On dry pavement the grip is nominally better than bald RE-92's. I can tell the difference, but it isn't much. The bald 92's had a little more understeer when pushed but gripped well when in a good line and let loose later. The 712's have a little less understeer and give way earlier but very linear when in a good line. The thing that I hate about these Kuhmo's is that they are squeal pigs. They'll squeal sometimes for no reason other than to squeal for the heck of it.
On wet pavement, the Kuhmo's are absolutely awesome. I never really pushed my bald RE-92's in the rain (for obvious reasons), but the 712's have what can only be called excellent grip in the rain. They have unnatural handling abilities on wet pavement. Unfortunately they designed them that way, superior wet for mildly compromised dry handling (in the rain I EXPECT to slid more, so I don't like it)
On a side note, I also am leery of the fact that they are only V-rated (some 712 sizes are Z rated, though). Look up what a V rating means... 'nuff said
.To be fair, I have 3 different people I know that have 712's on 17 inch rims. They all love their tires dearly. Maybe the extra sidewall makes these tires in this size sucky. So unless I move up to 17's (which won't happen unless there is a miracle and I get 17" at or under 16 lbs a piece for cheap) I will save up and get a different tire. I wanted BfGoodrich G-Force T/A's... but those are big $$$ and the Kuhmos were on sale... case closed.
Summary: Dry Pavement - Blah, similar to RE-92, sir squeals-a-lot (in 16" 55 series size). Wet Pavement - Awesome, unbelievable.
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