Kumho Solus TA31 vs TA71 vs General RT43

[HTSS_TR]

The current tire 205/55-16 of the 2006 Volvo V70 is made in China when I bought the car used 2-3 years ago. The tread has 5/32" remaining, but the rubber is harden and performance/handling seems not very good, also ride /noise is deteriorating.

I'm searching for replacement on Tirerack and there are 3 budget tires(they don't have Cooper) I like: Kumho Solus TA31 H-rated, Kumho Solus TA71 V-rated and General RT43 H-rated.

Treadlife warranty is 60k miles for both Kumho and 65k miles for General. Price are the same for all 3.

As of now I think Kumho Solus TA71 V-rated is a better tire, for reason that it is V-rated and it weight 23 lbs vs 20 lbs for TA31 and 19 lbs for RT43. The extra 3 lbs over TA31 indicates that the sidewall is stiffer and V-rated is usually has better(stickier) tread compound.

What do you think ? I'll do some research and compare Cooper CS-5(Ultra and Grand Touring) with these tires. I have CS-5 Ultra Touring on my E320 for 10 days, and I like the ride/quiet. Since it is still break-in the performance/handling isn't as good as Kumho 4X. Especially Kumho 4X was very good when tread is down to 2-3/32" on dry surface.

PS currently Kumho has $100 rebate for TA71, but I plan to buy around Black Friday or Cyber Monday from AT/DT for possible rebate(s). Hopefully either Kumho or General or Cooper has some rebate by that time.

 

[brslds]

CS5ULTRA 84$ per tire after mail in rebate + free shipping. STATS: 60k warranty|580 treadwear|AA temp|V speed rating. The CS3 is 83$ per tire after mail in rebate + free shipping less treadwear rating though.

 

[Sam_Julier]

I've run the General Altimax RT43 for 11,000 miles on our 1993 240 wagon. They exhibit excellent dry and wet traction, very good directional stability and cornering and surprisingly good snow traction. They're superb in heavy rain (I have yet to hydroplane). The down side is noise which I would rate as moderately high. Obviously the 240 lacks the sound deadening of an '06 V70, so noise may not be an issue. But, still I plan to try the Solus for the next set. Hope this helps.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Nice to see they extended the TA71 rebate! I'd buy the TA71.

 

[oggb]

If you get snow where you live (or where you travel) the General RT43 are absolutely incredible.

The owners of the estate I manage have a VW Tiguan that is all wheel drive and it had some kind of Goodyear tire with fairly decent tread depth. It got a flat in one tire and the others were dry rotted so they decided to get me to replace all four tires.

Before switching to the Generals the vehicle was awful in the snow, really no better than my Prius (and that really says a lot).

After the Generals it's absolutely incredible in any weather condition. The tires are quiet, have worn well, and I say this from experience -- perform 90% as well in snow as dedicated winter tires.

Every vehicle on this estate will soon be wearing the Generals.

 

[HTSS_TR]

We don't have snow where my daughter drive her Volvo. The winter low temp is rarely below 40-45F overnight, high of the day is in the mid 60's to mid 70's most of the time. So the summer tire can actually be used all year, but all-season tire is usually has longer tread life.

As of this moment I think I will go with either Cooper CS-5 Ultra Touring V-rated or Kumho TA71 V-rated. Both tires are less than $80 from onlinetires.com before any rebate. Local AT usually matches low online price, since onlinetires.com is locally so I don't have to pay shipping cost. If Kumho or Cooper has some rebate then the total OTD for 4 installed tires(205/60-16) can be around $200 or less.

Since the current tires still have about 5/32" tread depth, it can be driven for few more months with not so heavy rain this coming winter. I think we may have some good downpour this winter(probably around Dec-Feb) because of El Nino, that why I plan to buy new tires for this car around Black Friday - Cyber Monday to get maximum rebates from AT and manufacture.

 

[geekster]

Anyone know the tire weight of the Cooper CS-5? I can't find it on their website. Within that question how many ply's does Cooper usually have on sidewall? If anyone knows.

 

[3for3]

Originally Posted By: geekster
Anyone know the tire weight of the Cooper CS-5? I can't find it on their website. Within that question how many ply's does Cooper usually have on sidewall? If anyone knows.



According to the Tread Depot website the Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring 205/55/16H weigh 22.0 lbs., and the CS5 Grand Touring 205/55/16T weighs 21.3 lbs. I don't know about the sidewall ply's.

 

[stephen9666]

My T-rated CS5 Grand Touring say they have two polyester plies on the sidewall. I can't speak for the other sizes/speed ratings.

Side note- this also shows that the T-rated CS5 GT have a cap ply.

 

[geekster]

Thanks for the info! I was relying on Cooper's website for info. I should've thought about Tread Depot. Thanks again