Kumho Tires Debuts New Noise-Reducing Tech for Performance Tires
If you drive a tricked-out truck or a slammed-out sedan, these Kumho tires promise “Performance without Compromise.”
You know, many of us kind of don’t give our tires enough thought when it’s time for replacements. However, since these are the parts that make direct contact on the ground, a key safety item, they should be something we all stop and think about before just saying “put whatever on it.” This is especially so as we stay in our cars, trucks, and SUVs for longer than a decade before replacing them. To that end, Kumho has introduced a triple threat of tires for Summer Performance, All-Season Performance, and Extreme All-Terrain tire markets that will raise eyebrows for a variety of reasons during the 2024 SEMA Show.
First up is the Kumho Ecsta Sport All-Season PA7, it’s a high-performance all-season tire that offers a 50,000-mile treadwear warranty that alone would be a shock to the aftermarket tire scene. What really makes it interesting is the use modified straight grooves of the tire Kumho dubs “K-Noise Defender.” While these are described as “dimples,” they look more like gussets formed between the tread blocks and tire grooves.
Either way, the dimples reduce tire noise that comes from both the wind tunnel effect those grooves create as the tire spins and the accelerated air escaping from the sipes that form the tread blocks creating miniaturized sonic booms due to the pressure change. Those gussets slow down the air in the grooves, thereby reducing the noises created as that air escapes at extreme velocities. Interestingly, the gussets in the K-Noise Defender tires don't add any additional stiffness to the tread blocks; according to Kumho, squirm reduction is still carried out by the interlocking of the sipes.
If you’re looking for maximum performance tires for your favorite winding road, track, or autocross, then you might want to consider the Ecsta Sport PS72 and the Ecsta Sport S P72. Both tires feature all the high-performance tread design you’re looking for when you need wet-weather grip on the Sport P72 and ultra-high dry performance with the Ecsta Sport S P72. What makes both tires interesting is that Kumho offers both high-performance tires with a 30,000-mile treadwear warranty by way of a new silica and resin used in the tire carcass. The combination of not only new materials, but also new techniques to improve the dispersion of these new silica and resins creates a tire that offers enhanced grip without the traditional compromise of treadwear by resorting to stickier but faster wearing rubber compound.
Finally, for those of you looking for a new All-Terrain Extreme tire for your lifted truck or SUV, Kumho has finally made their prototype a reality with the all-new Road Venture RT. This tire offers the look and much of the mud-tossing sidewall performance of a MT tire, but with the grooving, siping, and tread carcass befitting the typical (but still rather aggressive) All-Terrain tire. While the Ecsta tires will be available from your favorite Kumho tire dealer, this new Road Venture RT won’t be available until the Fall of 2025.
Having experience in many forms of the automotive industry, Justin Banner has done more than just write about cars. For more than 15 years, he's had experience working as an automotive service technician—including a stint as a Virginia State Inspector—service advisor, parts sales, and aftermarket parts technical advisor (a fancy way of saying he helped you on the phone when you had trouble fitting your brakes over your aftermarket wheels and the like). Prior to his tenure as a full-time editor, Justin worked as a freelance writer and photographer for various publications and as an automotive content creator on YouTube. He’s also covered multiple forms of motorsports ranging from Formula Drift, drag racing, and time attack, to NASCAR, short course off-roading, and open desert racing. He's best known for breaking down complex technical concepts so a layperson can more easily understand why technologies, repairs, and parts should matter to them. At MotorTrend, Justin is part of the news team covering breaking news and topics while also working as a judge for MotorTrend Of the Year events and other major comparison tests.
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