any experience with this brand of tire

[keithhr]

When I got my 2006 m35 they had new Hankook tires on them I believe they are high speed rated and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this particular brand

[trubaj]

I had a set of Hankook's on my FX 35 before I got my M. Great tire...

[M35 Sport]

I have Hankook Sport Ventus K104s on my car now. I do not like them. They are a summer only tire. (I need all season) The are also loud. I just bought a new set of Kuhmo LX platinums from tire rack. They should arrive tomorrow.

[maxnix]

Amazing that owners will cheap out the only part of the car that touches the road, and is thus the major performance determinant on an otherwise up to new OEM specification car.

Also amazing the owners do not understand that "all season" is a marketing euphemism meaning "compromised summer tire and not very good winter snow tire."

Always good to know if the person giving tire advice maintains his car in top shape and if he has ever experienced the top performance tire from a Tier 1 tire manufacturer on it.

[ken in az]

Yeah, I always enjoyed talking with the honda guys about their "coil over" kits and "sway bars" for handling and then the stick on these huge 18" wheels that wiegh 2 times of what the stock wheel wieghed and shove a tire on there that was the cheapest they could find.

Not only did the wheels and tires make it slower but it handled worse than stock - lol

That doesn't mean some people don't care about it, I'd enjoy a set of tires that I could burn off at will and not have to worry about a $600 replacement bill. If I could find a tire for $100 I'd rather do that. But then again I live in the desert where it hardly rains and the tarmack nearly melts the tire to the road anyway so I'm not the best person to talk to about tires

[M35 Sport]

Amazing that owners will cheap out the only part of the car that touches the road, and is thus the major performance determinant on an otherwise up to new OEM specification car.

Also amazing the owners do not understand that "all season" is a marketing euphemism meaning "compromised summer tire and not very good winter snow tire."

Always good to know if the person giving tire advice maintains his car in top shape and if he has ever experienced the top performance tire from a Tier 1 tire manufacturer on it.

I hardly consider $193.00 per tire cheaping out. Plus $40 for delivery, $100+ for a road force balance, and whatever other fee they charge to "rebuild" as they say the TPMS. The cheapest tire tire rack had for the 245/40/19 size was about 101 per tire. And the reviews showed why it was only 101 per tire. I couldn't justify spending even more for a tire that had a summer only rating, along with a lower tread wear rating. The hankoooks I have now grip very well in the dry and rain but they are too loud and the tread wear rating is only 280. I drive 52.5 miles one way to work every day. The Kuhmos are rated at 600 tread wear. I hope I don't sound like I am spouting off but I hardly consider $1,000.00 for a set of tires cheaping out.

[qship96]

If you spent nearly $1000 for a set of installed Hankooks, you are a fool!!!! Much better, safer tires out there- heck, for a few more pennies you could have bought Michelins!!!!!!!!!

[M4T5]

I think I will be trying the Falken 452's for my next set of tires. It's either those or one of the Continental ContiSportContact series tires.

J

[cliffmdude]

Hi - my first post here. New (to me) M45 owner. Anyway, my pre-loved M45 Sport (seriously, it's like new) came with newly installed Falken 452's, I was thrilled when I noticed the rubber they put on the car. Imagine my surprise, a car dealer putting on the *nice* tire!

Anyway, I'm thouroughly impressed with the 452's. First, no problem with tramlining at all - even though it seems to be a pervasive issue on the M.I've had tires in the past that had issues with tramlining, I never thought it could be the car because better tires always fixed the issue. Maybe just good luck in my experience?

I'm not a tire snob, but it I do want a great value - that sweet spot where you get 95-100% of the performance and features of "the best", but for 50-75% of the price. I drove quite a few M's, and 2 had 452's on them, each time I could tell a difference in the handling, and ride.

Cliff

[M35 Sport]

If you spent nearly $1000 for a set of installed Hankooks, you are a fool!!!! Much better, safer tires out there- heck, for a few more pennies you could have bought Michelins!!!!!!!!!

Show me some Michelins in a 245/40/19 size that would cost just a few pennies more.

[DELUNASC]

I just purchased Falken 452's today for my M. It is very good to hear they are working good for you!

