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  #1  
Old 03-27-2006, 09:59 PM
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Not so thrilled with Kuhmo

Based on positive reviews in the forums I put a set of Kuhmo 795s on SWMBO's 1993 300E. This was about a year/10K miles ago.

Recently she's started complaining the car has a shimmy at surface street speeds. I've had the pleasure of driving it while the AMM is dead and I agree. It has this odd shimmy at 35MPH; feels like ripply pavement. It's OK, but not great, at highway speeds. Sometimes at parking lot speeds it feels like the front of the car is rising and falling as it rolls along. Very wierd.

Tonight I spent some time crawling around the garage checking it out. Turns out both front tires are out of round. You can spin the wheels and see the rise and fall of the tread. I measured the run-out, and it looks to be 3mm on both tires. Everything else looks good - treadwear is even, no scalloping, no evident damage.

I'm gonna see what kind of warranty service I can get on these, but one way or another this car is getting a set of Michelins soon.

- JimY

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  #2  
Old 03-28-2006, 12:22 AM
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I have the "summer" Kumho's and my only complaint with them is that they aren't very sticky when cold. I'd be interested in how a warranty claim turns out, I've found tire mfr's pretty good on claims, smaller companies actually better than big ones.
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  #3  
Old 03-28-2006, 02:17 AM
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I could not be happier with my Continentals. Maybe that is why M.B. uses them as original spec.
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  #4  
Old 03-28-2006, 03:07 AM
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The Kumhos on my 560 SEL outperform the Michelin's they replaced. I've got them on my wife's Rav4 as well. On the front-wheel drive RAV, the traction is not as good as I'd like on wet pavement. Otherwise, they're fine and I don't see wet pavement problems with the Benz.

I bought the lifetime rotation and balance and tend to take them in every 5k miles or less. I've used Discount Tire for years and they've always been good about warranty issues.

Bill
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  #5  
Old 03-28-2006, 09:03 AM
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I just went to my 2nd pair of Kumhos on my 91 300E about a month ago, so far so good. I also had the 795s. Only replaced them after 30K because they were worn beyond my preference (about 5/32 remaining). Other than that, they were great. Rotated every 5K, which I believe helps.

FWIW, I have experienced out-of-round with Michelins, Bridgestones, Generals, Kellys, and Coopers. But I have also had K-Mart and Pep Boys tires that did not give me these types of problems. I don't think any particular brand is immune to out-of-round. The difference is that with a Michelin you will easily pay more than double, meaning you will be twice as upset when it goes out-of-round.
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  #6  
Old 03-28-2006, 10:09 AM
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Yep, these Kuhmos came from one of the Discount Tire stores in Plano. I don't think they even have quite 10K miles on them, have been rotated once and rebalanced twice.

I've never had a problem with a Michelin tire. Every single time they were smooth, quiet, round, and wore evenly all the way to the wear bars. I've had problems over the years with Goodyears, Dunlops, Yokohama (total junk!), and now Kuhmo.

Maybe someday Michelin will dissapoint me, but for now they have a 100% customer satisfaction record, and for that I'll pay a premium.

- JimY
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  #7  
Old 03-28-2006, 10:15 AM
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Sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience. I can't blame you for leaning towards Michelins if you've never been burned - I would probably feel the same way. Let us know how the Kumho warranty pans out.
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  #8  
Old 03-28-2006, 10:37 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jcyuhn
Yep, these Kuhmos came from one of the Discount Tire stores in Plano. I don't think they even have quite 10K miles on them, have been rotated once and rebalanced twice.
I had a problem once with tires that were out of round (Mich MXV), and the reason turned out to be mis-mounting. The tire-store tech who pointed out that on two of the four then remounted them, and one was then fine, the other had worn too much. Apparently this can happen if the tire originally took a bad bead set or position on the rim, and the tire shop is not paying attention.

You might try having the tires looked at using a different shop - one with a known top-notch reputation for handling alignment and suspension issues.

