Can anybody compare these two tires?

 

Just by comparing them on paper... The V700s will be substantially faster in the dry, and the A032R should be better in rain. The V700s are a much softer compound and will not last as long but are stickier.

 

sure, tirerack can.
okay enough joking.... I dunno about the ECSTA V700, is that the new V700 model?
here goes-->
V700 are stickier than the AO32R but not too much stickier that you would notice unless you were a great driver already.
V700 is heavier than the AO32R.
V700 has a carcass built for negative camber prepped cars, AO32R does not.
AO32R is great for a street tire as well as a useful rain duty race tire,
V700 is not capable of the lifespan on the street of the AO32R, and V700 is not a good rain use tire.

 

The Kumho V700 is a "real" race tire. It is DOT approved for competition. People use it for racing and for track days pretty much exclusively. Some of the folks who ran it at the SCCA Runoffs won with the tire....

The Yoko 032R is not what I consider a "real" race tire. It is more of a super super super high performance street tire. It is an excellent drivers ed tire; lots of grip and good wear characteristics. Racers don't usually use it because it just doesn't grip like the real race tires. Check the Runoffs for how many folks were running 032Rs (I think about zero). Even at the Club Racing level (EMRA, NASA, BWW, PCA) you won't find many people running them (exception being some folks like to run them as a rain tire, due to the deep sipes in the tread).

The Yoko 032R is the tire I run. I race my car with EMRA in ST-1, with NASA in PS-4, and soon in the ECHC. It is a 95 Civic with B18B swap; it is an everyday driver/racecar!

The 032R lasts a looooong time if you have your chassis and alignment setup right. I buy my tires used from a friend who uses the 032R (size 205-50-15) as his everyday street tire. He gets a new set of 4 tires every 8-10k miles or so, when they are just reaching the wearbars. At this point, I buy them from him. They are then good for about 8 weekends of racing (figure 3+ hours of tracktime per weekend) before they cord out. I use the tires (rotating frequently) until cords begin to show through. Time for new tires now! I go through 3 complete sets per year, occasionally starting on the fourth set near the end of the year....

Your tire choice depends on what you are looking to do; for everyday and drivers ed use; use the 032R. At 1/2 tread or greater it is fine for the street, as long as you don't mind a little tram lining and some tire "whine". For all out racing (and any other timed event) you will probably want to look for a real race tire -- Kumho, Hoosier, BFG, etc.

hope that helped a little.

Todd

 

I actually ran a set of ECSTAs for most of last season on my R.
I was not impressed. With my limited experience on R compound tires I would
say they are definetly not as grippy as the Victoracers or Hoosiers. They also do not wear very well. I know they had a lot of compound problems on the early test tires, but I can't imagine they improved that much. Though I never drove them in the rain the tread seams better suited than either of the above.

I really can't think of any compelling reason to buy a set of Ecstas.

If you want an all around to and from track tire (good in rain) get the A032s.

If you want to be competitive get a set of Victoracers or Hoosiers.


[Modified by shamun, 5:57 PM 1/3/2002]

 

are you talking about the Ecsta Supra 712s? Sounds to me like the Ecsta V700 (which is being discussed here) was released in October, which is basically about the end of the season.

 

Yea, Kinda confused there as well, how did you run them last season when they wern't out?

 

Great responses everybody - thanks for the insight.

 

Are A038's and A048's not obtainable in the US or something because the A032's are booty when compared to those two!?

There are also three different compounds for the ADVAN tires I use A032 H (hard) compound for street driving and A048 SS compound (super soft) for events.


[Modified by drealgsr, 9:02 PM 1/3/2002]

 

...do you have any pics of them...

 

Todd Reid,

I only get about 5 hrs. of track time out of my AO32R before they hit the bin.I'm impressed with your tire management!

Victor Penner

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=51214

this original post should help you out with the confusion.

Someone shoot me if I ever put 712s on my car (especially at the track)

 

nope... unless you get them from someone that has some good hook-ups on your side of the pond.

 

Hi Victor. I think that the tire management issue comes down to a few things:

1. Alignment is KEY. I run only about 2 deg neg camber in the front end and the tires wear perfectly evenly from inside to outside. I run almost zero toe with just a tiny bit of toe out. The rear is kinda unimportant (at least in my car) as tire wear goes....