CD

[marlin29311]

Show me some Michelins in a 245/40/19 size that would cost just a few pennies more.

At Costco, you could get Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus' in that size for near $1200, and you get the best A/S tire out there.

[M35 Sport]

At Costco, you could get Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus' in that size for near $1200, and you get the best A/S tire out there.

Yeah I looked at those. They sell them on tire rack for 290 a tire. One problem I had with them was that some people reported a drop in gas mileage after installing them. Plus the cost.

[mmm..good]

I bought Michilen Primacy's at Costo for under a grand installed - they were the eighteens tho, for my M35X.

Great tire - no tramlining. Don't know if they come in the 19's or not.

[M35 Sport]

Well I got my new tires today and had them put on after work. I have driven about 70 miles on them so far. First, these things are waay quieter and smoother than the hankooks. My main reason for getting rid of the hankooks (even though half of the tread life was still there) was the noise they made. They moaned, rumbled, grumbled, and howled every chance they got. Not these. I also noticed that these Kuhmos ride softer, maybe too soft. As I drove home I noticed that the car did not have the same steering response. The ride was smoother but I lost some steering repsonse. Then I checked the tire pressure. Only 29psi I just came from the gas station where I added some air. I now have the tires at about 33 psi. They feel a little better (stiffer). They are almost just right now. I'll let you all know how things are after a few thousand miles.

[M35 Sport]

If you spent nearly $1000 for a set of installed Hankooks, you are a fool!!!! Much better, safer tires out there- heck, for a few more pennies you could have bought Michelins!!!!!!!!!

I think I mis read this. To clear things up. I did not buy the Hankooks. They were on my car when I bought it. I spent the $1K on the Kuhmos
Modified by M35 Sport at 4:37 AM 5/8/2009

[m45ntenn]

Brian, I am a former Q45 owner, having followed this board from the old Yahoo group. You have not disappointed. I can not recall a single post of yours with a positive message. I now drive an M45 with Hankook tires with which I am very pleased.

[dmanpizza]

Which Kuhmo's did you buy? The Ecsta SPT or the Ecsta LX Platinum?I have the Bridgestones RE050's and do not like them. I have been debating between the Michelen Pilot Sport A/S Plus and the Kuhmo Ecsta LX Platinum. Any feedback is appreciated.

[mcrews]

texasoil raced his Q45, here is what he said:

Tires are 255x50x16 Kuhmo high performance summer tires. Poterfield racing brake pads (work great all around) No fade ever, could brake with them all, out run all but turbo porsches, out corner most. The active suspension is amazing at how it smooths out things, keeping car quite level yet still full suspension compliance so undulating track does not cause loss of traction and line wobble. The lack of dive on hard braking enabled later braking and quicker turn in on curves as there was no need to 'set the suspension' before torquing it around. It is ALWAYS 'set'.

here's the linkhttp://forums.nicoclub.com/zer...track

I am on my 3rd set of kuhmo estca on my 02 Q45. A very nice tire.

[M35 Sport]

Which Kuhmo's did you buy? The Ecsta SPT or the Ecsta LX Platinum?I have the Bridgestones RE050's and do not like them. I have been debating between the Michelen Pilot Sport A/S Plus and the Kuhmo Ecsta LX Platinum. Any feedback is appreciated.

I bought the Kuhmo LX Platinums. So far I like them. They are much smoother and quieter than the Hankooks I had. Every bump and piece of cracked pavement I hit seems to have been slightly smoothed over with these tires. The only bad thing is that the car has lost some of it's sporty playful character. The body motions of the car (roll, squat and dive) are more exaggerated now. Now don't get me wrong I can still toss the car around a little but the almost go cart like stiffness of the Hankooks is gone. For my price range ($1K) I think this is about as good an all-season tire I could have got. About the only thing I would change so far is the stiffness of these tire. There is also no curb protection for the rim. I was hoping this tire would offer that but I will still have to really watch how I park. I would say if ride quality is your top priorty then get these tires. You can tell there are setup for ride quality first handling second. Let me know if you have more questions.
Modified by M35 Sport at 4:59 AM 5/8/2009

[ArbitrageMan]

Which Kuhmo's did you buy? The Ecsta SPT or the Ecsta LX Platinum?I have the Bridgestones RE050's and do not like them. I have been debating between the Michelen Pilot Sport A/S Plus and the Kuhmo Ecsta LX Platinum. Any feedback is appreciated.

