Given
29%
while driving a
Renault Megane RS250
(235/40 R18) on
mostly motorways
for 10,000
spirited miles
Have run the KW27 tires on my car (310+hp on front-wheels). First impressions when switching from my summer tires (Eagle F1 Assymettric 2, 255/35/18):
- Terrible, terrible grip in the wet. It gets scary that front wheels still spin at 110+ km/h in 4th gear on a wet highway!!
- Massive understeer tendency in the wet, still there in the dry
- Massive thread blocks that provide extreme little amounts of grip feedback through the steering wheel
- Extreme "floaty" car and steering behaviour at higher speeds (i.e. 150km/h+). Do not even try "sport cornering" in dry. The car takes a long time to 'settle' the load through the extreme movement of the thread blocks, giving very little confidence.
- Don't even dare to take these tires up to 200+, even though they are rated at 270km/h. Summer tires have been taken up to 270km/h easily with extreme stable results. Again, due to the thread blocks and very soft compound used.
- Thread wear on front wheels is enormous when using it on high powered FWD cars. This is mainly due to lack of grip in any kind of situation, especially wet conditions. Tire wheel spin is extreme as it cannot handle any serious amounts of torque. High amount of thread-block movement during cornering does not help wear either. Rubber compound is very soft as well.
Overall, being a car enthusiast, these winter tires are the worst I have ever had. The transition from proper summer tires (Eagle F1, Pilot Sport 3) is enormous and scary. Wet performance is dreadful.
I would not recommend these tires in any way if you're not driving in extreme snow conditions. Go for tires with smaller thread blocks.