It's tyre time again.

Currently running the venerable KU31s. They were on the cards but got a shock at the price with quotes from $200-270. I managed to score them for ~$150 originally :(

Options are:
KU21 - Step down from the KU31, more touring orientated. ~$200 (BJ price, so could be cheaper)
Toyo Teo - Apparently the best touring tyre......in the world, according to the guy on the phone. ~$240

Any other options out there in the $150-$200 range? I'm happy to stick with the KU31s though at the upper end of the bracket, I would consider something with a bit better life. Maxxis Z1 were in the mix, but reports say they don't wear the best.

edit: Yes, I did click the search button :P

Depends what you're after in your tyre. If you're just after longevity, comfort and quietness, it's pretty hard to go past the Michelin MXV range. If you want performance on a budget, maybe look at Federal 595, Kumho KU36. If you want balls out performance, look at some Yokohama AD08.

I'm after mid range performance, similar to the KU31. However would consider leaning towards still something with a bit of performance but slightly better wearing. I'm not interested in the polar ends of the spectrum, super quite and comfortable with long life, or all out performance.

Sounds like you want something like a Potenza Re001, KU31 (like you intimated), Michelin Pilot Sport etc. It's hard with tyres because they are based off tread ratings and are generally one or the other.

In my own experience in my Magna, i found the Maxxis MA-Z1 quite a good compromise. I don't remember them being particularly cheap though.

I had Maxxis MA-Z1s previously in 235/40/18. I had my fronts on for 45,000km. I reckon they would have another 8,000-10,000km before they were on the wear indicators. The rears had even more tread, as I didn't rotate them on the front often - they had a pretty bad vibration. They're pretty noisy, but dare I say that should be expected from a budget performance tyre. I was in the hunt for new tyres recently and was quoted around $220-240 ea for them. I was leaning towards the KU31s (quoted $218 from Bob Jane) to replace them but ended up getting a good deal on Michelin Pilot Sport 3s.

ku31s should not be expensive. shop online for them..

I've now gotten prices on the KU31 down to $195. Online they're not much cheaper, if at all at St Georges.

At the moment it's probably looking like the KU31s again, the KU21s had some shocking reviews of performance in the wet.

To me the KU31's are too loud. They do grip incredibly well but I don't think I would pay almost $300/corner for them. For $270 I can get Michelin PilotSport 3 tyres which would be better than the KU31's. I think the recent price hike is a result of rising demand and tyre shops quickly jumping on the wagon to reap out as much as they can from these now respected tyres. As said above - call around and see if anyone price matches. I have found them for under $200/corner (I personally paid $170) which is a good price.

If you wanted something that had a slight less amount of grip in exchange for noise and longer wearlife then the Toyo Teo+ is great. I've heard rave reviews from alot of buyers about these tyres. They're fast becoming a better alternative to the Ku31's. If I had my time again I would probably choose them - if I didn't listen to my music as loud as I do I know I would get annoyed at the noise of the KU31's - especially on the highways at 100km/hour +. They do have slightly less grip but do not have as much sidewall flex and have better treadlife too.

I think $70 was a wrong price with everyone else coming in at $200. I think they have gone up a bit though as my old receipt had 4 KU31s for $660.

The last quote I got asking for KU31s the guy did ask how I liked the noise. To me they'e not super loud, coming back from getting quotes at 60km/h I kicked it into neutral to lower the drone of the exhaust and could not hear noticeable tyre noise above the squeaks of a 10yo car and thuds over hard lowered suspension. Coming from Nankangs originally, the KU31s are like marshmallows, at 100km/h you had to almost shout loud to have a conversation....and was worse once my tyres went oval shaped.

The Teos are the alternative (considering not so good reports on the KU21) but not to sure at $40+ more a corner. Then again if there is 20% better wear then its cost neutral. Ahh decisions decisions.

www.tirerack.com

www.tirerack.com


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I've found this off their site, Can I ask you Dave, have you dealt with the guys before, whats the general estimates for shipping to Australia....
Any problems with warranty, or are we on our own, just the same parallel imports?

With the free rotation services offered by many companies now for the life of the tyre, is it worth it?

I've found this off their site, Can I ask you Dave, have you dealt with the guys before, whats the general estimates for shipping to Australia....
Any problems with warranty, or are we on our own, just the same parallel imports?

With the free rotation services offered by many companies now for the life of the tyre, is it worth it?

Not yet but will be using them when i need tyres next. I know a few renaultsport owners have used tirerack to great success. Shipping was about $250 and took 1 week to deliver. This is still much cheaper than australian RRPs.

From TireTrack.com it will work out at ~$560 for 4x KU31s, + $200? shipping = $770, supplied only not fitted. So $800 fitted locally (walk in today) is sweeter deal.

