New Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum 215/50/17

MD5 · Aug 16, 2008

Just ordered these tires:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...earch=false&fromCompare1=yes&partnum=15WR7ELX

Most reviews are very good, and report a slight MPG increase.

I'll post up what I find, but it's looking pretty good.

I went with a tire with a higher UTQG rating since I'm tired of buying tires each year. I have a 2006 5 with almost 60k and this will be the third set of tires.

Matt

08M5 · Aug 18, 2008

Kumho or Cooper?

Please keep me posted on this Kumho tire because I am trying to decide right now between the Kumho Platinum and the Cooper CS4 Touring. Both appear to be very good tires at a decent price. I am just waiting to get more feed back on both before I make a purchase. I am edging towards the Kumho because of the fuel efficiency gains being reported so far.

MD5 · Aug 19, 2008

08M5 said:
Please keep me posted on this Kumho tire because I am trying to decide right now between the Kumho Platinum and the Cooper CS4 Touring. Both appear to be very good tires at a decent price. I am just waiting to get more feed back on both before I make a purchase. I am edging towards the Kumho because of the fuel efficiency gains being reported so far.

Will do. The Cooper is $1.30 per tire more, and V rated, where the Kumhos are ZR rated. I just got them today, and the tread depth is deeeeeep (10/32nds).

I still have some tread left on the Generals and I'm at 59,050 miles. I will have them installed at 60k miles so it will be easy to remember the rotation schedule...

MD5 · Aug 19, 2008

Oh, and they were $507 shipped. The shipping was $43, and if I would have bought them in state, the tax would have been a tad over $38, not to mention the money I saved buying them from tirerack.com instead of Discount Tire or NTB.

jville · Aug 19, 2008

I used to work for a cooper dealer, you want to go with the kumhos trust me. I always talked people out of coopers and convinced them of either toyo, kumho or nitto's.

MD5 · Aug 24, 2008

I had them mounted yesterday. They sure have a smooth ride.

I'll take a pic if anyone is interested.

cprtrainer · Aug 25, 2008

MD5 said:
I had them mounted yesterday. They sure have a smooth ride.

I'll take a pic if anyone is interested.

I would love any more info you can provide (noise, cornering grip, etc.) on your (limited) experience with these. I am looking at this tire in the very near future if reports remain positive from all of the reviews I have read. Thanks!

MD5 · Sep 8, 2008

cprtrainer said:
I would love any more info you can provide (noise, cornering grip, etc.) on your (limited) experience with these. I am looking at this tire in the very near future if reports remain positive from all of the reviews I have read. Thanks!

So far I've only driven them once in light rain and they were very stable. The ride is better than the General Exclaims that I had.

They seem to grip very well for a touring type of tire, but I can sense a tiny bit of give. Maybe it's because I have so much tread between the cap and the road and that gives a softer feel? This is a family type car, so I'm not out auto crossing it.

Over all, I would buy these tires again, I have about 1k miles on them already.

If you want, I can post pics later, it's getting dark and raining now...

Matt

simonnyc · Oct 7, 2008

Did you mount these on the stock 17inch rims? How did they fit?

Thanks in advance.

jeebusm3 · Oct 7, 2008

nice! I just bought my first set of NON-kumho's in 8 years!!! I've rocked 3 sets of Escta 712's, one set of ASX's, one set of MX's, and one set of SPT's. I liked all of them, although the 712's got pretty crummy as they wore out.

I picked up some 225/50/16 Yoko s.drives this time around. (not for the mazda). So far they are awesome, and if they continue to be awesome I'll put a set on the Mazda5.

08M5GTGSP · Oct 9, 2008

simonnyc said:
Did you mount these on the stock 17inch rims? How did they fit?

Thanks in advance.

My question also. I'm thinking about doing this also (with another tire).

What kind of reaction do you get at a tire place when you want them to install 215/50 17 tires on a wheel that originally had 205/50 17's?

jeebusm3 · Oct 9, 2008

08M5GTGSP said:
My question also. I'm thinking about doing this also (with another tire).

What kind of reaction do you get at a tire place when you want them to install 215/50 17 tires on a wheel that originally had 205/50 17's?

LOL...a 215/50 is barely bigger than a 205/50. They will fit without any problem. A tire place reaction? (hah) Like they pay attention to anything. Costco won't mount a different sized tire AFAIK, but everyone else just cares that the wheel/tire fits.

08M5GTGSP · Oct 9, 2008

jeebusm3 said:
LOL...a 215/50 is barely bigger than a 205/50. They will fit without any problem. A tire place reaction? (hah) Like they pay attention to anything. Costco won't mount a different sized tire AFAIK, but everyone else just cares that the wheel/tire fits.

Cool!

jeebusm3 · Oct 9, 2008

08M5GTGSP said:
Cool!

just remember that it will slightly affect your speedometer (it will read 1.6% too slow) and it will change your final drive ratio by that same amount. Which will technically make the car accelerate "slightly" slower. But the taller final drive will possibly help freeway gas mileage.

With all of those changes, we are talking REALLY slight differences...possibly not noticeable by the average driver. You will probably notice the .2" sidewall change in the comfort department though!

08M5GTGSP · Oct 10, 2008

jeebusm3 said:
just remember that it will slightly affect your speedometer (it will read 1.6% too slow) and it will change your final drive ratio by that same amount. Which will technically make the car accelerate "slightly" slower. But the taller final drive will possibly help freeway gas mileage.

With all of those changes, we are talking REALLY slight differences...possibly not noticeable by the average driver. You will probably notice the .2" sidewall change in the comfort department though!

...Which is the whole reason I'm doing this! It's less expensive than a complete 4-wheel & tire package in another size, don'tcha know...

MD5 · Oct 14, 2008

simonnyc said:
Did you mount these on the stock 17inch rims? How did they fit?

Thanks in advance.

The fit is perfect. This is the second set of tires this size.

MD5 · Oct 14, 2008

simonnyc said:
Did you mount these on the stock 17inch rims? How did they fit?

Thanks in advance.

Look here:

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123707931

These are the first set of 215s I went with...

simonnyc · Oct 15, 2008

Thanks for the pics. They help a lot. Now I have to decide which tires to buy. Any recommendations for someone who lives in the NYC area?

MD5 · Oct 15, 2008

simonnyc said:
Thanks for the pics. They help a lot. Now I have to decide which tires to buy. Any recommendations for someone who lives in the NYC area?

go to www.tirerack.com and plug in the 215/50/17 size. Then apply the filter that you want (performance, all-season, etc) and look at your options.

I can't reccommend a tire because I live in Texas, and will RARELY drive in the snow (unlike someone from NY).

I've got about 3-4k miles on the Kumhos already, and got to test them this week in fairly heavy rain. They perform quite well.

Matt

blb228 · Sep 29, 2009

Any updates on the LX Platinums?.... It is time to purchase some new tires for the wifes 08 4 door S Grand Touring and she wants the most quiet tire the northeast will allow. Thanks in advance! P.S. I can't wait to get the stock Goodyear RSA's off of that car.

New Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum 215/50/17

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Similar threads