Kumho MT51 18"

[VK3GJM]

Hi All,

I currently run D697 and have very happy with them. I am about to do an extensive Kimberley trip and have been scouting around for a slightly more aggressive tyre.

the Kuhmo MT51 are available in 265/60 R18 and the reviews are quire good.

pros/ cons difficult to seperate, other then the D697's might be more common.

Some thoughts do cross my mind though:-

1. Is the Kuhmo brand reputable?
2. Bridgestone D697, proven and have reputation
3. A more aggressive muddy is not an easy choice, MT51 over D697 is not a compromise and not extreme?
4. Feedback on Kuhmo in general is not plentiful, yet?
5. Had looked at KO2, but same as D697.
6. Not to concerned at price, need 6 anyway, more about a tyre for the conditions, 50/50 on/off road.
7. Tyre wear not my biggest concern, will put D697 back on when returning.


I know tyres are very subjective, and there isn't much chatter on this forum "yet" about the MT51's, so I've put it out there.

[g5k]

I've got the Cooper STT Pro's went through mud with ease and some quite steep rocky areas really well, couldn't see any cuts or abrasions. Bit noisy for road use but have got used to it now. I don't have a comparison point as first set of LT tyres I've had, had Pirelli ATRs before only on road usage for those.


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/03/830.jpg

[RobA]

Hi All,

I currently run D697 and have very happy with them. I am about to do an extensive Kimberley trip and have been scouting around for a slightly more aggressive tyre.

the Kuhmo MT51 are available in 265/60 R18 and the reviews are quire good.

pros/ cons difficult to seperate, other then the D697's might be more common.

Some thoughts do cross my mind though:-

1. Is the Kuhmo brand reputable?
2. Bridgestone D697, proven and have reputation
3. A more aggressive muddy is not an easy choice, MT51 over D697 is not a compromise and not extreme?
4. Feedback on Kuhmo in general is not plentiful, yet?
5. Had looked at KO2, but same as D697.
6. Not to concerned at price, need 6 anyway, more about a tyre for the conditions, 50/50 on/off road.
7. Tyre wear not my biggest concern, will put D697 back on when returning.


I know tyres are very subjective, and there isn't much chatter on this forum "yet" about the MT51's, so I've put it out there.

Did the Kimberley last year towing and heavily loaded with no issues at all on our D697's. Why would you be wanting something more aggressive?

Rob

[catch-22]

I've done Australia on Pirellis. I say the same, why do you need anything more.

The Kumhos on all cars I've experienced them on have been nothing short of brilliant.

Edit: this is from a large wagon to a small runabout that I'm driving at the moment. My track car ran semi-slick Kumhos. Back in the day they were the go to tyre and used in the Lotus series and similar.

[Russrobe]

As Rob said not sure why you would swap to MTs for the Kimberleys. We are about to do a 6 week trip through there and will be using 697s.
Would use any AT over a MT mostly for comfort and safety when swerving, noise and mostly there's not much mud, it dries out up there very quickly. If it was a trip down south through thick mud and ruts, I'd go MTs.

[shanegtr]

I wouldnt call the MT51 a muddie. They are more like an agressive AT like the copper ST max

[scarry]

They have a good load rating as well.
They also have an AT50,but not in 265/60/18.

The MT50 looks like a very aggressive AT,i wonder how noisey they are?

As for the OP,i would go with what you have,the D697, or the KO2.

The KO2 is now a lot cheaper than it used to be in that size.

[Redback]

Khumos are a great tyre, we the KL78s on our D4 for about 55,000ks, only reason for the change was we do a lot of High Country stuff, so muds are a better option, at the moment we have Bridgstone D674s in 17" as our offroad tyre, we'll be on these for our Kimberley trip also, but we didn't pick specifically for our Kimberley trip, it's more because of the other trips we do, it can be very muddy in the high country of NSW and VIC and most other areas.

An agressive AT would be all you would need really and as said above the MT51 would fall into that catagory, I have Hankook Dynapro on my 18s, good tyre so far, I'd go to the Kimberley on them, good pricing too.

[DiscoClax]

I've run Kumho KL71s since they came out and rate them very highly for an aggressive off-road tyre that is also livable on-road (Discovery 1). Fairly resistant to getting chewed up on the gibber and with monster traction when it gets challenging. However your question was specifically about 1. the MT51s and 2. the Kumho brand.

