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Firestone WinterForce vs Kumho Crugen HP71 — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): 60% professional tests, 40% owner reviews.

WinterForce is ahead, 63–51

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Tire BKumho

Crugen HP71

Summer Ultra High Performance tires

Tests – · none yet Owners 42 · 274 reviews

“2026 Pathfinder Tires: 255/60R18 Kumho Crugen HP71 vs 255/50R20 Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra I think I settled on a configuration that suits our needs but it comes with the upgraded 255/50R20 Bridgestone Alenza AS Ultra tires/rims. The 20" wheels look great but I think the 18" Kumho's with the taller side will be better for the sometimes rough roads (potholes, large bumps, torn up city streets) we drive and for lighter towing. I highly doubt the dealer will exchange them for me but first I wanted to ask if I'm just overthinking this or should I try to trade down for the 18s. For reference I'm completely satisfied driving an outback with 225/60R18 Yokohama Avid GT (controlled, planted) and not happy with a highlander with 235/65R18 (too soft, uncontrolled). I get that these are different vehicles, suspensions, center of gravity, but hopefully it gives you a better idea. Thanks Edit: clarification on towing: fiberglass trailer like Scamp/Casita”

Category by category

Relative Score per category, 0–100. Open “Why this score” for the tests and owner ratings behind it.

  1. 54

    Dry

    WinterForce +7
    47
    Why this score
    SourceWinterForceCrugen HP71
    Reviews found online4636
  2. 68

    Wet

    WinterForce +14
    54
    Why this score
    SourceWinterForceCrugen HP71
    Reviews found online6749
  3. 72

    Snow

    WinterForce +15
    57
    Why this score
    SourceWinterForceCrugen HP71
    Reviews found online7448
  4. 64

    Comfort

    WinterForce +9
    55
    Why this score
    SourceWinterForceCrugen HP71
    Reviews found online5940
  5. 62

    Noise

    WinterForce +5
    57
    Why this score
    SourceWinterForceCrugen HP71
    Reviews found online5444
  6. 63

    Treadwear

    WinterForce +19
    44
    Why this score
    SourceWinterForceCrugen HP71
    Reviews found online6130
  7. 59

    Handling

    WinterForce +4
    55
    Why this score
    SourceWinterForceCrugen HP71
    Reviews found online5955
Scores at a glance
CategoryFirestone WinterForceKumho Crugen HP71
Relative Score 63 51
Dry 54 47
Wet 68 54
Snow 72 57
Comfort 64 55
Noise 62 57
Treadwear 63 44
Handling 59 55

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

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Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

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Recomputed
Headline score

WinterForce

Crugen HP71

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews found online — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A WinterForce

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and traction in deep snow, slush, and heavy winter weather
  • Great value and affordable price point compared to other winter tires
  • Studdable design for enhanced ice and packed snow performance

Cons

  • Noticeable tire noise and whirring on dry roads due to the aggressive tread block design
  • Softer rubber compound leads to faster tread wear if used year-round or in warmer weather
  • Softer sidewalls can cause some drifting or vague handling feel on dry pavement
All owner themes in the WinterForce review

Tire B Crugen HP71

Pros

  • Affordable pricing compared to premium tier brands
  • Quiet and smooth ride quality when new
  • Confident wet-weather traction and performance in heavy rain

Cons

  • Significantly premature tread wear and short lifespan for many users
  • Developing loud road noise or howling as mileage increases
  • Balancing issues and vehicle vibrations
All owner themes in the Crugen HP71 review

What real owners are saying

From Reddit, forums and review threads. Not part of our score

Tire A

Firestone WinterForce

We haven't collected enough community discussion about this tire yet.

