These have had positive response on here previously, what are current thoughts and which particular model have people gone for?
I currently have Yokohama Advan 105S as OEM fit in 16" and while OK they don’t inspire the most confidence.
We have Kumho Ecsta Le Sport KU39 (to give them their full name) on the 16" wheels on our Mk 2.5 and they have transformed the car. Jayne felt the back end start to go a couple of times previously but not since we have fitted these. We are both much more confident driving the car now. They were a good price as well if I remember.
Ive had them on several cars and i have them on a current car ive not long bought and i cant wait for them to wear outÂ
there noisy slippy rubbishÂ
theres Uniroyal rainsports  on the front of the car and kumho ku39 on the back both sets of tyres are date stamped late 2016 so not old rubber and i have since put the kumho on the front and its noisier now at the front and the wet grip level has gone downÂ
all in all if they last to long there going to be dumped for another set of uniroyals or something betterÂ
so personally i hate them and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyoneÂ
well you did askÂ
Is this for your ND 1.5l Ian? Because if it is I shall watch the recommendations with much interest as I have the same model.
Well there may be your problem, although not mixed makes on the fronts or rears you have a mix.
I can say I have Kumho on each corner and they are a great tyre, the only time I’ve lost grip was on black ice, scary but it would be in any car whatever rubber fitted.
I can also say the Uniroyal Rainsports are every bit as good as the Kumho, had them on a Mk2 again on each corner
I wouldn’t class either tyre as rubbish
Yes it is Roger.
Uniroyal Rainsports also seem to rate quite highly with people.
I hope a few more members comment on this thread , I am going to follow with interest I do not need tyres yet but when I do will be looking for recommendations I drive a mk3 1.8 I run on orginal 205/50/16 my current tyre is an Nankang I reviewed this tyre got 3* about 68% on tyre review sites they have been ok but I defo be looking to put a better performance tyre on when they need changing I was  about Kumho or Yokohama been told there is a new kid on the block a company named Davanti tyres getting good feed back so far , it is such a mine field I never just buy most expensive as sometimes you do pay for the brand but I do keep away from budget tyres I would like to push my 5 a bit more but not sure how good or bad these Nankang are just feel my beloved Nc deserves a slightly better tyreÂ
Talking about manufactures is like talking about Tesco’s. It is what model or product you have. You could say “I have a Mazda, they are rubbish” You would want to know what one they are talking about.Â
Kumho seem to get a good rating among mid range tyres. But why would you want to put mid range tyres on an ND?Â
I seem to remember previous discussions suggesting that for the weight of car the particular Kumho tyres being considered were a better match than some more expensive names, hence the request for information.
At the end of the day I want the tyres that best match the characteristics of the MX-5. I’ll replace all 4 at the same time.
I know what your getting at but it doesnt change the fact that wet grip levels are better which ever end the uniroyals are on
anyway each to there own im only reporting my findings also we all drive different and want different things from our cars
The only direct comparison I have is between the original Continentals and the Kumho KU39s I replaced them with on my NC 2.0 Sport.
Even if Continentals were cheaper than Kumho I would still go for Kumho. Can’t fault them in any conditions. I have full confidence in them.
I have fitted Uniroyal Rainsport 3 to our other car, a Nissan Juke. Admittedly it doesn’t have enough power to blow the skin off a rice pudding but recently when caught out in torrential rain and standing water it handled really well.
After NickD performed a comparison test on Kumho V Toyo couple of years ago I have changed the fleet to all Kumho.
Mk1 on HS51
Mk3.5 on KU39
4x4 on I’Zen winters
Love them all. No problems on the 3.5 far better than the Bridgestone Potenza that was standard fit.
I had 4 KU39S fitted in August and they’re excellent, road noise got slightly louder than the contis which came off but handling is very composed and they’re good in the wet.
Why not? Some people seem to think that higher price equates to better performance. Let’s be honest, the ND is no supercar and hardly going to win any prizes for speed and handling so no need to spend a fortune on tyres. The Kumhos are perfectly good for the sort of driving most people will do in their MX5. Got the KU39’s on my NC and have no complaints at all. I don’t really notice the road noise especially with the roof down but to be honest, given the cheap ■■■■tyres the dealer had put on when I bought the car, the Kumhos are a vast improvement.
Just for balance, on my NB I had Yokohama BluEarth tyres (part of a deal with new alloy wheels) and they were excellent. Even cheaper than the Kumhos as I recall.
Fitted four HS51’s to my NC this morning after searching the forum for recommendations. £300 fully fitted. Replaced Avon ZV5’s which I was never particularly happy with.
I’ll report back once I’ve scrubbed them in a bit.
There are many different types of Kumho tyres.
I fitted two Kumho Solus KH17 to the rear of my MX5 and they were absolutely terrible. In the wet the back end would break away with no warning even at low speeds.
Replaced them with Kumho Ecsta Sport KU39 and the difference was staggering, much more planted and felt much more stable in the wet.
I also run KU39’s on my E46 M3 and for the money think they are an excellent tyre.
I think it may help some people to view NickD’s excellent A/B comparison of tyres in a video in he produced in his (wife’s) Mk2.5.
Suffice to say, our 5 with his recommended Kumhos sticks wet or dry like poo on a velvet curtain.Â
The video is somewhere on this site and well worth watching.
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Looks like I can get Ecsta HS51 in 195/50/16 and not KU39.