Other brands may be better value?

From TireTrack.com it will work out at ~$560 for 4x KU31s, + $200? shipping = $770, supplied only not fitted. So $800 fitted locally (walk in today) is sweeter deal.

Other brands may be better value?

I was in a similar situation as you when I was looking at buying the KU31's. Did get a quote from Tirerack and it was over $220. Ku31's were around ~$140 at the time so it would've cost me min $930 and that's excluding fitting. I beleive the real savings occur with tirerack when you buy high end sports tyres as we get really ripped off with the high end tyres from brands such as Continental, Pirelli, Michellin etc.

Personally I would recommend picking up the ole telephone and get chatting to local tyre shops about price. Dust off the old yellow pages off the shelf or visit the website and search for a tyre shop somewhere in your city or within a 50km radius. Check also the Kumho website for retailers. Spent the odd hour or two and see if you can save some money. Some shops quoted me up to $260/tyre for the Ku31's - "Tell em he's dreamin'"When you buy 4 tyres you might be able to bargain abit. I called around 15 tyre shops and found one who was selling them for $180/corner with no free rotations. Anouther retailer was, after some bargaining, willing to do $190/corner with tyre rotations but in the end I contacted my local KTAS and they bet all the prices and offered free rotations. They also ordered the set in for me so I also got brand new ones instead of some old set sitting and drying out in the warehouse. Wasn't a bad deal to get 235/40/R18 KU31's for $170/corner.

So do ask also about lifetime rotation warranties - while these are only usually $20-30 to have done, if you consider that the KU31's should last till 60,000km and you should rotate your tyres every 10,000km then you're looking at having to pay an $120-150 to extend the life of the tyres (excluding wheel alignments).

Yeah it would make sense to not use tirerack for low-medium end of tyres as the savings are much smaller or in fact more expensive with shipping. Get michelin pilot supersports landed for $900 is much better rather than the $1500 here in auz

Dave I tried tire rack for a Goodyear EAGLE F1 ASYMMETRIC 2 in a 235/40/18. And they did show that size....Oh well...

After running KU31's, then a Achilles (what some people call) equivalent. I thought Id spoil myself....
The reveiws for this tyre are great, they get better the deeper you look...
Like Porsche Picking it for its new 911. (http://paultan.org/2012/01/03/porsche-picks-goodyear-eagle-f1-asymmetric-2-for-911/)
Red, well done getting so many K's out of the KU31's, our relationship didn't last that long....
As for the achilles, they are a great tyre, and really cheap, fantastic value and a good performer, but in the instant when its make or break, they have let me down.
Looking forward to getting them fitted on Friday.

Dave I tried tire rack for a Goodyear EAGLE F1 ASYMMETRIC 2 in a 235/40/18. And they did show that size....Oh well...

After running KU31's, then a Achilles (what some people call) equivalent. I thought Id spoil myself....
The reveiws for this tyre are great, they get better the deeper you look...
Like Porsche Picking it for its new 911. (http://paultan.org/2012/01/03/porsche-picks-goodyear-eagle-f1-asymmetric-2-for-911/)
Red, well done getting so many K's out of the KU31's, our relationship didn't last that long....
As for the achilles, they are a great tyre, and really cheap, fantastic value and a good performer, but in the instant when its make or break, they have let me down.
Looking forward to getting them fitted on Friday.

ASYM 2 is a super tyre too and not as wearing as the PSS or conti sport 5.

Im gonna need tyres fairly soon so i will be a guinea pig for tirerack for all you guys

To close this out, in the end I went with KU19s. They are on par with the KU31 for stickiness but should be able to last a few more kms due to being non-directional and being able to be rotated more. Also being non-directional they should be quieter. They were a bit more expensive than the KU31s but this may be covered off with a bit more mileage and well, I'm all for trying out new different and exciting things....like different tyres.

I also retract my statement about tyre noise, the KU31s are a bit on the noisy side, my previous test must've on some tarmac that agreed with the tyres. I know they were a lot quieter when brand new as I remember rolling out on the new rubber thinking I was riding on silk, but obviously got worse as they wore down as they do. It will be interesting to see how the hear the difference with these ones and over the next year or two.

I agree with you about the noise. Honestly -they seem to be getting worse as the tyre gets more worn. I previously had Hancook Ventus V8 RS and they were significantly quieter. When I first bought the KU31's - I didn't notice much difference in noise but now it seems like its getting worse. That being said - grip was no where near as good as the KU31's though. For me the noise is a small compromise for the fantastic grip of my KU31's - on dry conditions - these tyres do not squeal/screech and grip 100%, even in the rain they won't spin. Only when the rain is very fresh or the road is inundated with water do these tyres start to loose a bit of traction.

