New Tires for 07 Elantra SE

I only have good to say about Kumho tires. I looked at the KH16s but decided on the slightly more sedate standard touring KR21s instead in a narrower and taller size then stock for better snow traction and hydroplane resistance :-)

They cost half of what I payed for the Bridgestone Turanzas they replaced and other then in hard cornering they outperform in all categories

YMMV

L.

I didn't mention this before, because my original post was about replacement tires, but I should say that I do have a replacement tire on the left front. I picked up a nail in the middle of West Virginia (!) and the only tire I could get on such short notice was something called a TBC Tempest Touring Plus from Merchants. I was told it was the closest they had in stock to the Kumho. Do you think it would help for me to order another Kumho and get rid of the TBC? Thanks again.

Mixing tires is generally a bad idea, as they're never going to perform the same. Considering that we're talking about front tires on a front drive car, it's even more important. Just for fun, try moving that tire to the rear and see how the car performs with matched front tires.

I'm curious as to why they didn't just repair the nail hole in the original tire. All it takes is a patch on the inside.

You could do as Brian suggests, or you could have your tires rotated. Either way, that's the first step in checking to see if there's a difference. I don't recognize TBC Tempest, so I suspect it's a low-cost generic tire, which is unlikely to have similar traction characteristics to your Kumho.

As for the tire repair, it depends on where the puncture is. A puncture in the sidewall is not repairable safely.

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Thanks, I'll get the tire rotated on my next visit to the garage and see what happens.

I've been in that situation once, but I've also had unscrupulous mechanics tell me that tread punctures couldn't be repaired, in order to try to sell me a tire. Fantine's description raised a red flag with me.