Actually, it's not that odd. I can't floor my car in 1st gear at any speed or rpm, or I lose all traction. It's not the clutch, it's the tires spinning. These run flats really suck!

 

Wow! That's REALLY bad. Well, it's clear why they were free.

Kumho oughta be ashamed to sell a tire that blows that badly. I have Kumho Ecsta MX's, and they handle very well on dry pavement. Good value so far. Living in CA probably helps.

 

yea the kumho mx's are a nice tire. there are a bunch of decent tires that are on the less pricey side too you could look at. but i would have to say 1st gear is a pointless one if you want to feel the car pull hard. 2nd and 3rd are good gears for that. try looking at the bfgoodrich g-force kdw-2s i think they are with the aggressive looking tread pattern on them. really nice tire, they hold well in dry and wet driving conditions but dont let be see weather below 30° as i hear they start to chunk...haha

 

i got kuhmo ecsta ast 205/45/17 and replaced the factory runflats. and the difference is night and day. i would agree that runflats have no traction. the ast's have not slipped once, unless i wanted them to!

 

I have 215/45/17 SPTs and I notice this in the winter when the temps are below 40f. This is common with the high performance summer tire types as the rubber compound is not as compliant in colder temps.

JHUD, what is the weather like where you are?

 

the waether is about 70% good dry weather and 30% rain and snow. I dont drive my mini the entire winter however i keep it garaged. its never seen road salt. the temp is in the 30s in winter and the 80s in winter. Cincy Ohio