Cliffs: Just read the bold stuff.
A while back I spec'd out my desired tire sizes for when I got new wheels. The (temporary?) wheels are on their way, so tires are next. I also found out I will need them much sooner than expected. These rear tires of mine are 8 months old and already gone so I will have to move faster than expected.
The desired front size is 255/40/17 but I may go 245/40/17 for other reasons right now. These tires are easy to come by. No big deal.
The desired rear size ended up being 295/35/17 (which will go on a 10.5" wide wheel), with my #1 goal trying to keep the overall diameter as close to stock as possible.
I settled on the Kumho Ecsta XS tire mainly because it was the only tire in that size available, but that was a while ago. I like this tire, but I'd also settle for one with less grip in the rear. I'm not scared of mixing tire brands/compounds/treads front-to-back. It might get me the tire life and handling balance I'm after.
Kumho no longer makes this tire, and no one else seems to make a DOT-legal tire in this size.
I've looked at the following places:
www.tirerack.com
www.discounttiredirect.com
www.1010tires.com
www.vulcantire.com
www.tires-easy.com
www.summitracing.com
Have I overlooked some place? I usually have good luck finding rare tire sizes, but things are getting harder and harder these days. If I can't find any, I guess I'll have to entertain other size options.
Rear sizing info with comparison to stock:
http://www.supercars.net/gallery/132464/2662/997229.jpg
http://www.supercars.net/gallery/132464/2662/997228.jpg
Front sizing info with comparison to stock:
http://www.supercars.net/gallery/132464/2662/997227.jpg
http://www.supercars.net/gallery/132464/2662/997226.jpg
Last edited by BenFenner; 02-10-2014 at 07:05 PM.
You aren't kidding about rare size. Technically a Hoosier A6 or R6 is DOT legal and available in the requested size.
275/40 and 315/35 are available in a few different brands, and they are only around 3.8% taller than stock.
Move to 18" and your dilemma is much easier to solve, but I suspect you know that already. I like 17" wheels for "the sweet spot" in terms of price/grip. That said, if you have to overpay by a large margin for tires that fit proper, then you might as well have gone with 18" wheels.
I am curious why you would rather mix compounds than adjust air pressure or other suspension components to get the understeer/neutral/oversteer behavior you want?
Doh, I should have looked closer. Should have just said no slicks. =P
3.8% taller is way outside of what I'd like to do. If I can keep wit within 1.5% I'd be very happy. I realize I may have to settle for less here.
Yah, 17" is a must. Oh well.
I'm not scared to mix tires if it makes sense, and on a chassis like this with such large difference in tire size fitment front-to-back you can afford to go with a less aggressive tire out back. It sill gives that wide look I'm after, but should last longer, cost less, and provide neutral handling. Not only that, but it's unlikely I'd be able to get the heat into those big tires to get a stickier tire to perform. Lots of reasons to stagger the style of tire used IMO.
Adjusting air pressure to achieve the handling won't provide the other benefits. Going with other suspension settings to help is for sure a viable option. It's even better for tire life. Get some of that camber out and you'll have better tire life and get back closer to neutral. However, I still doubt I'd ever really get enough heat into a tire that big, nor really tax them enough to overcome the disparity in size. Tire compound disparity is just one more tuning tool in the toolbox. And apparently with these sizes, beggars can't be choosers, so I'll work with what I can get.
Last edited by BenFenner; 02-10-2014 at 07:26 PM.
Presently they are out of stock but no one even remotes touches this price:
http://simpletire.com/kumho-p295-35r17-2105413-tires
Now in E92 M3 ZCP -- Absolute beast
I have been down this road and ended up moving to an 18" wheel. Best Wishes to you and hope you turn up something usable.
The Kumho XS is what I run for summer tires and is still listed on the Kumho website as a in production tire.
http://www.kumhotireusa.com/tire/cat...7-2BEA0466BD5C
You might want to contact them directly I bought a set of 4X's for this winter after I was told by Americas tire, General tire and Les Schwab that they are not available... I was not wanting toyo or what ever grand touring tire it was Americas tire was trying to sell me.
I've contacted Kumho USA earlier today and they confirmed they are no longer in production. Maybe I didn't get the most knowledgeable person there, but the writing seems to be on the wall.
That price at SimpleTire is nuts. Obviously they are out of stock, but has anyone ordered from them before? Are they for real? They have another tire I want to buy at about half the price of anywhere else. It might be worth a try. It seems too good to be true though.
Edit: They have some really random tires and sizes for VERY cheap. I actually ordered a set of 4 for the SE-R at near half price. I was planning on a set of Toyo R888 for the Nissan, but the BFGoodrich g-Force Rival at $84 shipped per tire in the coveted 225-45-15 size was way too good to pass up.
Edit 2: They canceled the order citing lack of inventory. I'm pretty sure they are trying to avoid selling at that good price, but I don't know for sure yet. Either way, I'm not getting them.
Thanks for the heads up on Americas tire, General tire and Les Schwab. I'll see what they have to offer. (Edit: America's Tire is Discount Tire is Discount Tire Direct.)
