Tim:

I have a bad taste in my mouth about Kumho. Recently I had to replace the
tires on my '87 GL and was trying to get a set of the Commercial A/S 852's
as replacements. I live in Chicago and the 852 was an All Season (A/S) tire
that had a M+S rating. My current Michelins weren't M+S rated and were a
bear to handle during snow events here the the Windy. I purchased Miss Blue
last fall from the original owner who used her to drive to Florida for all
the winters he owned her. Anyway, last winter convinced me that I needed to
replace the tires before the snow flies again.

I tried to order the 852's for two months and was told by the local dealer
that I would have to pay additional shipping of $12.00 per tire to get the
852's. It seems the 852's were available in a warehouse in Cleveland but not
the warehouse that normally filled the orders for the dealer I was going
through. I called Kumho's Regional Sales Manager in Fontana, CA and spoke
with him. He told me that the 852 was being superceded by a new tire and
that's why it had limited availability and I would have to pay the extra
freight if I wanted them.  The new tire was called a Kumho 857. I was told
that it was the same as an 852 but has an "improved" tread pattern. I asked
if it was still a M+S rated tire and was told YES. I could get the 857's
without having to pay the extra freight and they would cost the same as the
852's. So I ordered a set and when the tires finally show up after 2� months
of screwing around there is no M+S anywhere to be found on the tires.
Needless to say I was pissed. I ended up going to Sears and getting a set of
Michelin XC LT4's in 195/75R14 size. They are M+S rated and have been very
good so far. The acid test will come soon though when the white stuff starts
piling up outside.

I guess the M+S rating probably won't effect you but I just wanted to let
you know about the problems I had with Kumho.

Dan Weber
Miss Blue - '87 GL Weekender
----- Original Message -----
From: "TJ Hannink" <tjhannink@EARTHLINK.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 1:33 PM
Subject: Kumho tires

> I have started looking for new tires and ran across a Kumho model that
looks promising.
>
> They are the RoadVENTURE ST Series.
http://www.kumhotireusa.com/pdf_files/787back.pdf
>
> I am most interested in the 215/70R 14 size with the 96 load rating. The
245/60R 14 with the 98 load rating also could be an option. The 215 has a
RPM of 805 which is the same as my speedo marking, while the 245 has an RPM
of 815. Both have reinforced sidewalls. I currently have 6.5" wide rims, so
rim width shouldn't be an issue with either tire.
>
> Kumho said they had stock in the US of the 215/70r 14 and directed me to
my local Discount Tire who gave me a price of $65.00 each. Tire Rack said
they don't stock that particular mode;
>
> Kumho also offers their Commercial A/S 852 series in 185, 195 section
widths for the 14" x 5.5" rim. Both of these are "D" rated tires.
http://www.kumhotireusa.com/pdf_files/852back.pdf
>
> Any comments, concerns or issues about these tires would be appreciated.
>
> Tim Hannink
> Goldibox - 1987 Vanagon Camper, Wolfsburg Edition
> Winter Park, Florida
> http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/
>
>
> --
>
>
> Tim Hannink
> Goldibox - 1987 Vanagon Camper, Wolfsburg Edition
> Winter Park, Florida
> http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/
>