New tyres for Focus - Kumho KH31 or Uniroyal Rainsport?

[focusdriver]

Narrowed down to these 2 to replace the fronts on a mk1 focus. Rainexperts are £67 incl fitting, Kumhos are a few quid less. Heard good reviews on both but the Rainsports just edges it at the moment. Preferences are for ride comfort and low road noise. Which ones do I go for?

kh31 kumho
http://www.online-tyres.com.au/kumho-kh31-hm-3336....

Rainexperts
http://www.allnewtyres.co.uk/tyre-details.asp?id=4...

Edited by focusdriver on Friday 8th June 00:39

[Defcon5]

I thought the KU31s were the decent ones.

I dont have any direct experience of either, but from reading reviews etc I think the Uniroyals are rated as the better tyre. Isnt it the Rainsport 2 now though

[NiceCupOfTea]

Your Uniroyal link is to Rainexperts which IIRC are not quite as good as the Rainsports

I bought a set of Rainsport 2s for my daily having run Toyo T1Rs on everything for the last few years, and they are absolutely brilliant IMHO. Perhaps not the last word in driving dynamics, but neither is my Saab 9000! For a car you are driving every day come rain or shine, they are great, and I think I will go for them on any car I am likely to drive in everyday conditions. Really confidence inspiring in the wet.

Can't speak for the Kumhos.

[focusdriver]

These are the tyres that show up on the Blackcircle website for my car. The alternative ones you mention are not listed so I presume are not available for my car.

[focusdriver]

Sorry I meant Rainexperts. I don't think rainsports are avaliable for my car (195 60R 15)

[Scantily]

focusdriver said:

Narrowed down to these 2 to replace the fronts on a mk1 focus. Rainsports are £67 incl fitting, Kumhos are a few quid less. Heard good reviews on both but the Rainsports just edges it at the moment. Preferences are for ride comfort and low road noise. Which ones do I go for?

kh31 kumho
http://www.online-tyres.com.au/kumho-kh31-hm-3336....

Rainsports
http://www.allnewtyres.co.uk/tyre-details.asp?id=4...

The uniroyals aren't rainsports, that's the rainexpert which is the non performance family car version, the good ones are the rainsport 2s. I had the experts on my old clio, they're ok, nothing amazing, can't imagine the kh31 are that good either.

Out of those two I'd buy these http://www.camskill.co.uk/m53b0s411p60906/CONTINEN...

But if your budget really won't stretch then I'd go for the rainexpert.

Edited by Scantily on Friday 8th June 00:05

[Puddenchucker]

I've had Uniroyal Rainexperts on my Octavia daily driver for nearly 2 years and found them to be excellent.
They're not the last word in handling or outright grip, so if you treat every drive like a qualifiying lap at Monaco then look elsewhere, but for everyday use on a non-sporty 'family' type car they're quiet, comfortable, durable and confidence inspiring in all weathers.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Seem to remember the Rainexperts getting a reasonable writeup.

Camskill show pretty much everything available in that size:

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m53b0s411p0/Car_Tyres_-_...

Would probably go for the rainexperts, or possibly Vredestein Sporttrac 3 although they are pricier...

I used manmaths to justify a set of 16" wheels

[focusdriver]

Thanks everyone. I think I will go for the Rainexperts. Its only for a mk1 Focus. My current Marshall tyres are on the way out after nearly 15000 miles. They cost £43 each all in and have been quite bland tbh so just wanted something more interesting.

[Scantily]

focusdriver said:

Thanks everyone. I think I will go for the Rainexperts. Its only for a mk1 Focus. My current Marshall tyres are on the way out after nearly 15000 miles. They cost £43 each all in and have been quite bland tbh so just wanted something more interesting.

Why not just spend a few quid more and get the premium contact 2s? Considering how cheap tyres are in that size it seems a shame not to, especially considering they're the best you can buy for your car.

[focusdriver]

Thanks for the sugestion but they're a good £12 more expensive each at £79. Would it be worth it? My cars only worth about £900. If I had a more expensive car I wouldn't hesitate to go for the PC2 tyres.

[vit4]

Puddenchucker said:

I've had Uniroyal Rainexperts on my Octavia daily driver for nearly 2 years and found them to be excellent.
They're not the last word in handling or outright grip, so if you treat every drive like a qualifiying lap at Monaco then look elsewhere, but for everyday use on a non-sporty 'family' type car they're quiet, comfortable, durable and confidence inspiring in all weathers.

Pretty much word-for-word my experience. Although the one thing I will say, is that I am yet to drive any everyday tyre that is as grippy in the wet, totally transformed the car's behaviour to the extent that I got another full set for other car (tyres were fine tread-wise but not a patch on the Uniroyals). I've done around 14,000 miles on the Astras ones and to be truthful they've still got at least 5mm tread depth on them, possibly more - although my driving is largely dual carriageway and the wheels get swapped axles every 3,000 miles. One thing that I have heard is that they are better for lighter cars, and both of mine are only around 900kg, so not sure whether that would make any difference on a Focus.

In short, for the money they are well worth it

[parapaul]

No personal experience of the Rainsports or Rainexperts, but had the Kumho KH31 fitted to my old Mondeo.

Don't get them mixed up like I did with the KU31 which is their 'performance' tyre and well reviewed by most people who use it. The KH31 is to the KU31 what the RainExpert is to the RainSport.

Quiet, comfortable, grip well under normal driving conditions. Affordable, too. For a car that's not pushed hard, I'd have no hesitation recommending.

[thebigmacmoomin]

I use Uniroyal RainSport2 on my 2007 Focus ST & dad uses them on his Mondeo ST TDCi. I realy like them and they are a good price aswell. Both cars use 225/40/18.

[VeeDub Geezer]

I've recently swapped to Uniroyal Rainsport2 on the Corrado and I had my first wet drive last night...

Awesome. I don't know if it's a placebo thing but I really felt confident in the wet conditions on these.

They were only £60-ish each for 195/45r16. Bearing in mind the cheap Chinese "brands" were still £40-50 it seems like a no-brainer!