A few days ago I had the misfortune of a puncture on my osr. After some shopping around and the rookie mistake of mixing runflats with non-runflats for a few days (yikes!), I ultimately managed to pick up a whole new set of tyres for less than I was quoted for a pair of OE Bridgestone runflats for the rear of my M140. These were the Kormoran Ultra High Performance.
I had seen Kormoran UHP on Camskills before and assumed they were just another crappy Chinese budget tyre. However, when my tyre shop offered them to me as a mid-range non-runflat alternative, I read their review on tyrereviews.co.uk. To my amazement they had a better rating than the Bridgestone runflats that I was looking to replace (the Bridgestones scored 3.7/5, while the Kormorans were 4/5).
The only thing that gave me pause was their wet braking performance, which wasn't great based on independent testing that tyrereviews.co.uk had done last year. However, given their low cost I thought they could at least do as a decent stop gap until I get a full set of really good tyres to fully exploit the performance of the car over the summer.
Given the rain we have had recently, the last few days have been a great opportunity to test the Kormorans wet weather performance. My previous tyres, the OE Bridgestone runflats, were poor in the cold and wet, despite having between 5mm and 6mm of tread left. Lateral grip was acceptable, but turn in was numb and wobbly despite the stiff sidewall, and the rear had a mind of its own under brisk acceleration on the exit of a corner. The Kormorans aren't exactly fantastic in the wet, but they are much better than the Bridgestones. It perhaps isn't a fair comparison given that the Bridgestones had less tread, but after running in for 100 miles the Kormorans showed good lateral grip, decently quick and accurate turn in and far more composure under hard acceleration from the rear. Braking also seems fine, although I have only done one test emergency stop on a damp road. This was better than I expected, and is up there with other midrange brands like Toyo, Kuhmo and Hankook.
Dry performance is also better than I expected, very good lateral grip, decent but not great turn in, and controlled rear end make the Kormorans punch above their weight. Don't get me wrong, Michelin Pilot Super Sports they ain't, but for the money I paid (£300 fully fitted for the full set of 4) they have really surprised me. However, because of the reletively pliant sidewall and mediocre wet braking performance, they are not the sportiest tyres and are only suited for daily driving - don't expect them to do well on a track day!
All in all a great alternative for those on on a budget, but you need to bear in mind their limitations.
Thanks for reading!
I had seen Kormoran UHP on Camskills before and assumed they were just another crappy Chinese budget tyre. However, when my tyre shop offered them to me as a mid-range non-runflat alternative, I read their review on tyrereviews.co.uk. To my amazement they had a better rating than the Bridgestone runflats that I was looking to replace (the Bridgestones scored 3.7/5, while the Kormorans were 4/5).
The only thing that gave me pause was their wet braking performance, which wasn't great based on independent testing that tyrereviews.co.uk had done last year. However, given their low cost I thought they could at least do as a decent stop gap until I get a full set of really good tyres to fully exploit the performance of the car over the summer.
Given the rain we have had recently, the last few days have been a great opportunity to test the Kormorans wet weather performance. My previous tyres, the OE Bridgestone runflats, were poor in the cold and wet, despite having between 5mm and 6mm of tread left. Lateral grip was acceptable, but turn in was numb and wobbly despite the stiff sidewall, and the rear had a mind of its own under brisk acceleration on the exit of a corner. The Kormorans aren't exactly fantastic in the wet, but they are much better than the Bridgestones. It perhaps isn't a fair comparison given that the Bridgestones had less tread, but after running in for 100 miles the Kormorans showed good lateral grip, decently quick and accurate turn in and far more composure under hard acceleration from the rear. Braking also seems fine, although I have only done one test emergency stop on a damp road. This was better than I expected, and is up there with other midrange brands like Toyo, Kuhmo and Hankook.
Dry performance is also better than I expected, very good lateral grip, decent but not great turn in, and controlled rear end make the Kormorans punch above their weight. Don't get me wrong, Michelin Pilot Super Sports they ain't, but for the money I paid (£300 fully fitted for the full set of 4) they have really surprised me. However, because of the reletively pliant sidewall and mediocre wet braking performance, they are not the sportiest tyres and are only suited for daily driving - don't expect them to do well on a track day!
All in all a great alternative for those on on a budget, but you need to bear in mind their limitations.
Thanks for reading!
