Cal Club Autocross Forums

The XS seems like a good tire choice. They are cheap and came in 1st for the GRM tire test. I want to know if anyone has experience with this tire. How it responds, what you like about it and don't like about it. I have heard that they are rock hard when they are cold and that their sidewalls are rather soft. That is about it.

I am sure I am not the only one who is curious about these tires

Kyle Williams has the most experience with this tire ... and claims that it's excellent, loves heat, works well quickly. There were at least four cars that had them at the last event, but they were pretty much all newbs that I don't know how to contact. Perhaps one of them will see this thread.

The XS has the best cornering response than any of the old and new tires. Steady state cornering feels the same as the RE01's. Braking is a where i dislike the tire. They tend to lockup early and sometimes unpredictable. Note that this was all from experience from Full Tread depth. I also felt that wet performance was poor at full tread depth. They are a very capable tire and definitely bang for buck. I would suggest them towards the heavy car group as they handle the heat very well.

The Kuhmo XS was the first set of tires that we purchased for our newly built Civic. We ran the 205/50/15 (full treaded) on a 15x6.5" rim (probably not ideal for that size) We don't have hard data comparing the Kuhmo to our current tire, the 225/45/15 Toyo R1R. We only can tell you how they feel...

1. Braking on the Kuhmo's compared to the Toyo's are a night and day difference for us. Running them at San Diego, I felt like I never knew the maximum braking threshold. On a gripper surface like El Toro, the Kuhmo's seem fine and predictable.

2. Kuhmo's don't really like being cold, the first run was always slippery no matter what surface we were on. It really killed my confidence in the car, especially on a Championship day.

I would talk to Kyle Williams, he has run shaved and unshaved and probably has a better insight on the weak/strong points.

I've been running on them since last August on my civic. In fact I competed at the last event with the same full tread set I started with last August that has 4 practices and 6 championships on them now and they still work great! Full tread they start off a bit squirmy but mine got much better after the first practice say about 15-20ish runs...They do like heat and it is getting to be that time of year I've only run on them shaved at the Tour and Pro and I still feel like I'm dialing in the car but as with most tires they do work better shaved. As far as the sidewalls go I would say they are on the stiffer side as Kumhos tend to be, this makes them great in transitions...anyways I like them a lot.

anyone try them on a heavy car?

Chuck Fowler wrote:anyone try them on a heavy car?

I have them on my, I mean, Patty's R32.

Michael Palero wrote:

Chuck Fowler wrote:anyone try them on a heavy car?

I have them on my, I mean, Patty's R32.

R32 Skyline or R32 VW?

VW

Kyle Williams wrote: As far as the sidewalls go I would say they are on the stiffer side as Kumhos tend to be, this makes them great in transitions...anyways I like them a lot.

I have read many online reviews that saw the opposite

Thats why I ask you guys though. Most people have no idea what they are talking about

If anyone else has something to say about the XS please add!

Jamie Lessie wrote:

Michael Palero wrote:

Chuck Fowler wrote:anyone try them on a heavy car?

I have them on my, I mean, Patty's R32.

R32 Skyline or R32 VW?

Skyline




we all wish

Steve Ekstrand wrote:VW

Yeah, no Skyline for Palero, he's got a German car Jonez.

by feel alone they have the stiffest sidewalls. There is a video of a BMW in STU(?) showing the front tires moving around on the rim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3Zn37oSVoY

The tire is on my STU M3 with -4 degrees of camber, 35 psi, 17x9 wheel, and 255/40/17 tire

It looks like it is moving too much on the wheel.

I'm currently running the XS'... 225/50/16's and I absolutely love them. I'm coming from the Falken Azenis and before that Yoko AVS ES100's (those were all 14") so might not apply as much..but I ran them for the last two practices and the Z car autocross...where it gave me a definite advantage @ El Toro - they are pretty sticky. They do need some heat to get where they should be but I found them very consistent once they heated up.

The one thing I have noticed (and I'm still very much a nov. so take it with a grain of salt).. but when the XS's let go... there's some skipping and squirming whereas the Falken's just let go completely with no real warning. I'm much more comfortable driving to the limit on these than my previous tires.

I did notice some locking of the tires under hard braking...it wasn't necessarily a pain for me (Z's are nose happy to begin with) but it is something I have to consider. I'm going through tires like made nowadays and I'm enjoying these the most....I think they are worth every penny

Marcus Russell wrote:I'm currently running the XS'... 225/50/16's and I absolutely love them. I'm coming from the Falken Azenis and before that Yoko AVS ES100's (those were all 14") so might not apply as much..but I ran them for the last two practices and the Z car autocross...where it gave me a definite advantage @ El Toro - they are pretty sticky. They do need some heat to get where they should be but I found them very consistent once they heated up.

The one thing I have noticed (and I'm still very much a nov. so take it with a grain of salt).. but when the XS's let go... there's some skipping and squirming whereas the Falken's just let go completely with no real warning. I'm much more comfortable driving to the limit on these than my previous tires.

I did notice some locking of the tires under hard braking...it wasn't necessarily a pain for me (Z's are nose happy to begin with) but it is something I have to consider. I'm going through tires like made nowadays and I'm enjoying these the most....I think they are worth every penny

Marcus's car is fairly heavy at about 2800lbs. I co-drive with Marcus and I do have lots of experience and I would Highly recommend these tires. First run sucks though.

Art Rinner wrote: First run sucks though.

mmmm, a good co-driver tire

Jeff Wong wrote:The Kuhmo XS was the first set of tires that we purchased for our newly built Civic. We ran the 205/50/15 (full treaded) on a 15x6.5" rim (probably not ideal for that size) We don't have hard data comparing the Kuhmo to our current tire, the 225/45/15 Toyo R1R. We only can tell you how they feel...

1. Braking on the Kuhmo's compared to the Toyo's are a night and day difference for us. Running them at San Diego, I felt like I never knew the maximum braking threshold. On a gripper surface like El Toro, the Kuhmo's seem fine and predictable.

2. Kuhmo's don't really like being cold, the first run was always slippery no matter what surface we were on. It really killed my confidence in the car, especially on a Championship day.

I would talk to Kyle Williams, he has run shaved and unshaved and probably has a better insight on the weak/strong points.

braking is better or worse on the 205 xs compared to the 225 r1r?

Bob Beamesderfer wrote:

Steve Ekstrand wrote:VW

Yeah, no Skyline for Palero, he's got a German car Jonez.

OoooOOOOoooo... kinda like Lugod. <Cue Katy's photo here...>

:unimpressed: lets all squint at mike