I had debated long and hard about what kind of 17" tires to get. I knew I wanted to get 225/50R17s instead of the 235/45R17s I had been running. I always felt the 235/45 was probably too wide for the 7" rim even though that was the size the Tire Rack recommended. My decision came down to the Falken Ziex 512 and the Kumho KH11. After some research, it appeared many late model BMW owners were in love with the their KH11s and the KH11s received pretty good marks from the Tire Rack track testing. There wasn't much information concerning the Falken 512 except that Consumer Reports rated then a best buy and I feared the V-rating and slightly less aggressive thread might not be up to my liking for my spirited driving. The KH11s on the otherhand are visually Pirelli P-Zero knockoffs and are W-rated. I went ahead and got the KH11s (not snow rated) because they were cheaper ($100) and appeared to offer more of what I wanted. I'll run my 15s in the 2 months of snow between late December and early Feb.

I got the KH11s installed on Wednesday. By going with the 225/50 vs the 235/45, I gained about .5" in tire diameter. I expected this and it was nice because the taller tire fills the wheel gaps better and offers a little more ride compliance. My speedometer is off by about 2mph at 60mph now.

Ride wise, I was VERY happy to see how well these tires rode without any heat cycling. It usually takes 10-15 warm/cool tire cycles for tires to break in and ride better. These tires are both quiet and very compliant. I still only have about 100 miles on the tires and the slick mold forming compounds are probably still working their way off the tread. However, I got into a little contest with a new Tiburon at the "track" last night and decided to give it a shot. I revved up to 3000rpms and on the green layed into it. To my surprise these things got a little chirp chirping, but essentially hooked up very hard. The 1-2 shift was met by a very slight chirp. By 60mph the race was over with me about 3 cars ahead and a dumbfounded Tiburon owner. I'm very impressed at how these things hook up without even being fully broken in and on a extremely humid night (~90% humidity right before a T-storm).

Handling wise, I haven't really pushed them yet because to me it's pretty important to break the tire in fully before throwing it into hard turns or severe braking. I do notice the tires do seem to be a little more darty on certain surfaces. This may or may not go away with break in. Adjusting from the current 32/30psi setup may help things too.

Overall, these tires are exactly what I hoped from. I will post back in a few thousand miles and give an update. I give the tires a solid 9 out of 10 right now.


Dave

 

you know, back when i was first considering these, (still dont have them but planning on it) i was asking everyone and nobody knew wtf they were.. now about 8 months later im finally getting some feedback, and its all good i cant wait to get em

what do you think about the looks?

 

how about wet weather handling?

 

D00d i've been trying to figure out whether or not to buy these or the falken's I think i'll try these considering the price.

 

Wet weather handling seems pretty good. I'm not an aggressive driver in the wet stuff though because too many bad things can happen. The rain in Kansas City was very heavy and tires were fine. I still need to find a vacant wet surface to test the limit of adhesion so I can understand the limits of this tire.

I've put about 500 miles on the tires and it seem that the tires need about 32/30psi (factory recommendation) to ride and perform their best. I've experimented and it seems that running 35/32 makes the car a little twitchy. Overall, the tires have been great and the slightly larger diameter of the 225/50s helped fill the wheelwells a little to give the car a more lowered look. Over sharp pavement cuts, these tires do exhibit a bit more tire slap and "pinging" than my Sumitomo HTR+, but over all other surfaces these tires are more comfortable, quiet, and handle very well. I've pushed them pretty hard into some sweepers and they felt really good. At the limit they break away calmly and come right back into line with a little throttle modulation.


Dave

 

Which track were you at? Metcalf Speedway? or Nall International?

-vq