cmanns

They're just really soft/sticky.

You should see what sticks to these tires, I was reading and many people found them okay for light street driving, aggressive and they'll wear pretty quick (Like 2-5k miles)

A person suggested to clean them with a wet rag before autox's and such, rocks and what not will just stick to them I just spin the rears a few times till they're warmer and move side to side that clears the front decently.

brock-n

Has anyone tried the Kumho KR-21's? They are evidently available in 205/60 - 13.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Where did you see this size at? On tirerack the largest 13 is 185/70.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...irePageLocQty=

Your better off with the Sumitomos, I think they might be a bit stickier and they do come in 205/60 as mentioned.

brock-n

I'm told they may be a new size offering. At any rate, the machine shop that's restoring my alloys says his supplier has them in stock in that size. I've had him double-check the size and availability and he swears they are there. Being a cynical person, I also called Kumho Tire Canada and they say the tire does exist.

At this point I can evidently get the Kumho's, Delta Road Max or (maybe) the Sumitomo's. The latter is iffy... I found one dealer who says he can get them, but everyone else says they aren't available... they have a production run every once in a while and when the stock is gone, there aren't any around until they decide to do them again. Not sure if that's really the truth or not, but the dealers seem to be happy to tell me that story!

It would be nice if this thread could be used to keep track of what is available in this size... have people post what they've purchased in the last few weeks or months and maybe post when a tire is known to be discontinued.

orion84gsl

iTrader: (5)

There is no reason you shouldn't be able to get them. You may need to order them from www.tirerack.com, which will cost a couple extra bucks for shipping and duties. The upside is you get a good tire. I've noticed a lot of tire dealers don't look very hard. I was looking for a set of Hankook Ventus RS-2's for some 14 inch wheels I bought, and although they are available in Canada, the couple of places I called couldn't find them.

brock-n

I just remembered an acquaintance in the tire business a few miles down the highway from me, so I gave him a call. He looked at the two models I mentioned and at first suggested the Sumi based on the speed rating... then he thought some more and decided the Kumho was probably a better bet since in his experience they make a good tire and also give good support. He felt that Sumi wasn't much in that department in comparison and that the Kumho was a better bet as a result.

I'm gathering that nobody is using the Kumho... so perhaps it is a new size offering. My acquaintance also noted that Kumho is pretty big in drifting and generally makes a well-finished tire.

I'm not completely decided yet, but I'm leaning toward the Kumho since I'm not planning to push the car too hard (and in fact, letting the back end hang out is more fun than being super-sticky anyway!). And, since this is intended to be a collector type car when restored, I want the tires to last a long time rather than be stellar performers. I don't want to go through this again when the selection of tires is even more sparse!

Has anyone on the board driven the Kumho's on any of their vehicles?

orion84gsl

iTrader: (5)

Your going to see a big drop off in grip with an all season tire. Even though he hasn't heard much about the Sumi's, they are a very good tire, especially for the price and will give you much more confidence in your car's handling. Unless you drive in light snow I would suggest going with the Sumi's. You can still get the *** end out, but it'll be much more controllable, therefore less likely you'll put her sideways into a curb/tree/car/person.

brock-n

<sigh> People obviously love their Sumi's but it looks like nobody has actually run on the Kumho's. I had a look at the tirerack link and found these two pages, which are the best I can come up with for a comparison between the two tires:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....del=Solus+KR21

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....eModel=HTR+200

The number of responses used to make up these ratings are very close - 649 and 659. The Kumho's clearly rate better in every category. Unfortunately, the typical car is different... the Kumho's are typically going on sedans while the Sumi's are going on more sporting vehicles. So the ratings perhaps aren't as comparable as I would hope.

Reading the reviews, people love and hate them both.

Not an easy decision! It may come down to availability... shipping from Tirerack to me doubles the price.

Kentetsu

The Kuhmos only come in 185 width for 13 inch. That alone would make me want to go with the Sumitomos. Skinny tires make 7s look like they're wearing high heels.

The Sumi will be much more of a performance tire, but they still last a good long time. Even with all of the abuse that my tires take with autocrossing, I get a good 20,000 miles out of them before they are in need of replacing.

In this one instance, using these two tires as an example, I would say that Kuhmo has a better name brand, but Sumitomo is offering a better tire (if you care at all about performance).

j_tso

iTrader: (2)

I prefer to think of that look as "old school rally".

brock-n

Heh... yeah, that's what it would be alright. I just can't do it! It would look like it was on high heels!

I remember a guy... I think his name was Rod Millen, racing an early RX-7 in stage rallies. I think he may have actually converted it to all wheel drive at some point. I saw him race in British Columbia at least once and the sound of that exhaust really sent shivers down your spine... Lookie what I found:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...ideoID=1636444

I could swear he had that thing driving all four wheels at some point in the early '80s, but that video doesn't look like he had that going then. I'd love to know if he did build an AWD RX-7 and if so, how...!

