I am looking for lower budget 215/35/19's for daily driving in Austin. I am currently on the Falken Azenis ST-115 with no problems. The ECSTA SPT and Azenis are about the same price and I know that some here ride on the ECSTAs. Has anyone ridden on both and have a strong opinion towards one or the other? Thanks.

 

No one?

 

I'm stunned - no response. I guess I am talking to myself in here. I think I hear an echo. Hello...hello...hello. Hey MINITOR how you doing? Pretty good, and you? Pretty good.

Seriously now, anyone driven on both?

 

ST 115s...

I have them on both my Mini Cooper and my BMW....

 

Well there is one for the Falkens. Anyone else?

 

I have the SPT's and really like them. But, I have not driven on the 115's so I don't have a comparison.

 

Anyone have a pic of the Kumho SPT? I just talked to my local tire shop and they have the Kuhmo SPT KU 31s in stock. Can't seem to find a picture of the tread/tire. I'd like to hear of others running the SPT as well... I don't have 19s though...

 

I am looking to buy the Kumho Ecsta SPT's myself, and here is the pic that I was given. The size I plan on buying is the 205/45/17. What do you think? I've heard good reviews...

 

Looks good to me. I was looking at a 215/45/17 for my MINI. I'd like alittle more meat on the tire... Wider stance too. Anyone know if these won't fit? I have the S lites.

 

I am running BFG 215/40/17's on S lites with no problems but I don't know if that helps any.

 

I've got to get some new tires. Going in Thursday, so we'll see. I'm running the Yuko AVS ES 100s right now. They're a good tire, but looking for a change.

 

Here's a pic of the Falkens, my other option. Not really sure which I like the looks of better. And I am still not sure which one performs better as only one person has commented on the Falkens.

 

i have had my kumho ecsta SPT 215/45-17 for now about 20,000km and i can see at least another 5 maybe 10 on them.. i cant compare them to the 115, but i can compare them to my previous tire... bridgestone potenza re750

overall... in comparison.... the SPT is excellent in the dry... in the autox it holds its own against azenis well... good wet traction, its pretty quiet, and slightly softer than the RE750... initial turn in isn't as responsive as the RE750, but i can tell ya... the SPT is a better tire, for less.... furthermore as something to boot, it seems to hold out better on the track than the RE750, but i havent truly push them on the track like I did with the RE750...

so one for the kumho! defenitely do it again if i wanted something long lasting and can stand up to the odd autox in between.... but im moving onto azenis or the ventus rs2 next season

 

So I just ordered the SPT in a 215/40-17. Can you tell me the advantage of the 215/45-17? I hope I didn't make the wrong decision!
PS- I went for this Enkei wheel- what do y'all think???

 

For what it's worth, I recently (~3k miles ago) replaced a set of Kumho SPTs (205/50R16) with Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3's. The Eagles are much more to my liking. The SPT's had great dry traction, especially when new, but the Eagles are better. The Eagles feel far superior in the wet (although I didn't have many opportunities to drive on wet pavement with either tire). The SPT's were slightly quieter on concrete highways, and noticably softer, which made them more comfortable for cruising, but adversely affected crispness of turn-in and road feel. The SPT's also tended to make unpleasant screeching noises when approaching the critical slip angle, while the Eagles provide a nice, broadband "roar" or "whoosh", which helps my co-pilot feel more comfortable during spirited twisty runs. This auditory feedback seems to be more useful as it provides info to the driver in a gradual, linear fashion. The SPT's had a nice gradual transition at the limits of traction - especially when new - but the screeching didn't seem to provide as much info about when the limit would be reached. After about 11,000 miles on the SPT's their characteristics drastically changed - I beleiev that this was when the outer layer of "good" tread compound finally wore away, revealing the "durable" compound underneath. The last 5,000 miles or so on these things were not very enjoyable: much less sticky; less gradual transition; noisier; and terrible in the wet. For what it's worth, the SPT's went through a HPDE track day at Laguna Seca, lots of spirited twisties, and some long-distance runs through the desert. I neglected to rotate (swap) tires front-to-rear, and by the time I got rid of them, the fronts were almost slick (wear bars blocked the continuous grooves), while the rears looked almost new, other than some minor heat-texturing.

I have no suspension mods, am running on 16"x7" aftermarket Konigs, have a 15% SC reduction pulley, Getrag 6-spd stick w LSD, and avoid using DSC under most conditions. The Eagles are the same size as the SPT's they replaced. Also, for reference, I really liked the Kumho 712s I ran on my previous car: 1999 Subaru 2.5RS (non-turbo precursor to the WRX), which I also drove very spiritedly (The only way to enjoy a subie is to whip it!). I found the SPT's to be very similar in character to the 712's, although they did seem to perform slightly better in the wet, and did last longer.

Still need to see how the Eagles feel at the track, but based on my experiences with them so far, and on comments from others who run them, I think they're a much better match for the MINI, and spirrited driving.

Hope this helps,

_Dave_

 

Go with the falkons. But get the Azenis 615s...

 

Now that wasnt one of the options! I'm trying to be cheap here (but still be satisfied.)

Well even though I have had more responses for the Khumos, I notice that the Ecsta SPT reviews are good but not the best, whereas all Azenis 115 reviews I have received (here and elsewhere) have been only positive. Hmm...

 

just picked up my MINI from the tire shop.. Ended up with the Kuhmos ASX, so not really relevant to the conversation, but thought I'd let everyone know. So far, so good. Wanted the SPT's, but the didn't have them in stock... needed tires pretty bad.

 

all tires has their own tradeoffs... like i said before... the SPTs are phenomenol in the dry, softer sidewall and poor initial turn-in can be remedied by bumping up the pressure, and suprisingly as a summer tire, it held well even at around 0 and 1 celcius for me.... i am not gonna drag you away from the falkens.. truly the best idea is to see around your local club and see if anyone is willing to take you for a ride, or better yet, drive their car!

CooperSPR, 215/40-17 is lower profile, giving you a slight gearing advantage (smaller wheel than the stock speedo reading), but will throw your speedo out, as well, less rubber means a harder ride, 215/45 is around the same contact patch, but keeps the speedo reading proper, as well, more rubber on the side prevents bending wheels, breaking your back, etc etc...

 

kyriian - you know anything about the Kumho Ecsta XM's? How do they compare to the SPT's? What about tread life on the XM's and SPT's. What can we expect?

 

I had Kumho before and all I can say is that they don't last that long. I can't remember if they were CSTA SPT. I think they lasted maybe a year and a half but can't remember the mileage on them.

 

not so sure about the XM, but i do know they have a MX, from what i gathered from researching, the MX is the max performance tire, you shouldnt expect longer life compared to the SPT, but it is a tire designed to compete with the likes of Azenis and the Ventus RS2 (ST class tires)

i never put treadlife on tires as a factor to buy though.. that's just who i am.... if i wanted long life, i would've gotten a civic and got touring tires! its a performance car, unless you drive like you drive a civic, why bother buying a high performance tire? buy the tire that fits the car... would michael schumacher win the world championship if he was wearing big steel toed boots?

 

True kyriian, I don't care too much on tread life either. I know that high performance tires don't last that long. I believe is because they tend to be a softer rubber and this makes them sticker to the surface. I least that's what I think but I'm no expert.

 

I just noticed that the General Exclaim UHP got better ratings from the Tire Rack user reviewt han the SPT's . Hmmm... Anyone have any comparisons/input on these?