![](\"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kumho-tires-ecsta-test.jpg\")
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Kumho is attempting to claw its way into the performance tire market with a new line of Ecsta rubber, launched late last year. The Ecsta Sport A\/S, the Sport, and the Sport S make some big promises, with the brand telling media it outperforms big-name tires from tiremakers like Michelin, Bridgestone, and Pirelli, all while undercutting on price.<\/p>\n
After a brief series of tests at Atlanta Motorsport Park, the Ecstas show good signs of being able to hold their own in a variety of limit-handling scenarios. While it\u2019s impossible to say whether Kumho has made a superior tire without comparing it back to back with competitors, it\u2019s clear this rubber is progressive, communicative, and easy to approach.<\/p>\n
![\"kumho](\"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kumho-tires-ecsta-test-3.jpg\")
\nPhoto by: Kumho & Brian Silvestro<\/p>\n
The Ecsta Sport A\/S is considered an “Ultra High-Performance” all-season. That means it can perform in bad weather when it needs to, whilst delivering superior grip versus your run-of-the-mill all-season tire. Its main competitor is the enormously popular Michelin Pilot Sport 4 All-Season, which comes standard on cars like the Chevy Corvette<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kumho showed media a few data points discovered by third-party testing, comparing the Sport A\/S to the Michelin (cheekily defined as \u201cM Brand\u201d in Kumho\u2019s presentation). According to the data, the Kumho performed better in wet braking tests and scored identically in the noise department. It fell short only in the “Steering\/Highway Handling” test.<\/p>\n In practice, the Sport A\/S feels like quality rubber. Kumho tossed us the keys to a trio of sports cars equipped with the tires to rip around an autocross course, allowing us to get a feel for the performance. Autocross is the perfect place to test the limits of a tire, as you always have to be at or beyond a car\u2019s abilities to squeeze out the best time. Doing so requires a tire that communicates to you, and doesn\u2019t snap when pushed hard. <\/p>\n The Sport A\/S performs commendably, with lots of noise at and above its grip limits. You can rely on it for quick transitions, too, which was nice for the course\u2019s tight chicane. Kumho also let us rip around a wet skidpad to show the tire wouldn\u2019t fall over on itself when presented with water. And it didn\u2019t, performing nearly as well, albeit without the same noise. <\/p>\n The Ecsta Sport is Kumho\u2019s mainline ultra high-performance summer tire, meant to compete against the Bridgestone Potenza Sport or Goodyear Eagle F1. That means huge shoes to fill. On first impressions, it doesn\u2019t crumble apart when faced with real track time.<\/p>\n Kumho\u2019s third-party testing suggests big things. According to the data shown to the media, the Ecsta Sport can out-brake the competition in the wet and dry. It\u2019s also better at tread life and wet handling. It\u2019s even quieter. On paper, it\u2019s one of the best tires in this segment.<\/p>\n From behind the wheel, the Ecsta Sport feels like it could live up to these lofty claims. Kumho gave me the keys to a 991-generation Porsche 911 Carrera 4S for some lead-follow laps behind a Miata equipped with the same tires. With such a performance delta it was impossible to reach the limits of the tire, but the Sports showed promise, with lots of feedback through the steering wheel. <\/p>\n More importantly, the Sports didn\u2019t fall off with regards to performance at any point, even with a full day of lapping with journalists. At this level, longevity is just as important as performance. Buyers will likely use these tires as daily drivers, so it\u2019s important they last more than a few laps on a race track.<\/p>\n The Ecsta Sport S is Kumho\u2019s equivalent of Michelin\u2019s Pilot Sport S 5<\/a>, the most popular performance tire on the planet. Like the normal Sport, Kumho\u2019s third-party testing data claims the Sport S can out-brake its Michelin counterpart, out-handle it in the wet, and match it on tire noise. <\/p>\n Instead of letting me test the Sport S on a road car, Kumho chucked me into the driver\u2019s seat of a Porsche 718 GT4 Clubsport\u2014a full-on factory race car\u2014for a few laps around AMP. Sadly those laps were also paced by a Miata, so reaching the rubber\u2019s real potential wasn\u2019t exactly on the menu. <\/p>\n Still, the Sport S tires didn\u2019t lose any of that approachability I found in the Sport, and they weren\u2019t snappy or unpredictable, even when strapped to a real race car. We need more testing, but these limited impressions were positive.<\/p>\n Because there were no Michelins (or any other brand of tire) at this event to compare back-to-back, I can\u2019t say the Kumhos are superior. The data shows they very well might be, at least in some important aspects. And they feel nice to use, which is equally as important as the numbers.<\/p>\n Where the Kumhos win biggest is price. Even if the Michelin were the better tire overall, it\u2019s still about 50 percent more expensive, depending on sizing. If you\u2019re flush with cash, sure, splurge on the French stuff. But if you want most of the performance and want to save a few bucks, the Kumhos are a solid choice.<\/p>\n The Nokian Surpass Is a Cheap All-Season Tire Worth Buying: Review<\/a> Kumho is attempting to claw its way into the performance tire market with a new line of Ecsta rubber, launched late last year. The Ecsta Sport A\/S, the Sport, and the Sport S make some big promises, with the brand telling media it outperforms big-name tires from tiremakers like Michelin, Bridgestone, and Pirelli, all while…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1787"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1795,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787\/revisions\/1795"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"kumho](\"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kumho-tires-ecsta-test-2.jpg\")
\nPhoto by: Kumho & Brian Silvestro<\/p>\nThe Kumho Ecsta Sport<\/h2>\n
![\"Kumho](\"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kumho-new-high-performance-tire.jpg\")
\nPhoto by: Kumho & Brian Silvestro<\/p>\nThe Kumho Ecsta Sport S<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.salemmusicdiscoverycenter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/kumho-tires-ecsta-test-4.jpg\")
\nPhoto by: Kumho & Brian Silvestro<\/p>\nMore Tire Reviews<\/h2>\n
Bridgestone’s New Blizzak Tire Gives Sports Car Drivers One Less Excuse: Review<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"