Tire: Ecsta LE Sport
Category: Max Performance Summer
UTQG (treadwear): 280 AA A
In my mind the Kumho Ecsta LE Sport is one of those tires that is good, but not good enough. It's like getting your favorite food, say pizza perhaps, but not getting the toppings you want. I like this tire for the price and I think as summer performance tires go, it's a good offering. It utilizes Kumho's in-house High Grip Performance Resin enhanced tread compound that provides for a good amount of grip in higher temperatures. The build of this tire is solid, but not inspiring. It's not pedestrian, but it's also not top of the line, or even close. Just like all other summer tires, it is not intended to be driven in snow/ice or at near freezing temperatures.
You'll find when you cross shop the Kumho Ecsta LE Sport to other Max Performance Summer tires, you'll see that it ends up in the lower middle part of the list. That isn't to say that this tire doesn't have some redeeming values, I feel that it does, but in a crowded field...it just can't keep up. I actually think a lot more people would buy this tire again if it just lasted longer. The most miles I've seen on a set is 40,000 and those tires were in bad shape at that point. Most other tires in this performance category will give you at least 50,000 miles, and many are higher than that. Dry traction is solid, that's something I've heard a lot. Wet traction...is another story, and it's not great. So good dry traction, along with poor wet traction, on a tire that wears out more quickly than others is where we end up. Now for the money, this tire looks to be a good value. In the end though, we can do better.
