Tyre Feedback - Kumho

[the evil twin]

25,000 Kilometre report - KL 78's

Still pretty happy with the value for money overall. I estimate they will be due for replacement at about 65,000 maybe 70,000 tops BUT as noted previously tyre wear isn't necessarily linear so still a guesstimate.
They have held their balance well and worn very evenly so I have only rotated them once at 20,000 K's. No tread slap, no scalloping etc.

My truck is pretty near GVM with all its goodies and fatrrse driver so is what I call "heavy" and when we are away we tow about 900 Kg in the Camper and gear

Bitumen - very good 8/10
Gravel - excellent 9/10
Beach - not bad 6/10
Mud - rubbish 1/10

As I don't do much mud at all I thought I would be very happy but there is one issue I didn't really consider at the time of purchase. My useage is about 95 % Bitumen/Gravel/Beach or WA outback Sandand about 3% mud (if that). The problem is that the 3% mud can be a show stopper IE if you wear hearing protection and drive defensively then a muddie (any muddie) is OK on the bitumen, a bit better on gravel, no real hassle on the beach and obviously great in the mud.

That means the M/T will go anywhere the A/T will but at the cost of comfort however the A/T won't go anywhere the muddies can. In a weird way that means the Muddies are actually more of an all terrain than an A/T depending how you look at it so my search for that elusive and aggressive A/T that is about a 4 in the Mud on my personal scale of performance continues.

I must also add that the missus and I tour and do very little "playing" so my opinions are biased towards getting from A to B not conquering a mudhole or a hill climb.

Bottom line (@ 25,000 K's) ... IMHO the KL78's are worth the money and perform as well as anything else in an A/T albeit they wear quicker than, say, Coopers or BFG etc so the $ per K figure would probably be similar. I would recommend them to anyone who does very little to no mud so at the risk of setting labels I would call them a perfect choice for a family daily driver or grey nomad that does towing and semi adventurous camping, exploring, touring etc but that stays home or in camp when the tracks get really wet.

[Northern Lad]

I have got myself a set of KL71 (285/75/16) on steel rims. I have only done around 5000km so far but I am well impressed. On the road I run the front @ 36psi for steering feel and 40psi in the rear for road holding due to the roof rack and usually well loaded. They are quite and grip well in the wet and dry. Off road, depending what we are doing, I run them between 14psi and 20psi. They handle everything I've done really well, sand, mud, loose gravel, rock steps etc. They are showing some battle scars but I feel that it is reasonable considering what I've put them through.
Cheers

[trekster]

Just got my new KL78's fitted to my stock GU today in a 285/75/16


Tread pattern:

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1366376166.834688.jpg


Front clearance:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1366376203.067925.jpg


Rear clearance:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1366376225.450713.jpg


Overall:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1366376243.784947.jpg



I will report performance as I get a chance to test them out, I'm going out Sunday so might get a chance then!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NP99]

These guys look like they do good deals on Kumho

http://www.ozzytyres.com.au/store/tyres

[trekster]

My kl78's were $256 a corner, but I did get one price at $245, I had to pay the normal price due to me getting them on interest free.... I also priced the 265/75/16's at $235 a tyre.

You can get any tyres cheap online but then freight and fitting etc pretty much makes the prices on the level with the exception of the Bfg's a/t, most shops want $400+ for them but I priced some at $250 each would work out a hell of a lot cheaper!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GU_Mick]

My kl78's were $256 a corner, but I did get one price at $245, I had to pay the normal price due to me getting them on interest free.... I also priced the 265/75/16's at $235 a tyre.

You can get any tyres cheap online but then freight and fitting etc pretty much makes the prices on the level with the exception of the Bfg's a/t, most shops want $400+ for them but I priced some at $250 each would work out a hell of a lot cheaper!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Where do you get them Trekster?

[Gecko17]

My Truck.JPG

This is a set of 35in KL71's on my GU IV patrol. I have done about 5000kms on them. It is also the 3rd set I have had on my vehicles, including my old GQ. In my opinion, they are excellent. So much quieter that the STT's I had on there with better grip, both on and off road. They are not supposed to be rated well for sand but I have found them to be very good. I haven't had the oppotunity to have a go through mud in them yet.

Positives:- cheap, quiet, great grip wet or dry, good in sand.
Negitives:- haven't really got anything bad to say about them.