Kumho Ecsta 712 looks discontinued: no new owner reviews or road tests in five years and no current EU tyre label.

Head-to-head Updated

Kumho Ecsta 712 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S — Compared

Relative Score (0–100): the weighted average of the categories below, each 60% road tests and 40% owner reviews. Based on 0 + 27 road tests and 10 + 6,614 owner reviews. How we score

Pilot Sport 4 S is ahead, 84–48

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Kumho Ecsta 712
Tire AKumho

Ecsta 712

All Season

Provisional

Tests – · none yet Owners 41 · 10 reviews

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
Tire BMichelin

Pilot Sport 4 S

Summer

Tests 81 · 27 tests Owners 82 · 6,614 reviews

Best test result: #1 of 15 in 2021 Auto Bild 19 inch Summer Tyre Test (dry braking)

“A note about the pilot sport 4 S: in cold weather (below 5 degrees) even if it isn't icy, the tyre compound hardens and has dramatically reduced grip. They are excellent summer tyres though, good in the wet too. These days I run Uniroyal rainsport 5 and they're very good.”

Category by category

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

  1. 48

    Dry

    Pilot Sport 4 S +44
    92
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta 712Pilot Sport 4 S
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 25 tests≈ 55 (est.)94
    Reviews found online3789

    Ecsta 712: 60% × 55.4 (est.) + 40% × 37.1 = 48

    Pilot Sport 4 S: 60% × 93.6 + 40% × 88.6 = 92

    No road tests of dry for Ecsta 712. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.40).

  2. 44

    Wet

    Pilot Sport 4 S +41
    85
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta 712Pilot Sport 4 S
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 26 tests≈ 50 (est.)85
    Reviews found online3585

    Ecsta 712: 60% × 50.2 (est.) + 40% × 34.8 = 44

    Pilot Sport 4 S: 60% × 85.3 + 40% × 84.6 = 85

    No road tests of wet for Ecsta 712. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.56).

  3. 51

    Comfort

    Pilot Sport 4 S +24
    75
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta 712Pilot Sport 4 S
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 6 tests≈ 63 (est.)70
    Reviews found online3381

    Ecsta 712: 60% × 62.9 (est.) + 40% × 33.2 = 51

    Pilot Sport 4 S: 60% × 70.4 + 40% × 80.8 = 75

    No road tests of comfort for Ecsta 712. The test half is the tested tires’ average (69): owners’ comfort ratings barely follow the road tests.

  4. –

    Noise

    No comparison
    69
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta 712Pilot Sport 4 S
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 20 tests–70
    Reviews found online–≈ 67 (est.)

    Pilot Sport 4 S: 60% × 70.3 + 40% × 67.3 (est.) = 69

    No owner ratings of noise for Pilot Sport 4 S. The owner half is the owners’ average (67): owners’ noise ratings barely follow the road tests, so the tests say nothing about how owners would rate it.

  5. 59

    Treadwear

    Pilot Sport 4 S +12
    71
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta 712Pilot Sport 4 S
    Professional tests (TWG score) · – / 1 tests≈ 62 (est.)70
    Reviews found online5471

    Ecsta 712: 60% × 62.1 (est.) + 40% × 54.1 = 59

    Pilot Sport 4 S: 60% × 70.2 + 40% × 71.4 = 71

    No road tests of treadwear for Ecsta 712. The test half is estimated from the owner ratings, as far as owners and testers agree (correlation 0.31).

  6. 34

    Handling (owners)

    Pilot Sport 4 S +52
    86
    Why this score
    SourceEcsta 712Pilot Sport 4 S
    Reviews found online3486
Scores at a glance
Kumho Ecsta 712 vs Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryKumho Ecsta 712Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
Relative Score 48 84
Dry 48 92
Wet 44 85
Comfort 51 75
Noise – 69
Treadwear 59 71
Handling (owners) 34 86

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

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip starts at “Important”. Treadwear starts at “Neutral” here: road tests measured it for at most one of the two tires, so it rests on owner reviews. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost

Only one of the two tires has a score here, so this weight changes nothing in the head-to-head.