1. The MT51s are a latest-generation tyre with silca compound and are among the most aggressive of the current ATs. Kumho themselves refer to them as "mild M/Ts" and they do blur the line between A/T and M/T so they are quite capable. Being latest-gen they have got a host of improvements over the stuff that's years old. My FIL has them (RA Rodeo - heavily loaded) as does an uncle (PX Ranger) and I've driven both vehicles extensively on various surfaces and rate them as being quite capable and strong. Both acquit themselves well both on-road and off. There is some tyre noise on highway, as you'd expect, but it's a low, muted rumble. But this will likely get more pronounced as the tyres wear down, as with all tyres.
2. Kumho has a very solid reputation in both on and off-road tyres and you really don't need to worry there. They know what they are doing and put out good product, as do <insert name of favourite mainsteam tyre manufacturer here>. You can't go too far wrong sticking to a name-brand and then picking a tyre in their line up that has the construction and tread pattern that suits your use.

As to whether they are a good choice for your intended use.... that is really up to you to determine. I haven't done the Kimberly as yet so can't comment on the terrain out there first-hand. I've done a bit around the center of Australia (Old Andado, Simpson, etc) and my Kumhos fared a lot better than the BFG KOs on the D2a with us, or the MTRs on the Rodeo with us. We are clever (or lucky) enough to drive extremely capable off-road vehicles that will go amazing places and bring you back home safely. How easily they do that depends on your tyres more than anything. I personally tend to go a bit more aggressive/capable than what I think I'll need and that gives me some reserve if conditions worsen or I stretch where I want to go or do the "that looks interesting. I wonder where that goes...?". Having said that, the D697s have an enviable reputation and are a solid performer, but can't hope to match the MT51s if the terrain gets boggy. Nor can the BFG KO2s, which are also an excellent general A/T tyre. I'm not buying or selling here. It's really up to you. Good luck :)

[hpal]

I've just put some on the defender and love them. I was sick of the noisy muddies but these are just as capable and better on road.

[sported]

Bumping to see if anyone has had more experience with the MT51's?

With the Tuff Ant 18's due to arrive soon for my Sport, I'm trying to decide between K02's, ST Maxx's, and the MT51's, all in 265/60.

I'm leaning toward the MT51's as they seem to be in the same ballpark as the ST Maxx and generally look pretty good. I had a SWB Prado ZR with ST Maxx's and they got us through some pretty hairy stuff. Examples being Monkey Gum, the Watagans, and a very wet 2016 Simpson crossing that saw plenty of people bogged around the Poeppel Corner clay pans... Also couldn't fault them across many corrugated and rocky outback tracks.

Ideally I'd prefer the K02's for their better on road manners and a total saving of 10kg's over the MT51/ST Maxx, but I have my doubts that they would have done the job as well as the ST Maxx on the above trips (regarding weight, saving by removal is easy, saving by substitution is not cheap or easy so 10kg would be a good win). So not to hijack this thread too much, but I'd be interested to know if anyone has had their K02's through some decent mud and how they performed. Hard to say whether or not the K02's would be adequate for my needs and going the MT51/ST Maxx would be more tyre than I really need....

[Alfy101]

I had a set of Kumho A/T61 on the disco 3s 18"s and they didn't last. Not sure if it was tyre pressure but shredded both rear doing Eagle view 4x4 of road track. Great grip. Great in wet, on sand, everywhere. Happy apart from side wall damage. Was reluctant to buy again but the response seems good.

[chilli]

I know the last thing you need is another opinion cos like you i kill myself when looking at rubbers. My latest switch was from the geolanders (great tyre) to the Hancook Dynapros as there was a deal on that was too hot to pass up and i really didnt want to be one of those lads who never tried something different lol
The dynapros are a more aggressive tyre and i have to say they did the job extra ordinarily well. Not as great a feel on road as the geos but after spending 4 months non stop touring offroad woth the dynapros i really cant fault them. Was pulling lesser vehicles out of the soft stuff with approx 30psi and never had an issue.. i really wanted to drop em down more but i just didnt have to 😐.
Sand water mud they just killed it.. only negatives and this could just be a coincidence is they tend to pick up nasty things on the road. Had 3 punctures (all easy fix) caused by an allan key, screw and something else? Not sure if it was just bad luck or a design flaw??

[mijake]

I have had a set on the D3 now for 18mths, 265/65/18s.

Brilliant tyres. The tyres have done 30k kms so hard and are starting to show some wear but nothing out of the ordinary.
Done a few trips to Lithgow now mainly rock, gravel, mud and dirt driving. Tyres feel right at home on this terrain, gives you confidence with the tyres being LT. Been up to stockton beach twice now and they do dig in a bit in soft sand. Found really had to drop the tyres down to 16psi to stop digging in too much.

They are a bit noisier onroad then a AT tyre but really quiet for a MT. I would buy then again for my next set for sure.

Mike

[hpal]

As per my previous post, I had them on the defender, now sold, but loved them. They are a proper 50/50 tyre, I had them on for 20,000km and they still looked like new and had 12mm tread on them, so lost 1mm every 10,000km. If you got 100,000km out of them I would not be surprised at all. I rate them highly and they have a good reputation, I'd buy them again