Kumho VS Toyo Tires

Toyo tires are relatively the better choice in both on and off-road conditions due to their better treadwear and ability to hold traction. In fact, they are less noisy. Even in snowy conditions, Toyo tires are the better option due to their tread pattern and rubber material resulting in more traction. However, the best part about Kumho tires is its relatively low cost making it a good option for people on a budget. 

Now, there are conditions both on-road and off-road where Kumho tires perform slightly better than Toyo tires. Follow this article to find out. 

Kumho Tires Lineup

Following is the lineup for some of the continuing tires for Kumho based on the road condition or the type of vehicle you will use. 

Tire Model	Passenger Cars	Light Trucks and SUVs
ECSTA	Summer 1. ECSTA V730 2. ECSTA V720 3. ECSTA PS91 4. ECSTA PS31 All-Season 1. ECSTA PA51 2. ECSTA PA31 3. ECSTA 4X II 4. ECSTA LX Platinum	All-SeasonECSTA STX
SOLUS	All-Season 1. SOLUS TA51a 2. SOLUS TA71 3. SOLUS TA31 4. SOLUS TA11 Winter 1. SOLUS 4S HA31
Wintercraft	Winter 1. Wintercraft WP72 2. Wintercraft WS71 3. Wintercraft Ice Wi31	Winter 1. Wintercraft SUV WS31
I’Zen	WinterI’Zen KW31
Crugen		All-Season 1. Crugen HP71 2. Crugen HT51 3. Crugen Premium KL33 Commercial 1. Crugen HT51 Commercial
Road Venture		All-Terrain 1. Road Venture AT52 2. Road Venture AT51 Mud-Terrain 1. Road Venture MT71 2. Road Venture MT51 3. Road Venture MT

The table above shows you that Kumho ECSTA has the most diverse type of products. 

Toyo Tires Lineup

Toyo Tires also has an impressive lineup of different families of tires that are suited for each customer’s needs. Following is the list of these tire models still continuing. 

Tire Model	Passenger Cars	Racing Cars	Light Trucks & SUVs
Proxes	Summer 1. Proxes Sport 2. Proxes R1R All-Season 1. Proxes Sport A/S	1.Proxes R888R 2.Proxes R888 3. Proxes RR 4. Proxes RA1 5. Proxes R51 6. Proxes TQ	Proxes ST III
Open Country			Open Country M/TOpen Country R/TOpen Country R/T TrailOpen Country CTOpen Country A/T IIIOpen Country A/T IIOpen Country HT II
Extensa	Extensa A/S IIExtensa HP II
Celsius	Celsius SportCelsius Celsius II		Celsius CUV
Observe	Observe GSI-6		Observe G3 – Ice
H-line	H08+
M-line			M-55

As observed from the table, Proxes tire model has the most diverse set of tire products ranging from passenger cars to light trucks. 

Kumho On-Road  VS Toyo On-Road

Whether you are using Kumho or Toyo, on-road performance is one of the main concerns of a driver. Typically, you need to consider traits such as dry and wet traction, noise and vibration while choosing the right tire for you.

The table below shows a brief comparison between Toyo and Kumho.

Factors	Kumho	Toyo
Dry Traction	Good	Better
Wet Traction	Good	Better
Steering Response	Good	Better
Longevity	Good	Better
Comfort	Better	Good
Noise	Good	Better
Treadwear	Good	Better
Price [as of June, 2023]	$65 – $950	$67 – $1185

Now, let’s compare some of the existing tire models from both Kumho and Toyo with each other.

Kumho ECSTA ASX VS Toyo Proxes 4

Kumho ECSTA ASX is designed to combine high-performance driving with everyday use. Its best trait is the use of high tensile steel belts and jointless nylon full cap plies which offer good comfort while driving. 

Proxes 4 shows promising results on everything from grip to durability. Thanks to its generation S Silica reinforced high tread compound and tread design that incorporates high-angle tread grooves, you get the best performance on both dry and wet traction. This comes with an aggressive design that ensures good resistance against tire wear. 

