Kumho I Zen KW11 studdable tire
Written: Jan 12 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Excellent winter traction on snow and ice, good traction on dry, long lasting. Excellent value.
Cons: Lots of road noise on dry and wet roads.
The Bottom Line: An excellent winter tire with amazing traction in snow and ice. An unbeatable value on a top rated tire.
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| rdyrbye's Full Review: Kumho I Zen KW11 Passenger/Performance Tire |
I Have had a set of four Kumho KW11 snow tires on my 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan for the last 6 months. The tires have continued to exceed my expectations.
Background on where the tires are being used:
I travel the Coquihalla highway weekly. This is located in the British Columbia interior of Canada. The highway is horrible in the winter, with frequent, deep snowfalls along with ice and slush. Every time I travel the highway in winter conditions I am impressed with the traction I receive. Frequently, I am dodging between vehicles that have lost traction or are stuck on the highway. Even when I have to stop on an incline, I am able to gain traction. These tires have personally saved me from numerous accidents where all seasons would not cut it.
The good:
Excellent traction in snow and ice conditions. These tires meet the "Mud and Snow" requirements of canada, meaning it has the "mud and snow" icon on the tire. This is something you are going to want to look for when purchasing a winter tire. These tires also received the Severe Snow Service approval.
These tires are studdable, using a size 11 stud. The stud holes are not all in the same location, they are Randomly located on each tire shoulder. This helps eliminate noise if studs are used. (Note: I did not stud my tires as I also drive regularly in wet and dry conditions, and did not want the added noise / tire wear)
High tread depth. This not only gives you amazing grip on ice and snow, it also means the tire will last longer. I have put on 20,000kms and still have 85% tread left, meaning these tires should last for 100,000kms (60,000miles)
Excellent value. This was really the selling feature for me. The value of these tires is amazing. I purchased my set of 215/70 R15 for my 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan, and the total purchase price was just under $400CDN ($300USD) installed! I did alot of price comparison with other brands including bridgestone blizzak, and these were at the low end of the scale for cost, but the upper end of the scale for traction/longevity.
The Bad:
My only complaint with these tires is the road noise. My previous tires were all season Goodyears, and they were MUCH quieter on wet roads and noticeably quieter on dry roads. The road noise is most noticeable under acceleration, especially in the rain. I can hear these tires from speeds as low as 30km/h and at highway speeds, these tires are quite noisy especially when the road is wet. This is primarily caused by the deep, soft tread used in snow tires. When driving on wet roads, the rain gets in these channels and flys up into your wheel wells. This causes added road noise. On dry roads, the noise is still there, but much less than it would be on wet roads. Is it annoying? Yes. Would it make me choose another brand of tire? No. Reality is, snow tires by design are going to be noisier than their all season counterparts. This said, I am sure these tires would be even more noisy with studs, and therefore the tires should only be studded in locations that recieve large amounts of snow on a fairly regular basis. I can only imagine what the traction would be like with studs in the tires along with their already superior traction.
The final verdict:
These tires are worth every penny, and compared to other snow tires I have used over the years, they are long lasting with superior traction and control. When you add to that the value pricing of these tires, they are an unbeatable value. I would recommend these tires to anyone looking for excellent snow tires at a reasonable price point.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300
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Epinions.com ID:
rdyrbye
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Location: Surrey, British Columbia
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 0 members
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