Tire B

Kumho Crugen HP71

Mixed

Community sentiment for the Kumho Crugen HP71 (and its EV variant) is mixed, with owners praising its affordability, comfortable ride, and quiet performance on many vehicles. However, a significant number of drivers report disappointingly rapid tread wear—particularly on heavy electric vehicles—as well as occasional noise on coarse surfaces and internal acoustic foam detachment issues.

r/KiaEV9 ·1 upvote ·2026-09-28

“New Tire Woes: Trouble finding XL Load rating. Any advice? 2026 EV9 LLR with 20k miles in SoCal (3 year lease) and the Kumho Crugen HP71 EV wore very quickly despite alignment checks etc early in the lease. Note that these stock tires are 130V with XL load rasting. Most disconcerting is that despite some modest tread left, I hydroplaned on some sprinkler runoff...so I'm not confident in these tires with the upcoming El Nino. This subreddit seems to love the Michelin CrossClimate2 but they don't come in XL load rating in this size. Neither do Defenders. The two main options are: 1. **Hankook iON evo AS SUV** (OE on some EV9s) - But these are seemingly backordered at multiple tire shops. An online vendor cancelled my order despite showing in stock on the site. 2. **Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season**. **Any advice, and anyone have experience with those Pirellis?**”
r/tires ·1 upvote ·2026-08-04

“Kumho Crugen HP71 vs HP71 EV? Ended up with a screw in the shoulder of my rear driver side tire, leaking around 1PSI per hour, most likely not in a repairable spot. My current tires are about a year old, have around 13k miles on them, and tread wear on them is between 7/32 and 8/32. Purchased a used (no plugs or patched/never repaired) tire with 8/32 tread remaining thinking it would be a direct swap but once it got here I realized that the original tires are Kumho Crugen HP71 EV tires as opposed to this one being a Kumho Crugen HP71 (both 235/55/r19/101H). The car is an AWD Kia EV 6, so separate motors for front axel and rear axel but more simple setup than a fancy ICE AWD. At the rate of wear on these I probably have around 1.5-2 years (~20k miles) remaining on the original three tires before they will need to be replaced anyways. Is the difference between the regular HP71 and HP71 EV so different that I can't use this tire for a year? I believe the EV version has some foam in it to reduce noise, and supposedly it has 24% lower rolling resistance but it seems like that marketing is based on a generic tire and not necessarily the non-EV HP71 tire. Thanks!”
r/AskAMechanic ·1 upvote ·2026-07-26

“I need a new tire, right? 215/55R18 Kumho Crugen HP71 tire showing cords on the outer sidewall. I need a new tire, right? Edit: I’m thinking about replacing just this one tire, 2023 CX-30 AWD. Tires were new Oct 2025 and have 7mm tread depth left. According to the spec sheet, this new tire would have 7.9mm of depth. Can I get away with one tire? Edit 2: Existing vs new tires would have ~1mm of difference in tread depth Read more”
Top themes
#Rapid tread wear#Affordable price value#Cabin noise levels#Ride comfort#EV tire performance#Acoustic foam issues#OEM tire replacement

Based on 51 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone WinterForce B · Kumho Crugen HP71
CategoryWinter Touring tiresSummer Ultra High Performance tires
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverSUV and 4x4
Sizes available—63
Rim diameters—16″ – 22″
Tread depth12/32″9.9/32″
UTQG—640 A A
Treadwear warranty—65,000 mi
SidewallBlackwallBlackwall
Max pressure44 psi51 psi

Which one should you actually buy?

Firestone WinterForce

Kumho Crugen HP71

Winner: Firestone WinterForce — better treadwear, snow and wet. It leads or ties in every category we score.

Pick tire A You want the longest tread life

Firestone WinterForce scores 63 vs 44 on treadwear.

Pick tire A You drive through snowy winters

Firestone WinterForce scores 72 vs 57 on snow.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Firestone WinterForce scores 68 vs 54 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Firestone WinterForce scores 64 vs 55 on comfort.

Tire A · Firestone WinterForce
Check price on Amazon
Tire B · Kumho Crugen HP71
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How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements), each result compared with every other tire in the same test and newer tests counting more. 40% comes from owner reviews found online, adjusted for how generously each site rates. Both use one scale: the average tested tire gets 70, the best 100. When a tire has only one of the two, the missing half is estimated from the other and the score stays closer to average; with no road test and fewer than five owner reviews it gets no score yet.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.

63

Leads

WinterForce

Amazon