2. Starting with the used 032R tires might extend my tire life. I figure they get over 500+ heat cycles on them before I get them; maybe this serves to harden them up and make them really last?

3. My driving style/power level of the car.... My car doesn't have the power to spin the front wheels on most tracks, so I don't tend to "erase" the front tires with power on understeer. I do tend to drift the car around a bit, but not lurid "Joey Chitwood" kinda driving. The style of driving and lower power of the car tend to preserve the tires.

4. Rotate tires often! Rotate tires often! Rotate tires often!

5. I use the tires until they are GONE. I mean I don't take them off the rims until I have a sizable band of cords showing. Lots of guys will change tires when they start to go "off"; I will continue to run the tires until there is no rubber on them, even if they are far from "optimal". The last few rotations of a tire's life on my Civic are usually on the back, sporting some serious cordage....

talk to you later,
Todd

 

Here's a REALLY shitty pic of my 215/50-15 A048 SS compounds after I hard day of drag racing. These tires are so sticky I was picking up everybody else rubber turds! SS compound has an extremely short lifespan so these do NOT see aby street time. Next week I will be testing a set of Dunlop 215/50-15 D01J GS compound.



Those nasty rotors will be getting replaced when I get back from TAS...


[Modified by drealgsr, 6:02 AM 1/4/2002]

 

You forgot Toyo RA1's quicker then 032's in the dry, almost as good in the wet, last longer then 032’s, don't make as muck noise as the 032.

 

Todd said he has run them and also races on them but also pointed out that the fast people (check the Runoffs results for SSB, SSC, T1 and T2) don't use them.

 

Hey Shaman, I had a friend running those Ecstas last summer too, but do you realize that that is NOT the same compound that Kumhos currently sells in the US?

The compound that you and my friend had was a very hard compound. It was similar to a Toyo RA-1. All the DOT stamped ones are much softer.

Warren

 

Right. They run Kumhos and Hoosiers because they aren't the fastest tires but because of the impressive compensation package those companies offer. Everybody runs Showroom Stock or Touring to get rich!!

There are plenty here who compete (road race and autocross) with the SCCA and NASA. Tires matter a great deal to us. And if it didn't really matter to people doing open-track, they wouldn't be here asking questions about tires and instead be content with running whatever cheap tires they could get from Pep Boys.

 

I would have to agree with this. Sure there not even close to a Hoosier, but I have been extremely happy with the performance, wear, and grip of my A032R's. Also, having used them in the rain ... I can say that they were very good ... better than I expected.


[Modified by AdamITR, 4:10 PM 1/4/2002]


[Modified by AdamITR, 4:10 PM 1/4/2002]

 

That is why I put the link to my original comments stating that they were early test tires. However, from what I was told they were used as a basis for the current compound and they were having trouble making it competitive with the Victoracers and Hoosiers. I have no first hand experience with the "official" tire, but there is probably a reason why they come in at a lower price point than the Victoracers.

 

WOW! lots of good responses here, and gentlemanly as well. keep up the good work spreading info!

 

You have no first-hand experience with the official new version of the Ecsta V700 yet you are alledging that they aren't as good as the Victoracers just because they're a couple bucks cheaper?

 

I have however had a fair of amount of conversation with those who were involved with the "ironing out" of the final compound back in July and August. There comments were that the ECSTAS were not quite as grippy as the Victoracers and wore faster than the Hoosiers. Not a good combination. I think those conversations combined with my experience (having actually raced with the tires) is a far better position to speak of the potential of the ECTSAs than most.

Take it for what it is. I will be running two sets of tires this year. A set of Hoosiers for National Tours and Pro Solos and set of Victoracers for local events. If you have any contrary evidence .......present it, but don't discount my statements as if they have no merit based on what you think "might" be possible.


[Modified by shamun, 4:54 AM 1/6/2002]

 

Weeeell...The folks I've talked too seem to indicate they are stickier than the V700 and last longer than the Hoosier. I have run Victoracers on my Integra, and while I have never run Hoosiers, I think I should be able to tell if these Ecsta V700s which are headed for the WRX are junk or not.