MidnightMafia

so wish general still made the exclaim uhp, they did awesome on these cars, the gmaxx isnt too bad though, wish nitto made the nt05 in our sizes...

georgiegxp

Brand and Name of the Tire:
Bridgestone Driveguard Run Flat

1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?
a) drag racing
b) road racing
c) year-round driving- C
d) summer only driving
e) winter only driving

2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.
a) yes-yes
b) no

If no, what size are they?



3) About how many miles do these tires last?
These tires are warrantied for 50,000 miles


4) Are these tires good in the rain?
Yes


5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow?
Yes


6) How much did you pay for these tires?
Fronts (each): $220 installed
Rears (each): $180 Installed

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?
a) yes-yes
b) no

8) What's your overall review of them?

This tire has a speed rating that meets or exceeds original equipment specs.Speed rating W, which is 168 mph exotic car rating, this is of course the lower end of that spectrum. I chose this particular tire because of it's run flat configuration. The tire can run with no air in it at 50 mph for 50 miles without tearing out the sidewall.

As we know the W body 18" wheel cars do not come from the factory with a spare, and good luck finding a doughnut that will clear the front brakes. So the piece of mind pertaining to being stranded because of a flat is huge.

The tire offers very good traction in all of the weather conditions that I have run it in,dry, rain, ice, snow. And is a very comfortable ride for long commutes. No harsh ride in the city either, but it is not spongy or lethargic. After paying almost $700 for two front struts (just parts), I expect the tires to compliment the capabilities of the FE-4 suspension, and these tires are up to task. They ride quiet and smooth, without the growling feature the old ones had. This was still after replacing all of the wheel bearings.

I know there are better high performance tires out there, but one needs to ask themselves. What exactly is performance? Is it the harsh unforgiving environment of an all out race configuration? Or is it a more than acceptable trade off by keeping your kidneys and ears intact while remaining safe and sound, not breaking the bank, and being able to tear *** around corners without taking nose dives into surrounding objects?

I guess you could say, I like em!

Brangeta

Awesome review!

Just as an update, I'm still happy with my Kuhmo tires. I'm at 55k miles currently... not sure what I was at when I started this thread (too lazy to look), but they are no longer "jelly donuts" at this point. The ride is less comfortable than it was when these tires were new. On the plus side, I still don't ever hear tire noise. I did have to drive in a bit of ice this winter and they did fine I think. In water I don't have the trust that I had with the OEM Potenza tires. I don't think I hydroplane, but it isn't like I am on rails like the Potenzas. In the OEM Potenzas I would have a hoot just driving fast through standing water lol.

Red_Zone

Brand and Name of the Tire: Hankook Ventus V12


1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?

d) summer only driving


2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.

b) no

If no, what size are they?

275/40R18 (front tire only review even though I have 235's on the back same brand... less concerned about rear tire performance)



3) About how many miles do these tires last?

18,000 miles


4) Are these tires good in the rain?

Fine for daily driving in rain.

5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow?

N/A

6) How much did you pay for these tires?
Fronts (each): Don't remember but price is never a factor for me so...

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?

b) no (unsuitable in my opinion for heavy modified LS4 setups)

8) What's your overall review of them?

When my car was Stock the tires performed fine and I had no issues with them. They looked good from the side, and had a decent enough tread pattern that was pleasing to the eye. Now that the car is Turbo charged though, these tires (in my opinion) do not provide me the straight line traction I demand.

They do wear a bit more on the edges due to cornering and how they are designed but I should point out that at no time did I feel they were inferior when cornering. I'm not a big "corner guy" in that it doesn't excite me much going around corners... I think the fastest I ever cornered aggressively on a hairpin was around 50 Mph and they gave a little noise but held the line fine... no complaints there. In fact, ran quiet, even tread wear(I do not rotate) and handled good... Great tire for a stock setup assuming rain and dry... much recommended!

However as mentioned modified cars will seek more.

I have ordered 275/35R/18 Bridgestone RE-71R tires for the front they are about 7 weeks out. I will quickly be able to determine if these stones provide me the straight line grip I require.

Brangeta

I just read through this thread, because I'm once again tire shopping for my GXP because the front ones are getting down to the wear indicators. Those Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum tires from 2013 are still what I have on the rear of my GXP and they still have plenty of tread to my surprise. I replaced the front tires in 2016 and Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum weren't available for some reason, so I was stuck buying Kumho Solus TA71 tires for the front. I have NEVER liked these Solus tires, so I'm surprised I never wrote a scathing review of them on here. I'll do that in a minute. They have always made the front of the car feel squishy... they don't look as good as the Ecstas... and I felt like I had to slightly overinflate them at 34 psi to make them feel less squishy and they still sucked.

I don't know why (is it because the price of oil is down?) but the Ecsta LX Platinum tires are much cheaper now than they were in 2013. These are the prices from Tirerack: $122.88 per front tire, $112.70 per rear tire. I see that Discount Tire doesn't have them on their website for some reason. They have something called Ecsta 4X II for $150 each for the front. I'll probably have to see if they will special order the Ecsta LX Platinum for me...

But... looking at kumhotireusa.com... they only list the Ecsta 4X II, Exsta PS31 (summer only), and Solus TA71... and the 4X II aren't grand touring tires, they are "ultra high performance" tires. So maybe the Ecsta LX Platinum have been discontinued (again?).

I'll figure out what I need to do. But here's a review of the tires I hate. I'll go back and update my Ecsta LX Platinum review since I have the paperwork for them in front of me.

Brand and Name of the Tire: Kumho Solus TA71 (but I only have them on the front)


1. What kind of driving do you do on these tires you're reviewing?
a) drag racing
b) road racing
c) year-round driving
d) summer only driving
e) winter only driving

2. Are the tires you're reviewing a matched set of OEM size tires? OEM size is 255/45-18 fronts and 225/50-18 rears.
a) yes
b) no

If no, what size are they?



3) About how many miles do these tires last?

I had these tires put on the front of my GXP on 9/1/16 at 63,639 miles and I'm at 73,443 miles and the tires are just above the wear indicators. That's right. These pieces of crap only lasted 9,804 miles.

4) Are these tires good in the rain?

Yes.

5) Are these tires good on ice or in snow?

I don't believe I ever encountered much ice or snow in the past 2 years, but I assume they are ok.

6) How much did you pay for these tires?
Fronts (each): $149.00 each
Rears (each):

7) Do you like these tires enough to buy them again?
a) yes
b) no

8) What's your overall review of them?

These things sucked from the day I bought them. They made the front of the car feel squishy, so I'd run them at 34 psi (which didn't seem to help). They really compromised the balance of the car and the driving experience. They'd do well in rain, I've never experienced hydroplaning. I don't know if I've driven through snow or ice in the last two years, but I assume they are ok.