I think I am done with these new Kumho Ecsta V700 tires after the Lowes race. No one seems to have any idea what pressures to run them at! The first time I ran them was at Summit. When I came off track my tire pressures were in the low to mid 40s. However, the middle two tread blocks were worn way down and beginning to chunk. After talking with Bookler I aimed for 38psi hot. Bookler actually said that Tire Rack recommended he run them even lower than 38psi hot! Before CMP I emailed Kumho and asked them what they recommended as far as tire temps. I just heard back from them today. They recommended hot pressures in the mid to high 40s!!! Those things would disintegrate at that pressure after 10 minutes or so. I was actually emailing them to see if I was still running them too high at 38 psi. I never imagined they would tell me to run them hotter.

Chris


[Modified by chrisb, 10:45 PM 8/12/2002]

 

I know of no one having any luck with the Ecsta 700s. Go with the old-style Kumho Victoracers, Toyos, or suck it up and get Hoosiers. It's only money, right?

 

I've had no problems with them... I really like them better than the victoracers.

 

What pressures are you running? I come damn close to going through a set of them in a weekend. That is pretty **** poor. Granted I need to learn how to quit overdriving my front wheels.

 

Tire Pressures (Kumho Ecsta 700s) Cold Pressures
------------------------------------------------
CMP (ECHC races ~95degrees)(Sunny)
DF=37 PF=36
DR=35 PR=34

Summit (ECHC races ~85degrees)(sunny)
DF=38 PF=37
DR=36 PR=35

 

What do you think you are running hot? Those pressures are way higher than what I run. I run about 29 front and 33 rear which heat up to between 38-40. When I ran pressures that high at Summit there were like large chunks of tire missing at the end of the session.

Chris

 

I have no idea what they were hot.. never checked them. I always used a starting point, and then looked at the wear, and added/removed a pound or so whenever I needed to on Saturday, then knew where to start on Sunday. These were 205/50 on 7" rims.

 

Also, my tires were heat cycled and shaved.

 

Mine were too. Kumho themselves told me that they don't recommend Tire Rack heat cycling. (Of course they also recommended hot pressures in the mid to high 40s which I know are wrong.) Heat cycling does not work. I think heat cycling in general is a joke. I had several ex IMSA drivers in AZ tell me as much. All heat cycling does is make your tires harder and reduces grip. Running a session on them does a damn fine job of that as it is!

 

I was starting off around 34 in front, 30 in the rear with Ecsta V700s. Pressures would be in the low-mid 40s after a session on track. I didn't have any wear issues with the tires.

 

I had to shoot for 38-40 hot in the front for mine, when I had them, I actually liked the grip of them there, but it tore up the side of the tire.. Any more air, and the tire just felt like ****...

Had to start at 28 cold...

These hoosiers have more grip, but they like much higher pressures to go fast.. Hoosiers last just as long as kumho's, except there is still tread on hoosiers, they just don't grip anymore, Kumho's just fall apart..

Brinson, put those hoosier stickers on your car, make sure there are 5 people in H3, and win, and get a 100$ off from our great sponsor...

 

cold fronts

26/26

cold rears

28/29


came off hot at 36 all the way around after 3 laps in qualifying....lowered to 34 all the way around went out and qualified 3rd with 1.55 at cmp.....

everytime we lower the starting pressure i get faster.....not sure i should be sharing this!!!!!!

 

I had the same situation. Tire Rack recommended about 32 hot, but I didn't believe them. I started out around 36 hot all around (I use the shocks to dial in the handling for the most part so I can leave the tires at the right pressure for maximum grip), and wasn't thrilled with the grip. I dropped a pound out from each and it was a slight improvement. Then I dropped another pound, and it improved again. I kept doing that until I got down to 32 hot, and it handled great.

Chris, I know you saw some improvement when you started dropping the pressures. I say you try something drastic like dropping down to at least the mid-30s...

Matt

P.S. I prefer the Ecsta to the Victoracer. If the insurance company ever friggin pays me so I can buy/build a new racecar I'll run Ecstas on it.


