Kumho Road Venture AT KL78

[kb0nly]

Just got some new shoes on her today. Ordered a set of four Kumho KL78's in P225/75R16, with shipping it was $397 and some change.

Already impressed with them, the ride feel and steering response feel much better than it did with the stock tires, yeah it had the stock Wranglers on it.. (blarg)

Coming home i flew down some gravel roads and it doesn't get skittish anymore, can't wait for some more rain tomorrow to see the difference on wet roads, the back end would break free with the stock tires.

Minimal road noise, hardly noticeable in my opinion. Running them with about 40lbs of air for now, i might increase that a bit yet, the max pressure is 51 lbs but the shop that put them on put in 40 lbs. What do you think i should do on the tire pressures?? Open to opinions. All i know is it seriously reduced the roughness of the ride on some bumpy back roads around here.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

They look nice!!!!

 

[Dave]

You could try them at 36 or 38lbs. It should soften up the ride a little as opposed to running 40lbs. Also, 40 might be a little high and cause center wear and less traction....possibly. I think if they were on mine I would try 38lbs first and see what they feel like. I like the tread.

Dave

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Try this:

Chalk all the tread up and drive on pavement for a few feet with one pressure, and keep re chalking and playing with the pressure till the chalk wears evenly across the tread.

 

[Ry' N Jen]

I agree with Dave.
I'd also start with 36-38 psi and then do the chalk test as KJ pointed out!
Mind you, once you take your truck off road you might want to play with the psi depending on the terrain you are driving on.

 

[kb0nly]

Thank for the opinions and suggestions guys!!

I will have to chalk the tires and have a look. So far the ride at 40 feels really good but that will give me a visual confirmation as well.

I really like the tread too, its what made me decide to go with them besides the price! Will have to see how they do over time but there is a lot of posts on the internet from Jeep and other SUV/Truck owners that have them and like them. So time will tell!!

Now i just have to replace the spare, couldn't quite afford one more yet, but its going to happen in a week or two. This weekend i put on the brush guard, the wiring for the driving lights thats going to be on it, Hella 500FF's is installed and waiting.

Sneak Peek... Two pin weatherpack connector on the end of the light harness i just got done building and installing.

 

[ridenby]

Baby got new shoes!Watch for those deer!

 

[kb0nly]

Baby got new shoes!Watch for those deer!

Yeah no kidding!! Knock on wood!!

Thanks Man..

 

[Ry' N Jen]

Yeah no kidding!! Knock on wood!!

Thanks Man..

On that note, I've got friends up in Alaska and down in Auburn Washington that swear by these Electronic Wild Life Alerting systems:
http://www.maxsainnovations.com/products/27509.htm.
http://hopkins-auto-group.blogspot.com/2009/07/hopkins-27512va-cl-en-trailblazer.html
As well as those little stick on Deer Alert
http://www.sav-a-life.com/Deeralert_intro.htm?gclid=CL641JXS2psCFRwpawodOwR-_A
One guy litterally uses one of each on his Classic Datsun 510 Rally car here in the Eastern Interior of B.C.
I've always used the Deer Alert and I have been lucky so far.
A friend of mine hit a cow on the other hand at Nine (9) miles per hour!!!
Don't ask!

 

[RenegadeJay]

How'd they do on the wet roads? My Goodyears Wrangler ST's cannot get grip to save their lives in the rain. I'm afraid for the snow. I know I need new meats by winter. I want a good wet tire for rain and snow since that is what the majority of what I see.

 

[kb0nly]

How'd they do on the wet roads? My Goodyears Wrangler ST's cannot get grip to save their lives in the rain. I'm afraid for the snow. I know I need new meats by winter. I want a good wet tire for rain and snow since that is what the majority of what I see.

Haven't had any heavy rain yet, so i will report back when it rains!

I will tell you that compared the Wranglers i took off it sure does grab good on gravel now, takes an awful lot to break loose the rear end now! The rear end was wagging going down these back roads before.

 

[tommudd]

I ran a set of those in 255-70-16s for about 30,000 miles, still had 1/2 tread on them when I sold them to go bigger, nice riding tire, very quiet, and did good on wet roads, snow and ice, great tire for the money

 

[kb0nly]

I ran a set of those in 255-70-16s for about 30,000 miles, still had 1/2 tread on them when I sold them to go bigger, nice riding tire, very quiet, and did good on wet roads, snow and ice, great tire for the money

Sounds like a lot of the comments i read online! Good traction in all conditions and they wear slowly.

I know i'm already happy with them, can't wait to try them out in the snow!

 

[HoosierJeeper]

They come in my size....idea.gif

I'm glad you like them so far.....

 

[kb0nly]

They come in a lot of sizes! LOL

The shop that i had mount and balance them, the mechanic i always use when i don't have the time or tools to do it myself, said they were the nicest he has balanced for Truck/SUV tires in some time. They took very small weights to make them perfect.

 

[RenegadeJay]

A while back they were one of the first tires on the list at discounttire.com when looking for stock kj tire sizes, but now they are near the bottom. Price went up. Must be a good sign.

 

[kb0nly]

Probably moved down the list because of price too, you know how it goes, good tire or not, if it goes up in price people will buy the heck out of the next cheapest one. I got them for a lot cheaper than i could get them anywhere around here off Tirerack.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Any updates on these???

 

[kb0nly]

Any updates on these???

Sorry for the LONG wait! Its been a busy last couple weeks here.

Here is the update, took the KJ fully loaded with family of five and two dogs and all our luggage and did a 650 mile round trip to the north land. Lots of back country road driving up in the Iron Range, and over into Wisconsin as well to visit family over there. Got into some mud after a downpour, no problems not so much as a slip of the tires, they just dug in and wanted more.

Drove through some heavy downpours on slick new pavement, asphalt and concrete, handling was good and never felt like it was getting loose.

One warning, when cruising down a gravel road don't get too close or your going to get stoned to death by my KJ. She sure does make the gravel fly with that tread.

I also got a new spare on right before leaving for vacation, literally days before. What a nice feeling going on a long trip with new tires, new spare, all fresh fluids, etc.. She has been proven, almost 8 hours both ways including potty breaks and stretch breaks.

Oh, and i hope some of those KJ guys up north i ran into on the Iron Range get on here and check it out. They sure liked the look of my tires too! They made me aware of an OHV park near Gilbert MN. Unfortunately i didn't have the time to check it out but after i got home i found some youtube videos and it looks like fun!

 

[kb0nly]

Oh, and if you cruise the backroads up there be ready for RED... Your KJ will look like it went skinny dipping in red paint for a while. And then it rains and its darn near pink!! LOL