Neutral
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Less important
NotLessNeutralImportantMost
Recomputed
Headline score

Ecsta 712

Pilot Sport 4 S

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

Pros, cons & observations

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

Tire A Ecsta 712

Pros

  • Highly competitive price point
  • Better-than-average tread life compared to some premium performance tires
  • Acceptable dry weather handling for casual driving

Cons

  • Dangerous and unpredictable wet weather traction
  • High levels of road noise and harsh ride quality
  • Poor steering feedback and tendency for understeer/oversteer
All owner themes in the Ecsta 712 review

Tire B Pilot Sport 4 S

Pros

  • Exceptional grip and predictable handling in both dry and wet conditions
  • Noticeable reduction in road noise and improved ride comfort compared to competitors and run-flats
  • Sharper steering response and improved cornering stability

Cons

  • High initial purchase price
  • Rapid tread wear reported by some aggressive drivers and track users
  • Soft sidewalls can cause a slightly vague or laggy initial response during rapid steering transitions
All owner themes in the Pilot Sport 4 S review

What real owners are saying

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

Tire A

Kumho Ecsta 712

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

Tire B

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S

Positive

The community widely regards the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S as a benchmark max-performance summer tire, praising its outstanding dry and wet grip, stability, and daily driving refinement. Common criticisms focus on its premium price, rapid tread wear on high-powered heavy vehicles or hot track sessions, and significantly reduced grip in cold weather. Many enthusiasts consider it an ideal street tire, though some note softer sidewalls compared to predecessors or recommend dedicated track tires for hard circuit driving.

rennlist.com

“Quote: Originally Posted by gcurnew I got the Goodyear F1s on my car when delivered and found them surprisingly nice: good grip, quiet, compliant ride. Put PS4Ss on last year and while I'm happy with them, they are a tad noisier than the F1s with a slightly stiffer ride and no apparent difference in grip or handling. I know the Michelins are the "go to" tire and pretty much everyone raves about them...but I'm in the camp that thinks the F1s are an equivalent tire. Having had both, I would have just bought a set of F1 rears (my fronts were only partially worn) rather than a full set of Michelins. I've used Michelin exclusively for the past two decades. My car came with the F1s and was pleasantly surprised. Dare I say better than 4S? Excellent in the wet and dry and they don't seem to get greasy like the 4Ss can when pushed. Still don't know how they wear but unless performance drops off or noise suddenly goes up like with Pirellis, I might buy them again.”

camaro6.com

“Quote: Originally Posted by D_H I hated the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires. Was not happy with the wear. I wanted a drivable tire, and that's why I got them. They were pricy. Didn't last anywhere near the 30,000 mile range. Lasted just over 15,000 miles. Tire wear was not even, and the performance is a joke. But again, that's not why I got them. Tires always want to slip traction. I'm just going to stick with the stock tires from now on. I was wanting to know what everyone thought about these Atturo AZ850 front and rear tires though. I just put a very lightly used (from a friend) set of Atturo AZ850's in 1LE size on my 2020 2SS (I mounted them on MRR017 1LE Replica Wheels (285/30ZR20 Fronts and 305/30ZR20 Rears)), so far VERY happy with them especially considering the cost... They definitely hook better than my old 275 run flats...”

r/cars ·4 upvotes ·2018-08-21

“I’ll say this. Going from the Pilot Super Sport to the Pilot Sport 4 S of the same size, I’m disappointed in the soft sidewall of the 4 S. This is an 8.5” wide wheel with 235/40/18 tires. The left-right fast slalom action got a bit mushy like the weight transfer was slowed down when I switched to the 4 S. I think a shorter sidewall 4 S would perform better in this way, or the same tire on a 9” wide wheel too. That said, the dry and wet grip is exceptional. To save money, I’d recommend the Continental ExtremeContact Sport.”

Top themes
#Wet and dry grip#Track day durability#High price vs alternatives#Tread life and wear#Cold weather performance#Sidewall stiffness and comfort

Based on 208 community posts

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Kumho Ecsta 712 B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
CategoryAll SeasonSummer
Vehicle typePassenger Car / CrossoverPassenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available—110
Rim diameters—17″ – 22″

Which one should you actually buy?

Kumho Ecsta 712

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S

Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S — better handling, dry and wet. It leads or ties in every category we score. Kumho Ecsta 712 rests on little evidence so far (0 tests, 10 reviews), so read this result as provisional.

Pick tire B You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S scores 86 vs 34 on handling.

Pick tire B You want the most grip on dry roads

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S scores 92 vs 48 on dry.

Pick tire B Your priority is wet-weather safety

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S scores 85 vs 44 on wet.

Pick tire B You want the most comfortable ride

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S scores 75 vs 51 on comfort.

Tire A · Kumho Ecsta 712
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S

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Ecsta 712 or Pilot Sport 4 S?

Which is better in the wet, Ecsta 712 or Pilot Sport 4 S?

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, 85 vs 44 on our wet score.

Which grips better on dry roads, Ecsta 712 or Pilot Sport 4 S?

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, 92 vs 48 on our dry score.

Which is more comfortable, Ecsta 712 or Pilot Sport 4 S?

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, 75 vs 51 on our comfort score.

Which lasts longer, Ecsta 712 or Pilot Sport 4 S?

Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S, 71 vs 59 on our treadwear score.

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.

Handling is the exception: road tests measure it inside the dry and wet scores, so its own row comes from owner ratings only and starts as less important.

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