Kuhmo and Avon tires- How are they holding up?

[mustbeaudi]

There's so little objective tire testing available. Once in a while, a montly car mag will try some test but that's costly and time consuming. These tests all go obsolete once new tires release.
At least CR give some comparisons useful for matching to priorities.
This issue posted here is not identified by date and differs slightly from my 2009 Buyers Guide (I did not pull the monthly, just referenced the annual summary), for what that's worth, and I believe it's older or missing some of these tires!
Finally, had I seen the tire tests before buying the Toyo HTs, I might have chosen differently. At least they echo my few minutes of snow testing yesterday as seeming pretty decent.

 

[drzjoint]

I have had my avons on for over a year and for a street tire they are great. I drive in verry bad weather lots of snow ice and have even taken them off road and they have not let me down and have gotten me to the same places as the guys running thir m/ts with out getting stuck. you can not beat them for the dollar. With that said I will not replace them with the same I want a more agressive tire. m/t or a/t.

 

[drstan]

drzjoint - have the Avons worn well for you? My driving is mostly city and up to the lake cabin, towing the boat and some dirt and gravel roads and snow so I don't feel the need to spend a whole lot on a real aggressive tire, but I am looking for something that will wear better than the goodyears that is a quiet and safe tire.

Also, anyone have any experience with the Kuhmo ATP KL 51's they could share?

 

[dantheman1]

Just so y'all know, tirerack now has the firestone destination a/t available in 265/60/18. It's rated REALLY high on tirerack (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Firestone&tireModel=Destination+A/T) so i'm guessing this could be a good alternative option for those with 18" wheels. Anyone have any experience with these? Is the load rating of 109T enough for the LR3?

Also, in the last comment on the nextstepdesign tire guide site, someone mentioned these: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Grandtrek+PT1. Never heard of them before, any details?

 

[CoMclovin]

I have zero respect generally when it comes to Consumer reports and automotive related rankings. They do get a lot of things right, but I just don't think they truly have a grasp in the automotive field.

Just my two cents...

 

[Houm_WA]

I feel that when it comes to cars they are all wet. They should stick to appliances. They brutalized my 1997 Montero that I subsequently put 208,000 trouble-free miles on. ...and when it comes to the LR3 they are basing its reliability score on insufficient data and are not putting a high enough priority on off-road capability, IMO. Or maybe they're right on the money with respect to what 90% of consumers want...I'm just in the other 10% so I think CR can **** off!

 

[drzjoint]

Dristan Yes they are wearing well. had them just over one year about 23k miles on them and look great.

 

[GMTIIFAN]

Hi I'm running kuhmo tires and have been very pleased. I have an 05 SE 7 that had the factory alignment issues so I was forced to replace my tires before the recall/fix was issued- no help from dealer. At the time the only 2 options were the goodyears or Kuhmos due to vehicle weight and I didn't like the factory tires at all. The kuhmos are not quite as aggressive looking as i'd like, but the ride and quietness is great (many compliments from passengers) and they perform well off road. Tire wear has been great 30K miles and still have good tread.

 

[drstan]

GMTIIFAN and drzjoint, Thanks for the information -- its helpful to get some comments from users on how the various tires have held up.

 

[macrover]

Avons

I have been running the Avons for about 10K. and they are wearing great. Just went through some serious weather here in Vancouver with lots of snow and didnt get stuck once. They perform good in the rain as well. They are wearing evenly and appear to be good rubber compound as they are not wearing as fast as I thought a cheaper tire would. They are also very quiet.

I wouldn't use them for serious offroading but for the modest trails and trips to Whistler I undertake, they are perfect.