My two cents. Ive been reading all the posts about tires lately. I have Escata SPTs, which have about 7,000 miles on them and theyre the only tire Ive ever driven on the M so I have nothing to compare them to other than tires on previous cars Ive owned. I was driving home last night from work and it was raining very hard. It was puddling in spots. I was driving on the highway in what was shockingly, very light traffic, and I was hitting 80 and 85 for a number of miles. I took my exit ramp which was wet and at the other end of the ramp found myself saying, these tires are excellent in the rain.

[Popsickle]

I'm ordering the Falken FK-452 (245/35ZR20, 275/30ZR20) tomorrow, grand total of $583! My brother was shocked because a single tire on many of my projects cost a bit more than all four of these. https://www.vulcantire.com is where I'm ordering them from.

Popsickle

[loystock]

I used to buy Michelin only, supposedly the best, but it's a bit scary driving in NorCal during rainy days. They probably have made improvements by now. Moved to Yoko and Bridgestone in between - the Bridgestone had solid footing while the Yoko is less stiffer but both had good traction, wet or dry (don't know about snow condition). I switched to Falken after seeing excellent rating from ConsumerReports and very good reviews from other consumers. They are quiet and have very good traction. The bad part is the tread wear. You have to replace the tires every 2-3 years, maybe more often if you drive really hard.

BTW, I was also in the original Yahoo forum. Brian (maxmix) may sound rude to some but in fairness to him, he's always after the safety and reliability of your cars.

Rod

[07sportm35]

I have heard good things regarding the falken 452's in terms of "bang-fro-the-buck". I almost bought them. But...ended up with Toyo T1R's.

I gotta say these things were scary soft brand new. Very soft sidewall and weak handling.

800 miles later and they really are starting wake up. Word has it that they need at least a thousand miles to break in. I believe it! I will give a full review in another 300 miles or so.

[svard75]

I bought my 06 M35x with Cooper Sport on them and am finding them very bad. The trammeling is pronounced and what the dealer did was overinflate them so I couldn't hear it as much. Looking for a decent replacement tire that Green and Ross in Canada could source.

[EniGmA1987]

I have sopme Hankook Ventus V12 Evo tires on my car. it came that way. Great tires, but they get a bit noisy when half the tread is gone. But you can take hard right hand turns at 60mph no problem with these tires so they work very well. But to me the tire is too hard to find in my area and a bit on the expensive side, plus I dont like the noise. So I will be trying some other known good tires that are both quieter and a bit cheaper when I am buying new tires next time.

[NightWatch]

The Michelin PS2's are an excellent tire - pricey but excellent. So are the Bridgestone Potenza's and they wear a little better than the Michelin's. Cheapest place I've found to get tires is actually Costco. When you figure in the mounting, balancing (free lifetime tire rotation and balancing) and filling with nitrogen you can't beat them. And the new Costco here does road-force balancing.

I don't think $1200 - 1300 every 24-30K miles is unreasonable for a $50K vehicle in order to highlight the vehicles best performance features.

[szh]

And the new Costco here does road-force balancing.

Good Stuff™!

What equipment do they have, by the way? I have only seen the Hunter system around here ...

I don't think $1200 - 1300 every 24-30K miles is unreasonable for a $50K vehicle in order to highlight the vehicles best performance features.

A very good point indeed. Tires are what make the ultimate performance difference ...

Z

[07sportm35]

Seeing as tho the tires are the only thing making contact with the road (hopefully), this is of course a great point.

I hope people continue to update the tire thread...

zerothread?id=407259

[maxnix]

I now drive an M45 with Hankook tires with which I am very pleased.

Some have exceedingly low expectaions and little knowledge of what is possible and thus are easily satisfied! That does not mean we should hope to limit others with our aspirational shortcomings.

Heck, some of us are so unaware we barely know which state we are in, much less where!

Some of us even maintained our Q45 well enough so that we still prefer to drive them.
Modified by maxnix at 3:18 PM 6/25/2009