Kumho Tyres?

[Digital Mouth]

 

Has anyone tried the Kumhos?

 

What did you think of them?

[Peter M]

Bought my 993 with a set of KU39's that the PO had put on about 3 years previously but only covered a few thousand km.

Had absolutely no expectations of excellence.

However have frankly been surprised how good they are, especially in the wet and when you consider they are about 2/3 the price of the traditional European brands.

Only thing I dislike is that they don't make the right size for the front of a 993 and have been looking around to change the fronts for that reason alone.

[JohnA]

had the KU39's on my scirocco R and was very happy with the traction on them.

I ran 255/30/19's all round on that car.

[Mike737]

Got ku31's on the front of the 996 and they're ok in the dry. Wet is just understeer and plough, plough, plough. Wouldn't ever buy again.

[carl888]

The Kumho brand is not an approved Porsche fitment.  There's a reason why Porsche tyres for the street (I assume its for a road car, not for the track) all feature the "N" classification meaning Porsche approval.  Porsche spend a LOT of money annually testing tyres for type approval.  All the hard work been done for you, just check their list of approved tyres from their website and go for it.

 

Not sure which model you plan to put them on, but as per the owners manual, you must run the same type of tyre front and rear.

 

There's a link on the Porsche website devoted to classics too:

 

http://www.porsche.com/australia/aboutporsche/pressreleases/pca/?lang=none&pool=international-de&id=94463

 

I used to test tyres regularly and the biggest issue with the cheap import tyres was   1. They carried a high TWI (Tread wear index), the compound was just too hard to begin with and 2. they did not maintain performance over its life.  Durometer tests revealed after three years the tyres were already significantly harder that the approved type tyres.  This usually manifested itself by much, much longer braking distances in the wet.

[Peter M]

For those who are a bit weak with their german try this:
http://www.porsche.com/usa/accessoriesandservices/porscheservice/documentsanddownloads/



Carl,

Do you use Porsche A40 approved lubricant too?

[carl888]

For those who are a bit weak with their german try this:

http://www.porsche.com/usa/accessoriesandservices/porscheservice/documentsanddownloads/

Carl,

Do you use Porsche A40 approved lubricant too?

Oh dear, another oil question!  No issue with A40 lubricants, but I do not know under what circumstances Porsche add an oil to the A40 list.  Anyone know?  If I knew, I'd be able to make an informed decision.  (I don't use an oil off that list BTW)  For example, I think it's good to have ZDDP in 2V engines without hydraulic tappets, but I see on the A40 list are some oils that don't feature ZDDP at all, like the Mobil 1.  (Perhaps it's because this additive is poisonous the catalytic converters).  I don't know!  Must be worth another oil thread I think!

[Peter M]

Carl,

I can see it now, you and I are going to get on great!

 

Don't you think it's ironic that the guy that lectures us about using Porsche endorsed "N" tyres doesn't use the similarly endorsed lubricants?

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Definitely not worth ANOTHER oil thread but:

Oil manufacturers pay Porsche to have the A40 and the similar low SAPS C30 approval testing and endorsements,

Mobil One A40 approved oils have Zn and P contents of around 1100ppm and 1000ppm respectively.  Mostly likely in the form of ZDDP.

Definitely agree with you that these elements form the cornerstone anti- wear compound but there is much more to a good oil than just the "Zink" contents that the US forums harp mindlessly on about.

 

Oh BTW, I'm not necessarily a "N" or "A40" user either!) 

[carl888]

Yep!

 

Well, nothing wrong with using what Porsche recommends!  The tyres make sense, I just don't have the resources the factory does.  You'll notice all the ones they suggest have low TWI.  Just a shame they are difficult to source here.  I'm curentlly using the Conti-Sport Contact N1 but they are no longer available so when I'm up for tyres it looks like the Bridgestone S-02 or Michelin MXX Pilot which I suspect I'll have to personally import.

 

I wasn't aware that the Mobil 1 A40 was available here in Australia AND it contained ZDDP.  Thanks for the tip  That's great if it is.  My issue with zinc is I have access to an oil testing facility through a friend and it was easy to demonstrate valve train issues on the limited engines I'm involved with with oils that didn't contain it.