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Hi guys,

Only had my NB SE a month or so and I'm loving it. I'm in need of some new tyres soon tho. I've done some research and found RE003 and pilot sports 3's to be very popular but they are little out of my price range tho I'm looking to spend roughly $150 a corner. In my searching KU31 have come up quite a bit but I can only find KU19 and KU39 locally in Canberra. Has any one had experience with Kumho tyres?

Open to other suggestions too. I'm looking for a good quality everyday sport tyre but I might toss up the idea of doing a hill climb in the future.

Any advice?


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I run Kumhos, I think the 31 is discontinued, pretty sure I have some 39s now. They're perfect for a street tyre for the SE, they aren't high performance, but they aren't rubbish - I certainly have no traction issues unless I push hard.

Another option would be the Yoko AD08R in 215/40/17, but these are peformance tyres and probably overkill for most people on the street.

Take this opportunity to upgrade your rims to 15" and enjoy the car even more:
* Better ride (and you wont fear bending your rims every time you hit a small pothole/bump)
* Better handling/performance (lower unsprung weight, better acceleration, better braking, less wear on brakes and rotors)
* Cheaper tyres
* Larger range of tyres

If you just like the look of the 17" SE wagon-wheels/boat-anchors, like the F'N Mazda marketing A-HOLES did, you can ignore all the above since you care more about form over function.

My advice: Save for the 15" rims and tyres before rushing out to buy new 17" tyres. Keep an eye on the For Sale threads, you can always find a bargain if you wait long enough, or start a "Want to Buy 15x7.5/15x8 rims and tyres" thread, members tend to accumulate parts that they may be prompted to sell if they see the thread.

Lokiel's response to any mention of 17's must be written in the forum's code by now surely

Thanks for the feedback guys. I did consider going down to a 15" rim but I got a great deal on a set of Enki RPF1 type II 17x7 rims which are pretty strong and light. I might get a set of 15" wheels and tyres for track days and hill climb in the future tho so thanks for the info Lokiel.

Might see what prices I can get on a KU39 then they seem pretty good value.

Cheers guys


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Have you considered 215/45/17's. I know when looking last time that 205 tyres in a few brands were actually more expensive than 215 tyres. I know that Michelin have just released pilot sport 4's in Australia and are listed at $208 on their website. My Hankook rs3's are $169 ea at jax but are a little noisier on the road but good grip for the track.

CeramicND wrote:Have you considered 215/45/17's.

Factory is 205/40/17, those would have too large a rolling diameter, you can get away with 215/40/17 though.

If these are the rims I'm thinking of you bought, they have a 45 offset, factory is 40 so clearance becomes even more of an issue without spacers.....

Sorry Nevyn72, your right, the 215/45/17 are a big step forward up in size. However the step up from 205/40/17 to 215/40/17 is very similar in increase as 205/45/17 to 215/45/17. I still use my standard tyres and wheels from time to time and really can't notice a difference between the two for normal road use. As I have never priced 40 series tyres it would be interesting to see if they are the same, where the 215's are generally cheaper than the 205's. I do know another club member that tracks his ND on 215/40/17's, just can't remember what brand they were. I am not aware what offset NB's run but is that relevant when only considering such a minimal width change of 10mm?

CeramicND wrote:I am not aware what offset NB's run but is that relevant when only considering such a minimal width change of 10mm?

Well they had to reduce the turning arc on the steering rack for the SE to prevent rubbing when they increased the rim width from 6.5" to 7" using the same +40 offset so......
(Note: Both the standard 6.5" rim and SE 7" rim had the same rolling diameter and the same 205 width tyre from the factory)