Which tire? GS-D3 or Kumho ECSTA MX, help me choose

[Bingo13]

I am interested in the the BF KD and the Nitto 555R II for the front but I cannot make up my mind. My car never sees rain so I dont need wet weather performance, but I my car is a weekend car and i take it to shows and the track mainly. Out of the three tires described by you, which would you reccommend?

Thanks in advance,

THC

I have been on a work binge so I apologize for the late response.
I would recommend the Falken RT615 first, Nitto RII second, and although the KD is an excellent tire it is getting long in the tooth now. The Falken will give you the handling traits of the RII with a little better transient response in my opinion. It will perform well in the wet and from all indications wear better than the Nitto also. However, based upon your conditions and I assume track means road track you should have a look at the Pirelli PZero Corsa also.

 

[Bingo13]

Hey Bingo13 how are the Toyo R1's working?

The T1-Rs will be on the car next week for a trial run. I really like the Hankook RS-2 as a price performance leader to replace the Kumho MX.

 

[3Pete]

Bingo13 another question or 2, since you are our resident tire expert. My third (rainy day) car is stuck in florida until september, so I have to drive the Cobra in the rain. The bfg KDs suck for rain, so I put my stock wheels back on with the F1's. The F1's have to go. So what would you recommend as a daily driver tire. Question 2 is what tire would be best in cool/cold weather for traction and handling (no snow use). How do the Falken 451's compare with MX's? Thanks.

 

[gmynko]

I'm going with 295/35 and 275/35 18s Michelin PS2s because I just ordered 18x10 and 18x9 FR500s. The KD NTs are not available so I went with the Michelin - which I think would be a good tire for road courses and twistys.

 

[racebronco2]

i read a test a while back comparing the mx, kd, gs-d3 and another tire ... in the dry they were about the same about a few tenths on a test track ... in the wet the kd were the worst ..... braking about the same ... not much different except the price which the mx's were the cheapest ... go to tirerack.com and you can compare the tires you are interested in ... several catagories wet,dry, braking, handling etc

 

[boosted03cobra]

i have gs-d3 on my car right now if i had to do it over i would save the money and go with ecsta mx's

 

[2814v]

The kumho MX on my 03 are so-so. The price was right, will go with DR on the rear as soon as I roll my rear fenders. I have only heard good things about the GY gs-d3, untill this thread. I was thinking about them for my ZR1.

 

[FuzzyBuffalo]

Go to Car and Driver they have a tire test on 11 diff tire's, including these two.

 

[MY DREAM]

Shortly after I started this thread I purchased the Goodyear GS-D3's. I have had them on for about 6,000 miles and I love them. I used them on a track event at Thunderhill in California (97 miles) hard racing. I still have 70%tread wear left. I'm telling you right now the ability of these tires is awesome! Exspensive but good. Next time I think I will buy some cheaper tires as I love to spin the hell out of them. I think I will try the Kumho MX's next.

James

 

[Screamin Cobra]

I've heard good things about both...but i voted Goodyear

 

[03mineralg]

I have Kuhmo mx's on the cobra now but i am switching the rears to kd's only because i have 10.5 wheels. You cant get the mx in a 315\35\17 so i went with the widest one in a 285\40\17 and it is way to small looking on that wheel. The kumhos are great for the price.

 

[chevysRslow]

I have the Kumho MX's and really like them. Great for the street and even worked well during a couple open track days. Can't beat em for the price. I got a good deal through a friend. If anyone is interested, let me know and I'll see if he can get more at the same price.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

MXs ride a bit rougher than the GS D3s, and their wet performance isn't as good as the D3

I have the MXs, but will switch to Falken Azenis rt-615 when the 315s become available.

 

[TTA89]

I wouldn't buy the MXs because of the dumb ass graphics on the tire. WTF would they do that?

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

I wouldn't buy the MXs because of the dumb ass graphics on the tire. WTF would they do that?

Just dont armor all them... you cant even tell. It is a little gay looking though.

 

[flyn high again]

Good thread for tire buyers. Bingo 13 especially has some informative comments.

I'll add some info from my experiences.

I've used GSD3s and I think they are good street tires. They are OK in the dry and great in the rain. They won't hook like drag radials but they will last a couple years with moderate driving.