Steve
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  #9  
Old 03-28-2006, 10:42 AM
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i have tried others

but always come back to michelin.

continentals would be my low dollar choice.

tom w
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  #10  
Old 03-28-2006, 11:19 AM
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I have never had a problem with any Michelin tire, even after 80k+ miles on some sets. I was actually thinking of giving the Kumho tires a try since I have heard mostly good things about them. I have, however, heard the occasional story of a defective Kumho that comes out of round or has other problems. I would be interested to know if what kind of warranty there is on them and if you get them replaced for free or if you have to foot the bill.
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  #11  
Old 03-28-2006, 05:48 PM
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out of round tires

Most tire manufacturers pre-balance tires at the factory and the tire will have either a red dot or some other color dot indicating this is the outside of the tire and that dot should be placed as near the valve stem as possible. Look at your tires and if the tech that mounted your tires is aware of this you will see the dot and where it belongs. So many tire mounting techs are hired on the spur of the moment and don't get the correct training. Not their fault, the world is spinning fast. Thanks for looking, (45 yrs in tires)
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  #12  
Old 03-28-2006, 07:38 PM
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The tires are not "prebalanced". The red dot on the tire is the high point. This should be placed on a radial line with the low point mark on the wheel. If there is no red dot, the yellow mark should be mounted in a radial line with the valve stem hole.

Mercedes (and many other OEM) wheels have a faint grey circle about a quarter inch in diameter on the outside bead flange. Mounting the red dot on the tire on a radial line with the grey "dot" on the wheel will result in the least radial runout of the assembly.

AFAIK this system was first used on Corvette, circa 1970.

Many "incurable wheel balance" problems are due to excess runout and the symptoms are the same as static unbalance - steering wheel shake.

In such cases always check if there are matchmarks as above and whether or not they line up. If the matchmarks don't line up, have the tire reclocked to line them up, then rebalanced. If the matchmarks line up or there are none, have the assemblies tested on a Hunter 9700 system for radial force variation. More than about 15 pounds may be noticeable and certainly 30 pounds is noticeable.

The Hunter 9700 measures wheel and tire lateral and radial runout along with tire runnout expressed as radial force variation and can determine the optimum clocking of the tire relative to the wheel or whether an acceptable clocking to keep radial force variation within limits is possible.

Always discuss "match mark mounting" with your tire tech, and it's also wise to find the wheel matchmarks and mark them with a crayon so the tech doesn't have to search. They are faint and can best be found after thoroughly washing the wheel.

If your OE wheels have been chomed or refinished the low point mark is probably no longer there.

Given your 45 years in the tire businees I'm surprised you couldn't offer a proper and complete explanation of match mark mounting.

Duke
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  #13  
Old 03-29-2006, 12:01 AM
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Ouch! That dug deep. But thanks for a more precise explanation of what I was attempting to relate.
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  #14  
Old 03-29-2006, 02:16 AM
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I have a set of Kumho ASX's on mine and will never get them again. Dry tracktion is poor and in this last storm we had in TX I was hydroplaning at 40 on roads that were not covered in water. There was rain but I could see the texture of the road. I have never had this problem before. I think I will go back to my Yokohamas es100's or try Mich. Not sure yet. Need to wear this POS's out first.
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  #15  
Old 03-29-2006, 08:47 AM
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I have always been a Michelin fan so I was apprenhensive when I decided to replace the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires on my '01 E320T with Kumho Ecsta SPT's purchased online from Tire Rack. This car has the 5 spoke 18" AMG wheels with 235/40 front tires and 265/35 rear tires. I was never very pleased with the Michelins partly because I stupidly had the '01 E55 sized tires installed (one size larger for each) so the front tires would rub at times and partly because of the "all season" imprecision of the tires. At the time of replacement at 15K (ouch!) the rear Michelins were worn out but the fronts probably had another 8-10K remaining. As with all rear tires on MB's, the center tread had worn more than the shoulders (independent rear suspension) but overinflation and the multiple tread compounds used on the Michelin A/S tires also played a role. I am very pleased after 6K on the Kumho's. Wet and dry traction are very good and, IMO, handling, steering feel and ride comfort are better than the Michelins. They only down side so far is that the tires will flat spot when left overnight in warm weather and in 2or 3 hrs. in cold weather. It takes a few miles to remove the "set" during which time the tires feel unbalanced. If I only took short trips or lived in a colder climate I would have to remove them when the weather turned colder. Based on price and performance, I like these tires much better than the Michelins and bought a set for my 300TE. There is no doubt that Michelin makes a good tire, IMO they have gone mad with their prices. Also, as stated before, I think Continental makes a decent tire for the price. Mark

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