Last edited by BenFenner; 02-03-2015 at 02:12 PM.
Rumor mill for the last year was the V720 would be coming to replace the XS.
Now in E92 M3 ZCP -- Absolute beast
Regarding the rumor of the Kumho Ecsta V720. I found these threads:
http://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/9821...ho-ecsta-v720/
http://www.ffcars.com/forums/55-tire...v720-info.html
And some Japanese sites mentioning the tire. Seems it was rumored as early as 2012 and might be released summer 2014? Seems this might be the tire to wait for in my position.
Things are looking up. And clearly I need to pay more attention to the tire rumor mill.
Edit: I'm expanding my search to the wider 305-35-17 and the narrower 285-35-17 options. 285 is actually even closer to stock diameter at 0.6% larger. The 295 would have been 1.7% larger. The 305 is a marginally acceptable 2.8% larger. If this doesn't produce results, I've got other things to consider, or I may have to wait it out some.
Edit 2: Yah, that produced no results. I guess I need to decide if I want to wait for the V720 tire and hope it has a 295, or go for a 275 or a 315 tire in the back. =/
Last edited by BenFenner; 02-11-2014 at 10:17 AM.
Have you made any progress on your search? I am in the same boat...
I sort of gave up for this round of tire purchasing and settled on a 275-40-17 which is a lot narrower than I wanted and a little taller but has ended up working out decently well. My main problem with it, is that it looks too stretched on this 10.5" wide wheel in the back. I may go to a narrower wheel and stick with the 275 tire if I have to. We'll see.
Since I have tires on the car now, and am still waiting on my new set of wheels, I haven't looked very hard for a 295 tire this year. I would think there must be someone making a replacement by now, if at least for the Honda S2000 guys. Are you not finding any at all?
Have you checked all of these places?
simpletire.com
www.vulcantire.com
www.1010tires.com
www.discounttiredirect.com
www.tirerack.com
www.tires-easy.com
www.amazon.com
www.summitracing.com
tirezoneusa.com
aimtire.com
Last edited by BenFenner; 01-24-2015 at 12:40 AM.
Seems like now-a-days the widest 17" performance tires go is the 275/40, and i like you find it to be to tall and narrow for my tastes. Really wish the 295 would come back around, but 18" wheels seem to be the new standard for performance... :/
Right now Vulcan Tire is showing a Kumho Ecsta XS KU36 in the 293/35/17 size. It's a shame the tire isn't symetric (so I can flip them when they wear) but I may have to jump on these if I'm going to have any hope of having these when I need them.
Last edited by BenFenner; 03-10-2015 at 03:23 PM.
I do love the XS's wish we had more dry days in the PNW.
In my last conversation with Kumho when I asked if the XS was discontinued. It was said that the XS is not a real high volume selling tire and they only tool and make runs when the stock is out. I never got any definitive answer about the release of the V720 and with the press on the discontinuing of the XS I don't think tire shops continued to try to get them.
I've been going back and forth about buying these tires. I really want a symetric tread pattern so I can get more life out of the tire but I'm just going to have to settle for the Kumho Ecsta XS.
However, they are no longer available from Vulcan tire. The only place I can find them now is TireZone USA. http://stores.tirezoneusa.com/kumho-...517-295-35r17/
I've placed my order and hopefully all goes well.
Last edited by BenFenner; 04-10-2015 at 08:10 AM.
No word from the vendor, so I had to call them to find out the 295s are on back order. They expect to have more in 3 months.
I cancelled the order, and now need to make some hard choices.
Screw it, it was time to go outside of the box. If they don't fit, I'll figure something out then. I've waited too long for this.
I picked up some 315/35/17 Nitto NT05 tires for the rear and matching 255/40/17 for the front. I hear they run narrow and after viewing an image of them mounted on a 10.5" wheel I'm thinking they will just clear out back with my 10mm offset.
YOLO
Last edited by BenFenner; 04-16-2015 at 06:21 PM.
Not sure if you're aware but several companies are being affected by an issue at a major west coast port. Falken, for example, has millions of dollars of product literally sitting on the water for months while their warehouses run out of stock. If you've been having a hard time finding tires and they seem to still be in production, that could be why. I'm told it is currently being resolved, or will be resolved soon.
Ben, what model of wheels you have in 17X10.5? ...widened Roadstars...? and what tire size where you running on them before?
I'm swapping from Apex ARC-8 (17x10.5 in the rear) to a new wheel I'm not ready to disclose right now. On the Apex rears, I settled for Sumitomo HTR ZII tires in 275-40-17 which were a little tall, but that was fine with me. There are a lot of tires in that size available, I just chose the cheapest. The problem for me was that even though Sumitomo is said to run a little wide, the 275s just had too much stretch for my tastes.
The real answer to all of this is to get a narrower wheel in the back so I can run 275s and be happy (with 255s or even 265s up front). I will probably end up there eventually if/when I decide to reconfigure my new wheels.
Last edited by BenFenner; 04-16-2015 at 06:25 PM.
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