Id like some feedback on the Kumo Ecsta KH11 tires.

I plan to put them on my stock 2002 SE. Anyone else have them? what are your experiences? I will be buying them for $125 each with free mounting and balancing? Worth it??? whats better? Should i get the stock size 225/50 17 or go with 235/50 17? i know the 235 is slightly oversized and may put the speedometer off by 1.5% or so im willing to deal with that, any other feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

I'm running the 225/50/17. They ride a bit better than the 45 series I replaced. They seem to spin a bit more on slightly wet roads than I'd like.

 

I had KH11s for about 30k miles. Absolutely wonderful - just note - they are SUMMER tires and should not be used in cold weather/snow/etc.

 

i have the KH11's and IMO, they are way better than the stock potenzas not to mention tirerack has them for $99 plus shipping; and they are cheaper than most other brands too. even at $125 with M/B, i would get them. as for "summer" tires, i'm in socal so not much rain but on the rare rain days, i don't notice any decline in traction but then again, i drive more carefully.

 

I wouldn't worry about KH11s in the rain. They're phenomenal. But for the original poster, who resides in NY, the fact that they're summer tires should be a consideration seeing as we're already into winter.

 

you are absolutely right, im turning my search towards all seasons with descent winter grip. im looking at the continental contiextreme contact, these are "grand touring tires" what s the difference between grand touring and high performance?

 

We'll I just got caught in our 3"-6" blizzard yesterday before I switched to my Alpins. The KH11's didn't bite on stops at all - ABS running constantly. From a stop they wanted to drift sideways a bit and not forward (maybe cause I'm LSD?). Once moving they seemed ok and cut across tireruts good enough. IMO these are definately meant for 3-seasons only.

 

Also, regular rotation is CRITICAL for these particular tires on the Maxima.
I did not rotate these for 10,000 miles and tires developed "heel and toe" treadwear pattern. The tires now sound like a 4 X 4 knobby because every other block on the tread is raised.

These are W rated tires also, and to me they seem to ride more harshly than the original RE 92s.

 

Mine lasted nearly 27k miles, and probably would have gone longer had I not done some stupid things on gravel.

I did do regular rotations, however.

The noise only seemed to increase in the last few thousand miles that I had mine - again - that could be due to the rotations though.

As for the ride comfort, I really didn't notice a difference between these and the RE92s. I will say now though, my new Toyo Proxes TPTs feel a LOT softer and more comfortable than the KH11s did.