So, between Kumho ECSTA ASX VS Toyo Proxes 4, choose Proxes 4 if you want good traction and tire tread life and go for ECSTA ASX if your main priority is a comfortable ride. 

Kumho Solus TA31 VS Toyo Celsius 

Kumho Solus TA31 has stiffer sidewalls which let it have good cornering stability and steering response. Its thicker tread size also ensures good traction but it slightly lags behind Toyo Celsius when it comes to grip and overall durability. 

Toyo Celsius has been made to show optimal performance in year-round conditions. Its variable sipe density and snow claws help to maintain a good grip in snowy conditions. However, the multi-wave sipes in the tread design account for good protection against tire wear. So, if you want durability and good grip throughout the year then go for Toyo Celsius.

Therefore, between Kumho Solus TA31 VS Celsius, go for Toyo Celsius if your priority is a better grip on any road surface, however, choose Kumho Solus TA31 if you want to improve comfort from your ride. 

Sports Car

This is mainly concerned with sports or race track types of cars such as Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ. The table below shows a comparison between Toyo and Kumho tires for sports cars. 

Factors	Kumho	Toyo
Dry Traction	Better	Good
Wet Traction	Better	Good
Treadwear	Better	Good
Noise	Good	Better
Price [as of June 2023]	$100 – $350	$150 – $580

Kumho v70a vs Toyo R888r

Kumho v70a is a summer tire that is also a good option for track performance. This is due to its tread wall pattern. It has deeper treads and a larger lug size which makes it compatible to have a better grip on both dry and wet surfaces.

Toyo R888r on the other hand, has slightly better performance in terms of tread life. This is because of its ability to endure more load.

So, between Kumho v70a VS Toyo R888r, go for v70a if you are looking for a tire with better traction and choose R888r if your priority is wear. 

Kumho KU31 VS Toyo Proxes R1R

Kumho KU31 is a good all-season tire option due to its symmetrical tread pattern that shows good grip, more comfort and less noise in both dry and wet conditions. In fact, compared to Proxes R1R it has better tread wear due to a harder sidewall.

However, Toyo Proxes R1R is a summer tire with a V tread pattern. This makes it have excellent grip and handling during dry road conditions. Its main purpose is high-speed driving and track racing. This makes it perform relatively worse during winter road conditions. 

So, the choice here depends on the user. If you are looking for an all-season option with longer tread life then go for KU31 but if you want a really good grip for high-speed driving, then go for Proxes R1R. 

Although, as of February 2023, Proxes R1R has been discontinued you can still buy them in stores and online. 

Kumho ECSTA XS VS Toyo Proxes R1R

Kumho ECSTA XS is a good option if you want to drive on tracks but not so much for roads. This is because it is generally more noisy. Another major con is its bad steering control. However, it has really good traction on both dry and wet surfaces. 

On the other hand, the Toyo R1R has decent traction on dry surfaces but it lags much behind on wet surfaces. It lags behind in hydroplaning resistance and if you regularly drive through puddles or slippery roads, it is better to choose Kumho XS.

So, between Kumho ECSTA XS VS Toyo Proxes R1R, ECSTA XS should be the choice for good traction, and better hydroplaning resistance but go for Proxes R1R if you want less noise and a better steering control experience.

Still, no matter which tire you’re thinking to get, there are some factors you shouldn’t miss when choosing the right tire for your car.

Snow & Ice

Between Kumho and tire, the best-performing snow and ice condition tire can be decided from the table below. 

Factors	Kumho	Toyo
Snow Grip	Good	Better
Treadwear	Good	Better
Price [as of February 2023]	$153-$195	$100-$275

Next is the comparison between some of the Kumho and Toyo tires specialized for winter. 

Kumho Wintercraft WP72 VS Toyo Observe GSI 6 HP

Let’s go through each of the key factors for comparing the two tires. 

