Yesterday I went to Nelson Ledges roadcourse with my Kumho tires for the first time. Before this I used the BFG G Force 295/35/18. The Kumho tires are their new tire, the ECSTA V700 285/30/18. The BFGs were noticably stickier. Driving over a gravel parking lot they were covered with gravel. The Kumho's would just pick up a few stones. On the track the Kumho's were fine for what I do, which is just go out for fun, not real racing. The rear slipped a little a couple of times, but I was very happy with the performance. Because the Kumho's are lower profile, I did hit the rev limiter at the end of the straight in 3rd gear, which I never did with the BFG's. The BFG's would wear out on the left front after 2 days. The Kumho's were advertised as durable. Unfortunately, the left front chunked all around the outside edge. I can use that tire on the rear next time, but then I'll end up with 2 bad tires instead of one. The tire was under a lot of stress. I drove 155 track miles at between 1/2 hour and 1 hour intervals. I did not get any of the tires shaved. This would have eliminated the chunking and disapated some of the heat, but then I don't know if I would have worn out the tire since I would be starting with less tread. I'm thinking of ordering one shaved tire and putting it on the left front. Also, these tires are stamped as unidirectional, but Kumho says that that is because they are using an old mold, so they are really not unidirectional. So I can rotate the tires each race day and hopefully get 4 days out of a set of tires. Until someone comes out with an 18 inch roadrace tire that is weight rated for the L, I'm sticking with the Kumhos. Tom

 

Try the EAGLE F1 GS-CS (P295/35ZR-18). The other choice is getting a 17" wheel and 315's.

Regarding the Kumhos, what tire pressures were you running?

Spike

 

Spike,
I was running 40 lb HOT tire pressure. The Kumho brochure said run up to 40 lbs hot, and the heavier the vehicle, the higher the pressure you should run. I'll check out the Eagles. Thanks. Tom

 

Spike,

I couldn't find any info on those specific Eagles. Do you happen to have a link? I checked in tirerack and on a search engine.
Tom

 

They're listed on the Goodyear web site. Go to the racing link section and then click on "Price catalog" or something like that.

Regarding the pressures, that's should be right. Do you have a digital camera to take a picture of the tread. I'm interested in seeing the chunking.

Spike

 

Spike,
I don't have a digital camera. The tire looks like someone took a one inch putty knife, stuck it in the outside edge, lifted up, and left the resulting flap of rubber attached to the tire. Then they did this all the way around the tire. It wasn't a true chunking since chunks did not come completely off, they are still attached to the outside edge. Also, where the tread line meets the outside edge of the tire, that would be where the flap separates from the tire.

 

I spoke with driver who is sponsored by Kumho on Sunday about your tire problem and we agreed it couldn't be chunking. What you're describe sounds like a severe case of flow fold. At the edge of the tire, where the tread meets the sidewall, there is a joint that sometimes separates. Typically, if this occurs, it looks like someone took a razor blade and cut the joint creating a slight 360 degree slice all the way around the edge of the tire. But, your's sounds like it's more severe.

Call Kumho and request that they inspect one of the tires.

Spike

 

Thanks Spike. I'll give them a call.
Tom

 

How about the Khumo Victoracers? I though ecsta was more of "streetable" type tire. Tire Rack offers them shaved, full tread, and/or heat cycled.

 

The Victoracers are an older model tire. Kumho just came out with the ECSTA and they are suppose to be more durable. I was looking for durability because of the weight of the truck. I could get the ECSTAs shaved, but I wanted all the tread I could get since I wore off the tread on the BFGs after 2 days.

 

They sell Kumhos where I work and people seem to be happy with them. I have never considered using them on my truck though.