I have put about 300 miles on the tires now. I still have the s02s in the front with 13000 miles on them. The kuhmos do great until they are at their limit. They are definately much less grippy than the s02s.

I put the tires through the paces on one of my favorite roads. On serveral hard curves (low speed - 25-30mph) these tires broke loose where the s02s didn't. I could actually drift the car with EASE around these corners where I had to fight to break the rearend loose with the s02s.

Bottom line? I will be going back to a AA traction rated tire (probably the s02) when I burn these babies up. The kuhmos are great for someone that rarely pushes the limits of the car.

I thought you guys would like to hear more about this tire....

 

Thanks for the info. That's one that most of us can cross off our list.

 

Yes. . .indeed! Thanks for this update! Sounds good for folks who will not run their S2000 really hard. . .guess that leaves out everyone on this board!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by saliv8
[B]I have put about 300 miles on the tires now.

 

Thanks for the update on the Kumho 712s. The UTQG Rating supports your findings.
To learn more details about UTQG go to tirerack.com!
In general terms the lower the UTQG number, the stickier the tire and the faster it will wear out.
The OEM tire, Potenza S-02 has a UTQG of 140.
The Kumho 712 has a UTQG of 280.
(assuming you have 91W and 92W ratings because the 91V and 92V are only rated at 340)
As you can see the Potenza S-02 is a bit softer so it would be a bit stickier. The Kumho 712 does not have the same high level of grip but it will last longer if cared for and is priced at $72 Front & $80 Rear, this is a lot less than the S-02s at $175 F & $189 R.

Now look at the UTQG numbers for track tires, and we all know how sticky they are and how long they last.
Kumho VictoRacer V700 has a UTQG of 50.
Yokohama A032R has a UTQG of 60.

And to keep things interesting take a look at some other tire options and notice the UTQG rating vs. price.
As you can see the Yokohama AVS Intermediates are a very serious choice.
Yoko AVS Intermediate: UTQG- 160 & $76 F / $81 R
Yoko A520: UTQG- 180 & $92 F / $91 R
Bridgestone S-03: UTQG- 220 & $144 F / $162 R
Yoko AVS Sport: UTQG- 220 & $164 F / $163 R
Michelin Pilot Sport: UTQG- 220 & $175 F / $172 R

 

Triple H...

Bear in mind that those ratings are useless when comparing one brand of tire to the next. Each manufacturer has their own UTQG rating system, based on an arbitrary tire with a 100 rating. Every tire that company makes will be compared to that one tire. Unfortunately, there is no industry-wide standard. You could have two different brands of tires with the same rating, and it is entirely possible for one brand to last twice as long as the other!!

 

i put the kuhmos on before the fall color and they seem to be fine, almost as good as the s02, but during some of the hard curves and sharp turns, they tend to not grip.

As stated before, for the price, it was a really good buy. If you are going to autoX or drive really hard on them, i would suggest you have s02 or s03 waiting in your garage...

 

UPDATE:

The 712s seemed to have settled in a bit. I have about 1200 miles on now and they are not as noisey as before and seem to hold pretty good when heated up.

Overall, I am satisfied with them for the price. I will still probably go back to s-02s when these wear out.

 

Are you using stock wheels? If so, what size should one get for the 712's and is TireRack the place to go get them? I like the S-02's but maybe I'll like them more again after switching to a set of 712's. Does that make sense?

Cheers

 

i bought my from discounttiredirect.com but if tirerack is a sponsor, you might want to get it from them. could be cheaper. i checked when i bought mine and it wasn't that big of a difference.