I wanted the car to hook better so I recently bought the M/T drag radials. Let me tell you, these mofos really, really hook on dry pavement. With a slightly modified Cobra you can punch the car in 1st gear with 0 wheel spin and a great launch. I wish I could end this paragraph right here but... The M/Ts are dangerous in rain. As with most sticky tires with next to no tread, the M/Ts are a challenge to drive over 40 mph in the rain. NOT RECOMMENDED for wet weather driving. If you do get caught unexpectedly in rain, be extremely cautious. The 2nd downside to these tires is that they are TOO sticky for the street. I have a few hundred miles on them and they are starting to come apart. They have developed a sand paper type surface and little chunks of rubber are coming off them during normal driving [no burnouts]. I'm going to have to remove them and put them aside for track only duty. Too bad because they hook better than any tire I've ever used. Used as a street tire, they also wallow around some because of the soft sidewalls [especially at higher speeds or when making lateral moves]. Great for the track, unfortunately not so great for the street...

Keep the comments coming because I need to buy a couple of street tires that will hook reasonably well, yet last a while and give decent rain performance. :beer:

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Good thread for tire buyers. Bingo 13 especially has some informative comments.

I'll add some info from my experiences.

I've used GSD3s and I think they are good street tires. They are OK in the dry and great in the rain. They won't hook like drag radials but they will last a couple years with moderate driving.

I wanted the car to hook better so I recently bought the M/T drag radials. Let me tell you, these mofos really, really hook on dry pavement. With a slightly modified Cobra you can punch the car in 1st gear with 0 wheel spin and a great launch. I wish I could end this paragraph right here but... The M/Ts are dangerous in rain. As with most sticky tires with next to no tread, the M/Ts are a challenge to drive over 40 mph in the rain. NOT RECOMMENDED for wet weather driving. If you do get caught unexpectedly in rain, be extremely cautious. The 2nd downside to these tires is that they are TOO sticky for the street. I have a few hundred miles on them and they are starting to come apart. They have developed a sand paper type surface and little chunks of rubber are coming off them during normal driving [no burnouts]. I'm going to have to remove them and put them aside for track only duty. Too bad because they hook better than any tire I've ever used. Used as a street tire, they also wallow around some because of the soft sidewalls [especially at higher speeds or when making lateral moves]. Great for the track, unfortunately not so great for the street...

Keep the comments coming because I need to buy a couple of street tires that will hook reasonably well, yet last a while and give decent rain performance. :beer:

Try the Falken azenis RT-615. It is a road race type tire, not a drag radial. They hook pretty well but not at a DR level. You won't, however, fear for your life in the rain.

 

[Coyote 5.0]

I just put on a set of Falken 451s. Nice tire, quiet and a hell of alot better then them damn Goodyear F1s but I just use them for street driving, I use Kumho V710s at the track

 

[TheFleshRocket]

This is what I said in a thread about Kumho ASXs in the Termi Talk section:

I have Kumho 712s on my '89 GT. They repeatedly need to be balanced. I'll get them balanced and they'll be nice for a couple thousand miles, maybe, and then they start getting out-of-balance. You know, you can feel a bit of shuddering at certain speeds. Grip is not terribly impressive either. Last week, in ~50F ambient temps, I started passing a car while going uphill in third at about 40mph. I decided that I needed second when I saw oncoming traffic in the distance. I match-rev downshifted and floored it, the back end got squirrely the rest of the way through the pass. These are 275/40ZR17s on a H/C/I/E car with about 290rwhp. I could have probably made the same pass in my ~450rwhp Cobra (with BFG KDs) without spinning.

I had Kumho 711s on my old '88 Fiero GT and my girlfriend's old '98 Sebring. Both of those cars also had tire balance issues as well, although the 711s seemed to be grippier tires than the 712s.

A long time ago, I ran with Kumho Ecsta V700 autocross slicks on my Fiero for daily driver and track use, and those tires were great.

Conclusion? I wouldn't be opposed to buying Kumho competition-oriented tires in the future, but no way in hell will I put street Kumhos on anything, ever again.

 

[TheFleshRocket]

Go to Car and Driver they have a tire test on 11 diff tire's, including these two.

Here's the direct link:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10252/tire-test-the-quick-and-the-tread.html