all season tires! The grip is not comparable to Michelin Pilot Sport 4S but that's to be expected.

Wet:
Rain behavior is interesting because they do slip (cars tamer than my Mustang probably wont make them slip at all) but they slip predictably and progressively without snapping, the central grooves are wider than usual so aquaplaning doesn't happen easily. They're okay in my opinion, grip is limited but they warn you soon enough.

Cold:
Kumho PS71 are terrible in the cold (below 10C) they are super stiff and they snap easily even in the dry (cool if you want to do some drifting but dangerous) and they're terrifying in wet conditions, I went on a 18% steep downhill at around 3C temperature on a relatively dry road (it rained the night before but most of the road was dry with some wet patches) and the wheels locked up with minimal and gentle brake input so I had to engine brake at 4k rpm to not slide, this would never happen with Continental SportContact or Bridgestone Potenza high-end summer tire. I never tested these tires below freezing or during winter luckily.

Durability:
No rim protection which on big wheels and low profile should be standard, wear is disappointing considering how stiff the tire is, probably the hard compound tears down more than softer rubber. Rear axle went flush with the wear bars before 18tkm and the front before 25tkm of course the Mustang will eat through the rear tires like butter considering how heavy and powerful it is but a Pilot Sport 4S will last almost 30tkm and provide significantly more grip throughout the entire lifespan...

Conclusion:
Good budget tire for hot climates, to be avoided at all cost in cold environment. I would not buy this tire again unless I get a super good deal (max 110€ per tire compared to Continental which are 160€)

Tested on 2000 NB MX5 with Teinz coilovers

I have another review closer to the beginning of life for these tires, this is a near end of life update

got the MX5 aligned recently, and although it drove well before (its hard to find a poor handling mx5) the toe out on the front destroyed the tires faster than they otherwise would have worn.

however with the new alignment (F: 0 toe; -1.5 camber; 4.5 caster R: -1.3 camber; -0.50mm toe) both the car and tires feel alot better.

I also have done a track day with them, they felt great for about 1 1/2 laps of a ~1 minute track but become really greasy afterward as they overheat somewhat quick. this said that is not a criticism of the tyre as it is not designed for track work.

Dry grip on the Twisties / Touge is very good and unless you are really pushing it (to the dismay of local law enforcement) these have more than adequate grip for fun spirited driving. However you can get them loose if you try and of course will not have the pace of dedicated semislicks.

wet grip is very good, you can get them loose with some ease if you try, however to do so would not be 'driving to conditions'. for their class in an Australian climate their wet grip is great (probably not PS4S great, but not so bad it's dangerous.)

only thing I'd say is wear is not that great, granted i did have a poor alignment that accelerated wear, but i would eyeball the wear as below average for it's class. not horrible, not great either. the PS71's on my MX5 have lasted 15,000 km of driving on a harsh alignment (toe out on front) 60-70% of that driving was at 7-9 tenths on twisty roads, so abnormally hard compared to most.

I wouldn't recommend this tire to those who drive Touge / Track at pace often in summer or in a climate where you can run summer tires year round (like australia) . go for a semi slick in that case if you can stomach the poor wet performance. or a PS4/PS4s/PS5/PSs5 if it is in your size (PS4/PS5 also overheat on track so keep that in mind) a PS71 is simply not made for a Track/ heavy Touge use case.

if you need wet weather grip and take your car for a 6-8 tenths run every now and then but need a good daily tire, these tires will be great value for money.

a PSA:
get an alignment. Don't care if you've had the car for a month and the previous owner said they got one recently, get an alignment as any handling or wear issues cannot be blamed on the tire unless you personally have taken your car to get an alignment yourself. a fresh alignment, especially custom performance specs (do your research!) can have a monumental impact on how the car feels regardless of tire choice.

A little bit disappointed with these tyres. Bought them for a Citroen DS3 1.6 diesel (90hp).

I do mostly driving up and down the Peak District for my commute, so there's a lot of twisty roads and lots of braking and acceleration due to the hills.

Grip is great in the dry and wet, and have good aquaplane resistance on a straight line. Decent grip around the corners, but can occasionally trigger the traction control if you accidentally floor it mid corner. Fuel economy is decent, and from my experience, it has fairly low roll resistance. Braking distance is average, but stable.

However, I can see why these have good performance for the price, and it's because of the poor wear.

Bought these with 7mm tread new on all corners. They are already down to 3mm at the front and 6mm at the back, after only 10,000 miles.

They were £86 per tyre when I got them. Would probably buy them again, if I was strapped for cash. But might be better to get something a little bit more expensive, but with better wear resistance.