[Modified by speedracer33, 9:59 AM 8/13/2002]

 

Aim for a HOT pressure of 42. Your wear issues may be the result of incorrect alignment specs or simply overdrivng the car. No tire will last long if it abused. Have you taken any tire temps? Temps and pressure at the end of each session is the only way to determine what is going to be the proper set up for a particular driver and car.

I just wore out a set of EV700, all four tires corded at the same time. They had 5 or 6 weekends on them before they went south. I was pleased with the longevity of the tire.

One more note... the early V700 were the exact same compound as the Victoracers. The first production run was Victoracer compound in the ECSTA mold. FYI.

 

I guess I'm the only one who is having good luck with these things. On my CRX I run 34/32. Never checked them hot. Flip on the rims every 2 events, got 10 events out of a pair! I bought them full tread, no heat cycle


[Modified by o-man, 12:17 PM 8/13/2002]

 

[Gary Oldman voice from "The Professional"]BINGO![/Gary Oldman voice from "The Professional"]

 

I love my V700's. I run about 28-30 psi all around. This is with 235/45/13's on a crx.

 

What he said. I'm using the 215/50-13 V700 and I start out at about 37F 33R. We started a few psi higher for our first session this weekend, and the car felt awful. Reading all this, I might even try a few psi lower. Mine are wearing pretty well, and dispite all the rubber shifting to the inside of the tire, I'm not seeing any chunking.

Isn't chunking an indication of running pressures too low and/or overdriving?

 

I am running at Summit Point on the 22nd & 23rd, and then at Pocono on Sept. 12th on the V700. This may be a long shot, but are there any Type R drivers who run the Ecsta V700 who have experience with tire pressures during track events? Reason I ask, is that a heavier Mustang may handle differently than my car on the same tire with the same starting pressure. Thanks.

 

I am sure that I am overdriving. Maybe it is not accurate to say the tires are really chunking though. It is just that they are wearing very irregular and especially at higher pressures. At hot pressures in the low 40s the middle two tread blocks were worn almost all the way down after 1 practice session. Bookler suggested I drop the pressures and the tire wear then became much more even. As for alignment. I have a rather conservative setup. At Summit I ran 0 toe all the way around with -2.9 front and -2.6 rear for camber. You can't adjust caster on an Integra I don't think and it is a bit off. I don't know what to do about that. At CMP I toed the front out 1/16 and left everything else the same.

The tires are wearing a bit more on the inside but nothing drastic at all. I am noticing that my car starts understeering badly as the race goes on. I have some ridiculously large GC rear sway bar so I really would have thought the car would stay a bit more neutral. I guess that is probably another indicator of me overdriving. I just don't understand yet how to keep people behind me while resisting the temptation to overcook it into corners. I guess that comes with practice.

 

I ran my Civic at Willowsprings big track last week.. I have static front camber at -2° with 225/45/15 EV700, when ever it got to 40psi+ it will start to push, my target hot psi was 38psi and tread temp was about 205°F across... At the end of the day I noticed that the center had a little more wear than the shoulders so I'm going to lower my hot psi down to 36psi next time..

Charleston

 

You have lost your mind. I am guessing you have never properly heat cycled tires and guaged them against non-heat cycled tires? You are in left field if you think there isn't a difference.

 

So who exactly "properly" heat cycles tires? Tire Rack damn sure doesn't. I can't tell a damn difference between their heat cycled tires and normal tires. Here is the typical statement you hear regarding heat cycling. "Heat Cycling gives your tires more adhesion and better wear by realigning the rubber molecules." Realigning? Come on now. So the tire is smart enough to know the first heat cycle realigns (whatever smoke and mirrors that refers to) the friggin' molecules and thus increases grip. Whereas somehow subsequent heat cycles just serve to harden the tires and thus reduce grip? I wonder what most chemists would think about this realigning of the molecules? Anyway, you might be right but I have been told by enough professional racers that the difference is negligible and added to that my current experience with my Kumhos I will remain a cynic for now.

 

Get them shaved to 1/32 and run 55psi cold in the front and 22psi cold in the rear.

Shultz told me that this works really well .

 

I think you should run some Continental radials, Chris. Seriously, those things rock!

Jason-
whose goal is to stay with Brinson at VIR