It'd be interested to hear how you go with the KU19's. I'm probably right to assume you will sacrifice some grip but they are more practical and probably are better for a daily. I'm not looking forward to when my tyres hit 40,000kms approx - this is where apparently the noise gets worse. :( 10,000 down, 30,000 to go. I'm hoping with regular rotations I should be able to hit 50,000-60,000km's which would equate to about 2.5 years of driving. Otherwise I'm for having to fork out the $800 again to get a decentish set of tyres :/

I agree with you about the noise. Honestly -they seem to be getting worse as the tyre gets more worn. I previously had Hancook Ventus V8 RS and they were significantly quieter. When I first bought the KU31's - I didn't notice much difference in noise but now it seems like its getting worse. That being said - grip was no where near as good as the KU31's though. For me the noise is a small compromise for the fantastic grip of my KU31's - on dry conditions - these tyres do not squeal/screech and grip 100%, even in the rain they won't spin. Only when the rain is very fresh or the road is inundated with water do these tyres start to loose a bit of traction.

It'd be interested to hear how you go with the KU19's. I'm probably right to assume you will sacrifice some grip but they are more practical and probably are better for a daily. I'm not looking forward to when my tyres hit 40,000kms approx - this is where apparently the noise gets worse. :( 10,000 down, 30,000 to go. I'm hoping with regular rotations I should be able to hit 50,000-60,000km's which would equate to about 2.5 years of driving. Otherwise I'm for having to fork out the $800 again to get a decentish set of tyres :/

If you think the KU31 is good, you should try a proper tyre like Conti SC5 or Michelin PSS

Just looking at my receipts, I think this lot I purchased 2.5 yrs and 27000km ago. Apparently this is the expect life span and will interesting to see what life you get out of them. They're a bit noisy but to be honest, they have nothing on my Nankangs.

Truth be told they've only been rotated twice in this period and pressures were checked every month or so. As usual 40PSI never lasts and generally always were at 36-38 PSI with maybe the odd tyre lower.

The front right is beyond way gone on the inside and was probably done 5000km/h or so ago. Front left is only just gone on the inside. Both fronts are just off touching the wear indicators on the outside. Rears are just touching the indicators on the insides and could go for another 5000km+ on the outsides. It's border line as to whether I replace the rears, but for the sake of getting 6 months out of them its not worth it for the inconvenience.

Thats about what I got out of the the KU31's.
Interstingly,
I wonder if these were an import, or through Kuhmo.
I remember a story where Kuhmo were supplying tyres for a rally series here in Aus. Kuhmo aus ran out of stock, so they flew some in.
The competitors with the non australian stock, were complaining thst the tyres were not up to scratch, despite being the same model. The compounds were much softer, and could not handle they gruelling later stages of the rally.
Kuhmo australia apologized officially.
Its not the first times manufacturers have released different products under a same or similar model.

Not saying its going on here, but it could be the case. My set were cheaper than most going round.

Oh and dave, I researched these well, and they have only been out for about six months in the US.
The wear rating is a 25% improvement on the old asym 1. Its at 300 now, the last was 240 (wear rating).
Unless you've heard different.
The were officially released about three months ago....
Its a redesigned Tyre to the old asym.

Thats about what I got out of the the KU31's.
Interstingly,
I wonder if these were an import, or through Kuhmo.
I remember a story where Kuhmo were supplying tyres for a rally series here in Aus. Kuhmo aus ran out of stock, so they flew some in.
The competitors with the non australian stock, were complaining thst the tyres were not up to scratch, despite being the same model. The compounds were much softer, and could not handle they gruelling later stages of the rally.
Kuhmo australia apologized officially.
Its not the first times manufacturers have released different products under a same or similar model.

Not saying its going on here, but it could be the case. My set were cheaper than most going round.

Oh and dave, I researched these well, and they have only been out for about six months in the US.
The wear rating is a 25% improvement on the old asym 1. Its at 300 now, the last was 240 (wear rating).
Unless you've heard different.
The were officially released about three months ago....
Its a resigned Tyre to the old asym.

I dont understand anything you just said. A resigned tyre?

Redesigned....
That the phone editor playing havoc!

But I know where you're coming from...

ASYM 2 is a super tyre too and not as wearing as the PSS or conti sport 5.

Redesigned....
That the phone editor playing havoc!

But I know where you're coming from...


Aaah ok following now.

Im on 11000km on a set of Conti SC3s and the fronts are about 75% worn :(

Well my Rada cluster, will about show about 79,000 when the GY's are fitted Friday.... I'll add to to my ride and track their life.....