Tire: Ecsta PA31
Category: High Performance All-Season
UTQG (treadwear): 500 A A
The Kumho Ecsta PA31 is a well built tire, and made primarily for use on mid level sports cars and performance sedans. This is one of the best tires in this performance category (definitely in the top 3) and has been designed to provide excellent traction in both wet and dry conditions. I think Kumho put a lot of time and effort into the engineering of this tire. They were seeking all year traction, including snow, and I think they came very close to that goal. Kumho uses their advanced tech tread compound with multiple cross grooves, along with their ESCOT Technology to enhance the traction abilities and treadlife. Not groundbreaking stuff, but overall good engineering here.
So there is what Kumho put into the Ecsta PA31, and then there is how drivers feel about how it performs on the road and this is where I was probably the most surprised. I found that about 95% of drivers would replace a worn set of Ecsta PA31s with the same thing. That is a pretty high number, and I know a lot of demanding drivers. With the deep tread to help with traction, you sacrifice some longevity, but I've still found that these tires will go for about 60,000 miles before needing to be replaced, and I think that's very good considering the great traction you get. Most of the comments I get from folks is regarding the wet traction, and when compared to other tires in this performance category, I think these tires are fantastic in the rain. I would note that I've seen a few sidewall bubbles with this tire when it first came out, but Kumho has apparently worked that out because I just don't see that issue any more. Overall this tire will compete with the best from Goodyear and Michelin, and it is certainly worth consideration.
