Tyres: Alternatives to KU31s

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 12:41 pm

According to Kumho, KU39s are rated to last slightly less than KU31s.

16bit · Postby **16bit** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 1:06 pm

have you considered yoko s drives, bridgestone re002, nitto neogen vr's?

BadBong · Postby **BadBong** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 1:12 pm

Nope... will need to do some research to see whether they're in the same price range though.

Guran - I've just got a quote from QLD for KU39s in 205/45/16 and they're $200 a corner. Sounds like KU36 performance with KU31 treadwear... might give it a go (but it is significantly more expensive than KU31s....)

project.r.racing · Postby **project.r.racing** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 5:28 pm

why trywhy fix it if it ain't broke. KU31, only better street tyre is semis, and they cost alot more.

project.r.racing · Postby **project.r.racing** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 9:09 pm

Davex3 wrote:
project.r.racing wrote:why trywhy fix it if it ain't broke. KU31, only better street tyre is semis, and they cost alot more.

What? The best street tyre is a KU31????

Nah I wouldn't say best. But it is right up there for a good cheap high grip long lasting tyre. Gotta be one of the best all roud tyres available on the market.

Tyres like the Michelin Sport3 are awesome, but at twice the price, KU31 wins.

Lots of cheap crap or good expensive tyres out there also.

Gmi · Postby **Gmi** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:02 pm

Davex3 wrote:
project.r.racing wrote:why trywhy fix it if it ain't broke. KU31, only better street tyre is semis, and they cost alot more.

What? The best street tyre is a KU31????

You can get 40k kms + on Potenza re050, turanza er33 for daily drivers.. If the ku31s only last 25000kms for daily drive.. Why not buy something more expensive and last longer..

My re050 has 30000kms on them 1 track day, the rest daily drive. Tyre man says 50% + tread.

grips better than 31s dry and wet and less noise on highway cruises. ( made in japan ) :p

My sisters is250 running michelins pilot sports3 has more than 50000kms daily driver, tyre man says 50+% tread.. Grips even better than re050 in the wet.

Continental sport contact 3. Daily drive replaced at 63000kms on my dads car. Grips like the michelins in the wet ( 4 fat lines to drain water ).

Good luck vic. I'd buy the 595 over the 31s. Look on skyline forums. There are a few posts on these tyres. All personal preference and opinion. So in that price range my pick is 595.

BadBong · Postby **BadBong** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 11:48 pm

Thanks mate.

I'm open to paying more for longer lasting tyres as well cause they all work out.

I guess if we simply sum my budget up as...$50/10,000kms then that's about right (with similar grip and noise to KU31s)

Hjt · Postby **Hjt** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:09 am

I agree with the above posts, your might as well get a set that lasts longer for a tad more. Add to your ratio the time involved and cost of putting the new tyres on, and length prior to next replacement.

I didn't think your tyres were that bad, how much tread go you roughly have?

Guran · Postby **Guran** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 6:43 am

Maybe RE050 are different wear rating to RE050A, but I struggled to get 20k out of OEM RE050As on my 135i. They were completely shot by 20k. Wear rating was only 140 I think.

If tyre life is your goal, Kumho have plenty of harder tyres with less grip that will last 50k+ and cost less than KU31s! Perfect for Camry drivers. :lol:

KRM · Postby **KRM** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 8:47 am

Victor Good Luck with your search. As I said I have used the 595's and they have spat me off the track without any warning. :shock:

They also suffer with heat related grip loss. I am running PS3's on my Ford and they work very well.

16bit · Postby **16bit** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:17 am

Guran wrote:Maybe RE050 are different wear rating to RE050A, but I struggled to get 20k out of OEM RE050As on my 135i. They were completely shot by 20k. Wear rating was only 140 I think.

If tyre life is your goal, Kumho have plenty of harder tyres with less grip that will last 50k+ and cost less than KU31s! Perfect for Camry drivers.

QFT.

Get Nankangs with 400+ treadwear if you want them to last.

you will die before they wear out but the tyres will last a long time.

i think i will give the ku31's a go if I can't get nitto neogen VR which has better reviews in the states apparently for the same money.

i am coming from r1r's which have great dry and wet weather grip but they wear very quickly and to be honest i would never track them (as i have semis for that) so don't need that much dry grip on the road.

i have almost worn through them in about 15k.

admittedly i did have an aggressive alignment and the rears ended up having about 4 degrees neg camber.

BadBong · Postby **BadBong** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:21 am

KRM wrote:Victor Good Luck with your search. As I said I have used the 595's and they have spat me off the track without any warning. They also suffer with heat related grip loss. I am running PS3's on my Ford and they work very well.

See... that's the thing that I'm puzzled about.

Both the PS3s and KU31s are rated at 320 for tyre wear. So why do the PS3s last 'longer' then 30,000kms?! (PS3s don't come in anything smaller than 17s unfortunately but this is a general question)

project.r.racing · Postby **project.r.racing** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:22 am

I get 40k - 45k from my ku31s, they cost $150ea.

Gmi · Postby **Gmi** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:24 pm

Guran wrote:Maybe RE050 are different wear rating to RE050A, but I struggled to get 20k out of OEM RE050As on my 135i. They were completely shot by 20k. Wear rating was only 140 I think.

If tyre life is your goal, Kumho have plenty of harder tyres with less grip that will last 50k+ and cost less than KU31s! Perfect for Camry drivers.

Guran, your tyres are runflats? I was referring to re050a non run flats. Plus your 135 has bigger horsepower and heavier car? I'm guessing that affects the wear life!? My friends 33 gtr lasted 13000kms on ku31. M3 ku36 lasted 15000kms. Both non track use.

BadBong · Postby **BadBong** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 1:42 pm

Gmi wrote:
Guran wrote:Maybe RE050 are different wear rating to RE050A, but I struggled to get 20k out of OEM RE050As on my 135i. They were completely shot by 20k. Wear rating was only 140 I think.

If tyre life is your goal, Kumho have plenty of harder tyres with less grip that will last 50k+ and cost less than KU31s! Perfect for Camry drivers.

Guran, your tyres are runflats? I was referring to re050a non run flats. Plus your 135 has bigger horsepower and heavier car? I'm guessing that affects the wear life!? My friends 33 gtr lasted 13000kms on ku31. M3 ku36 lasted 15000kms. Both non track use.

I think it depends on your driving style too mate.

project.r.racing wrote:I get 40k - 45k from my ku31s, they cost $150ea.

Project r racing -> There is absolutely no way I can get 45,000kms out of my KU31s, not unless I drive the car like a bus. But you have a good point there in asking why I would change to something else in this price range so it looks like I should investigate on whether it'll be worthwhile for me to pay $200 per tyre and get say... 40% more mileage? That shouls still be worth it.

If there's a tyre around the $200 mark with similar performanec to KU31s but will last 40% longer (40,000kms vs 30,000kms on the KU31s)... please let me know