I really want to get this because it is sooooooo cheap compared to the other brands. But is the grip that bad? Will it slip and throw me into a ditch at every turn? My camber is pretty negative up front and I am looking at new front tires annually anyways.

I still have Michelin Pilot Sports in the rear. Can I go Kuhmo 712's in the front?

They are not that bad.. fine for daily driver and wet weather. There are also the MX's.

You don't see every other "regualr" Kia, Honda, Acura, etc.. sliding off the road and bursting into a fireball due to the cheap tires they put on. Most of them have tires that aren't even half as good as the Kumho 712.

Just don't expect to be able to go as fast as you used to. As long as you drive within your (and the tires) limits there should be no issue.

I realize this will be an unpopular answer:rolleyes: but I have been fairly impressed with the Kumho 712 for the price. They may not be cutting edge, but if you are bargain hunting for a decent performance tire at a cheap price, they are hard to beat. They may not have the namebrand, but I have paid a lot more for a lot worse! IMHO, their wet-weather performance is their strong suit.

Your mileage may vary...

Brian Flanagan
Tires Fear Me:evil2

The 712s will be fine street tires. Dry grip is wanting, but very predictable. I bet that replacing the fronts will give you some noticeable understeer with the michi pilots still on the rear.

I have the 712's and using H&R race. My front camber is about neg 2.5 deg. My tires wore out after 20 some K miles. Of course I had to flip them somewhere in between.

i used them for the track last year because i had them for free and they actually were pretty good. for street use, i don't think you can beat them with that price.

i take my corners pretty hard for normal drive at like 30mph at most every turn, and there hasnt been problems with them yet :)

I like mine just fine. I corner aggressively and they hold. I was pulling on M's in the corners at my drivers school on them. I think I'll try the MX's next time though.

Ted

i'm sure these will be fine. interesting note, i was in HI for the drift showoff event in the summer and some of the corolla guys run kumho because with their under powered cars they can get it more sideways and lose traction easier w/ these tires than the falken azenis and the yokohama tires.

very predictable and a great value.

They have been pretty good for me as well... nothing comes close in the price either...

What about the Yoko ES100's?

Edit: oops, I didn't realize they were like $86 on tirerack for the 712's. Damn that's cheap.

I ran through a set of ES100's and just put some 712's on due to the horrible wear I got from the ES100's(although there were alot of track and autox miles on them...).

I'm so far happier with the 712's than I ever was with the ES100's. The sidewalls are stiffer and more responsive, but seem more compliant over hard bumps. Noise is much less than the ES100's(although they weren't that loud at the beginning, but did get loud towards the end). Dry grip is comparable, wet grip is not something I really test, but both tires seem great in this respect(my bald ES100's never hydroplaned on me at highway speeds).

Overall, for the price advantage and IMO better dynamic feel from the 712's, they clearly win over the ES100's.