Tire & Wheel Rating: Definately worth the price!

Car: 1997 GTI VR6

Size: Wheels - 17" x 7.5", Tires - 215/40/17's

Cost: Total with Shipping:$1,916.96. Wheels were $375.00 each and tires were $92.00 each. Purchased from The Tire Rack.

SSR Competition Wheels

The Good

• Super light! Apparently the 17" wheels are 14 lbs. each. I weighed the wheels and tires and this setup weighs almost exactly what my stock 15" wheels and Eagle GA tires do. Not bad for plus 2 sizing :)
• Great finish. The Japanese really know how to finish a wheel well. The paint looks good and the polished lip is very smooth.
• Optional stickers. I like it that SSR didn't force me to have stickers all over my wheels! You can put the stickers on if you want, I chose to leave them off.
• Hub-centric rings work great. All four wheels have a brass hub-centric ring in the center. I think these wheels are easier to install than my OEM wheels!
• Good looks. I think the wheels look incredible and give my car a modern race-car look.
• Strong. SSR wheels are semi-solid forged. Do a little research and you'll find that forging is the best way to build a strong and light wheel.

The Bad

• Ugly center cap for VW's. The wheels cam with a beautiful polished aluminum center cap but I had to send them back and get some cheap looking plastic caps because the aluminum caps won't fit VW's. The plastic caps aren't too bad looking (not pictured), but they don't look as good as the aluminum caps.

Impressions:

Overall, I think these are great wheels for the dollar spent. Sure, they aren't cheap, but there is virtually nothing bad about these wheels and that doesn't come cheap! Compared to BBS and other light wheels, these wheels are practically a bargain.

Kumho Ecsta 712 Tires

The Good

• Great price. A 17" 40 series tire for under $100... you can't complain about that!
• Super quiet! It's almost unbelievable how quite these tires are (in a straight line.) My Pirelli P7000's used to roar, especially because I have no back seats in my car. However, these Kumho's are really quite.
• Nice tread pattern. I know this is a lame reason to buy a tire, but they look cool :)
• Descent grip in corners. I auto cross regularily, and I'm fairly impressed with these tires once they warm-up.

The Bad

• The tires are heavy. Compared to an equivalent sized Toyo, the Kumho is about 4 pounds heavier. However, the Toyo's also cost a lot more.
• Squeal a lot in corners. When I'm auto crossing, it's pretty hard to keep these tires quiet. As I learn how to drive better, I don't squeal the tires as much, but they still make quite a bit of noise, especially when cold.

Impressions:

I'd definitely recommend the Kumho's to someone looking for an affordable tire with descent performance. I don't drive my car much in the rain, so I really can't comment on their wet weather traction. Kumho has recently released the 700 series tire which is apparently geared towards auto crossing and is lighte than the 712. If they ever start producing this new tire in a size for my car, I'd love to try them out!

Todd Taylor
'97 GTI VR6