drop some Kumho Solus KH16 knowledge on me

The off brand and balding tires on my cheap beater e30 are not long for this world and I am shopping for replacements. We all know that 14" wheels does not lead to many options for tires but I do prefer to keep the stock bottlecaps. I also would like to buy from Kumho because of their strong ties to GRM and because of the budget exemption should I decide to enter this years challenge.

The reviews on Tirerack are mostly positive and the their testing seems to indicate that they are moderately sporty and adequate... but does anyone have an opinion or experience to share.

This car will see 4 seasons and conditions including city potholes, highway trips and occasional light snow. I know that they will not match the star specs on my last ride but the price is right ($50 rebate makes 4 tires under $200) and they come in an acceptable size of 195/60r14.

I have experienced the Solus kr21 on my old work Fiesta and was not left with any strong feelings. They were not up to the performance level of that chassis and slipped easily in heavy snow or ice. The Solus KH16 looks like the softer and sportier version but I am not sure that they are the answer.

All opinions welcome; Thank you in advance for any insights.

I had them on an Avalon based on consumer reports testing. I was mildly disappointed. I liked them for regular driving. However, by 20k miles, they were almost useless to me. They wore unevenly and in my opinion were borderline useless in the snow. They could not go up a hill that my In laws in their corolla on good year integrity tires had no issues clearing. l did no sporty driving on them. Ymmv, but I think you can do better. l had the Kr 21 after them on a work vehicle and prefered them in the snow.

Thanks for the insight, I am trying not to also end up disappointed.

There just is not much available in 14" that I can see... might have to raise my budget to find something acceptable.

They were the oem tires on my Hyundai Accent.

They were just mediocre to begin with. As they wore on, they became downright scary when you had to drive through standing water in heavy rain. Hydroplaned quite a bit. They were nothing to write home about in snow either. Towards the end of their life, on their own, 3 of 4 tires either had a slipped or damaged belt on the tire causing a vibration, noise, and weird wear characteristics on the inner edges of the tire. Before the tire wear became apparent, I swore up and down it was a wheel bearing going but couldn't find any noticeable play in the bearings. I got MAYBE 30k miles out of the tires. probably a little less than that. (Im only estimating, I did have a set of summer wheels/tires).

I replaced them with Hankook Ventus V2 Concept H437's in the same size that I have since run year round. Much better tire in all conditions. Dry, wet, snow, better than the kumhos at everything. I have 40k on mine now, will definitely hit 50k miles no problem.

Tire rack doesnt carry them, but discount tire does, I THINK they have them in a few 14" sizes too. They are cheap, Discount Tire also has a $75 rebate going on through tomorrow on hankook tires. I just bought a set in 17" for my wifes 2012 focus, after the rebate we are lookin at $275 for just the tires.

Ill buy em again for my car in a few months too. great all around tire IMO.

thanks for the info... sounds like I do not want the Kumho Solus... still shopping and have plenty of time...

I looked at them, went with the General Altimax HP instead, in 195/60R14. I feel like the French ones I had were a little better than these Mexican tires, but still leaps and bounds better than most of the "all season" tires at that price point.

I have them on the Cruiser. Quiet, good grip, decent tread life. I'll probably get 60k out of them. No complaints here.

The Summitomos look promising but they will be a white knuckle ride in the snow unless you have chains. Have you looked into alternate tire sizes?

Lots of good insights here that I really appreciate!

Mmadness wrote: The Summitomos look promising but they will be a white knuckle ride in the snow unless you have chains. Have you looked into alternate tire sizes?

Agreed; after a little more looking around the Sumitomo HTR A/S P01 looks like a front runner. While I do have plenty of experience in dealing with the white stuff, I can avoid most snowy conditions if I have to.

I have looked around for other sizes but for some reason I keep coming back to the decision that 14" is right for this car. Sadly, there is not much around in a 14" diameter that is any wider and I would not want to go any narrower or larger of a sidewall either... 195/60r14 seems like the best option available.