Factors	Kumho Wintercraft WP72	Toyo Observe GSI 6 HP
Tread Depth	10.8/32 nds	10.83/32 nds
Tread Pattern	Asymmetrical	Directional

First, the tread depth of the GSI 6 HP is slightly more than that of the Wintercraft WP72. This means it can process out snow and water more easily. Since traction at snow depends on the tread depth and patterns, GSI 6 HP will have a slightly better snow grip.  

Next, tire flexibility is another important concern for performance in snowy conditions. This is because winter tires need to be made with material that remains flexible at lower temperatures and more flexibility means better grip. In this case, both tires have almost equal performance. 

Finally, treadwear. Worn-down treads mean that the sipes disappear and the tire loses traction to perform on icy roads.  The tread pattern is one of the factors here. A directional tread pattern means the traction will be more and the tire will wear out less rapidly. 

So, overall the Toyo Observe GSI HP 6 is slightly the better option for snowy conditions. 

Off-Road Conditions

Following is the comparison between Kumho and Toyo tires when it comes to performance in off-road conditions such as rock crawling, and driving through muddy and sandy terrain. 

Factors	Kumho	Toyo
Hydroplaning Resistance	Good	Good
Traction	Good	Better
Treadwear	Good	Better
Fuel Economy	Better	Good
Price [as of February 2023]	$120 – $400	$200 – $900

Kumho Road Venture MT71 VS Toyo Open Country MT

In terms of noise, initially both the tires are not that loud but Road Venture MT71 starts to get noisier with time.  

Following is the comparison between the specs of MT71 and Open Country MT with 18 inches rim size, 295 mm section width and an aspect ratio of 70. 

Factors	Kumho Road Venture MT71	Toyo Open Country MT
Tread Depth	20 32nds	19.4 32nds
Tread Pattern	Asymmetrical	Non-directional
Tire Diameter	34.5 mm	25 mm

Tread depth is the most important factor for hydroplaning resistance. More tread depth means better performance. In that case, MT71 has slightly more depth which makes it better at hydroplaning resistance. 

Tire size is crucial for both hydroplaning and improving fuel efficiency. Smaller size tires come with less rolling resistance, this means better fuel economy. Now, Open Country MT is smaller in size and that means it has less rolling resistance, this is good for the fuel economy.

And, in case, you want other tires than Kumho and Totyo which offer great fuel economy, Yokohama and Goodyear Tires can be cheaper options.

Kumho is made with a slightly softer compound which makes it an ideal choice for colder terrain but it also means that MT71 will wear out a lot sooner than Open Country MT.

Better Kumho MT71 VS Open Country MT traction, Kumho MT71 is an excellent choice in snowy and muddy conditions due to its deep lugs and sharp spikes. However, it severely lags in performance at highway conditions. On the other hand, Open Country MT comes with hook-shaped tread blocks with deep sipes that help to provide better traction in muddy and wet conditions.  

Kumho Road Venture AT51 VS Toyo Open Country AT2

Following is the comparison between Kumho Road Venture AT51 and Toyo Open Country AT2 with a rim size of 20 inches and a section width of 12.5 inches. 

Factors	Kumho Road Venture AT51	Toyo Open Country AT2
Tread Depth	15.5 32nds	16.9 32nds
Tread Pattern	Asymmetric	Asymmetric
Tire Diameter	35 inches	35 inches

The major difference between the two is in the tread depth, where the Open Country AT2 has deeper tread depth and that means better hydroplaning resistance. But AT51 has the probability of wearing out quickly and generally gets louder with time. 

On the contrary, AT51 shows slightly better performance in snowy and rocky conditions. So, overall AT51 lags behind in all conditions except snowy roads. 

So, overall Toyo tires show better performance in off-road conditions especially on muddy and rocky terrain but its lagging factor is the high cost. 

FAQs

Conclusion

Hopefully this article has answered your question of the best choice between Kumho VS Toyo tires. Always keep in mind the type of terrain you will drive before selecting the tire and choose the right one between Kumho and Toyo based on your priority. Finally, maintain the tire properly so that you can use it for a long time.