And the 205 Kumho's do exist, at least in Canada... I just ordered four of them! However, the scuttlebutt I got through my supplier is interesting... the story is that these tires were made for the Tiger club (Sunbeam) and they are rare as hen's teeth. I just got 4 of them and the warehouse has 3 left. When I first started my search, there were 9...

I'll post my experiences with them once I can take them for a spin.

j_tso

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, Millen used a 626 front end to convert it to AWD and a lever to switch between RWD to AWD. There's a thread somewhere on this site that shows photos of the drivetrain by itself.

Jeezus

iTrader: (4)

THAT I would like to see!


I knew people used FB AWD/4WD in group B before.

EDIT: Not to get off topic, but I found it funny on one stage, where a RWD RX7 beat a AWD RX7 with a V6 transplant. Just can't beat the rotary.

j_tso

iTrader: (2)

OK, I was bored: http://mrec.rotary.net.nz/millen/millen.htm Apparently Millen also did a 4WD FC.

steering the topic back, anyone here still drive on the 5x13, stock wheels? I'm looking for a good 175 or 165 size tires for commuting. One of the writers for Octane has an XK150 with 165-15 Pirelli Cinturatos and likes them a lot, and since those guys do all kinds of driving, I'm leaning towards those.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

I worked the 100 Acres In The Woods (its in Missouri) a couple of years and Millen showed up in that AWD rx7. It was really something. Probably one of the reasons when I got out of school I got the 7 I have today.

Kentetsu

I have run the 205 and 215 Sumitomos on the stock "+" style wheels before. They both worked great..

brock-n

Nice photos. Gotta like that exhaust through the passenger door... pity the poor navigator who had to sit there, listening to the blaaaat of that exhaust and having his legs baked by the super-hot exhaust! We had a weekend of track time on what was once Westwood in Vancouver and one of the guys in our group had what could only be described as a rotary dune buggy with VW transaxle. He ran open exhaust until the noise police caught up with him... then he clamped on a muffler. The thing glowed cherry red and you could see where all the baffles were. And that engine wasn't pushing anywhere near the HP Millen's would have been!

http://mrec.rotary.net.nz/millen/millen9.jpg is an interesting shot. Would have been a trick to get all of that lined up and operating...

Thanks for the responses on the tires everyone. I know a few people doubt the Kumho's actually exist, so I'll attempt to add a photo of them when I get them delivered as proof!

j_tso

iTrader: (2)

I keep hearing Sumitomo HTRs are pretty much hopeless when it's wet, can you verify this?

I meant the stock steels that were 5x13, the alloy (+) ones are 5.5x13. I've got a set of Minilites that are 5" wide that I plan on using for cruising around, skinny tires being easier to park and better fuel economy on the highway; then use the stock ones with Sumitomos for autocrossing.

Kentetsu

The Sumis do just fine in the wet. In fact, one of my videos shows a race that took place in a downpour. I had the fastest time of the day, even against the Subarus, until the course dried up.

Hillbillyag

iTrader: (2)

I bought the Kumhos 2 months ago from Tirerack to replace 2 bad tires. I have them on the front and they seem to work fine. I have not done any super hard driving since installing them however. They do not look that great though. The sidewall bulges funny, kind of like big truck tires. They did very well the one time I drove in heavy rain.

85rx-7gsl-se

iTrader: (2)

I have a set of V700s for 14's and they have a 50 treadwear rating lol


On my LE, I have Mastercraft GT tires. Decent but too pricey IMHO. Look into some Federals. They offer a good selection in 13".

workinprogress80

on my SA I run Cooper Cobra Radial GT's they are 205/60/13's

brock-n

For all those doubters out there... A photo of the new Kumho's (well, one anyway) on a spanky refurbished wheel! I think you can just read the 205/60-13 at this resolution.

Kentetsu

Hmmm. It does not appear to be a high performance tire though, more like an all weather tire from what I can see of the tread. Would that be correct?

brock-n

High performance? I don't think I'd consider it to be that. My intent was to find a tire that was somewhat period-authentic to the car and I think these meet that requirement. As far as performing goes, I'd say they do better than the Comp T/A's I had on there before (circa 1990!). As we've pretty much determined, there isn't much selection out there these days!

I guess you'd really have to try them to know how they compare to the Sumi's. One site I found suggested (based on user ratings) that the Kumho was stickier than the Sumi. But I doubt many people in that group had experience with both, so it would have been purely subjective at best anyway. They only cost me $90 CDN a piece, so I'm not going to complain! I think I paid more for those old BFG's twenty years ago...