Does anyone have first hand experience with the Kumho Ecsta V700 & or Toyo RA1 tires? I plan on using these for track use only however since I don't have a trailer I'll be driving to & from the track on these. (otherwise I'd just get Hoosiers) If you could share your experience, thoughs. Thanks

 

TOYO if the price is not an issue.

 

I've been using Kumho V700 265/35-18 on 18x8" rims on all four corners for AutoX.

I drive to and from the event on the tires, about 40-50 miles in each direction.

The street wear has been insignificant compared to the track wear (and keep in mind this is only a few laps of AutoX), so I wouldn't worry about them getting to the track.

This is my first set of race tires, so I can't really compare to any others, but so far I like them.

I was also considering Hoosiers, Pirrelli, Mischelin, Toyo and Yokohama, but the Pirrelli and Mischelin are too expensive. At the time I was looking, Toyo and Yokohama had no 18" sizes, and so I went with the Kumho because they were less expensive than the Hoosiers, even though they aren't as sticky (or so I've heard).

We'll see what's out there when I need to get the next set.

-D'oh!

 

The RA1s are a little grippier but wear more rapidly. They are also a little bit more camber sensitive than the V700.

Either of these tires will be fine to drive to the track on and back. Just try to minimize the amount of street mileage you put on them - you won't cause much wear on the tread, but you'll be adding heat cycles to them and eventually they'll lose all grip. For space reasons (live in Manhattan - nowhere to change wheels all the time) I did a couple of seasons with a set of R-Compounds permanently mounted all summer for both street and track. I drove them on the track, to/from the track and in general commuting. It worked pretty well, but by the end of their lives the tires were pretty much trashed (but still looked ok). I don't think this is what you are talking about and I know D'oh only drives on his track rubber to and from the track.

Jason

 

I really looked into this for an 18" tire, where driving to the track was a necessity. The Hoosiers were high on the list, as were the Pirelli and Michelin tires. But I looked at everything I could find and every review I could access. I chose the Toyo RA-1s and will be running them the first time this Friday. I will let you know what I think after the run.

 

Bro I am VERY happy with the performance and especially the look of my tires. I have big *** 10.5 inchers on the rear and they stick like glue. I know they don't have the name as the Toyo's and I am sure the Toyo is a little better of a tire but if your not stuck on the name or something like that look at these, I love them and perfom really nice! Plus they are right around 175 per tire instead of the Toyo's crazy price! I have not used or seen the Kumho's but I think they are cheaper than the Toyo and probably a good tire too.

The tires I have are made by Hankook tires and their performance series is called Ventus. I have the Ventus Sprot K104 on my 19 Inch HP wheels.

http://www.hankooktireusa.com/ventus/k104/index.html

 

Thanks for all your responses. Jason, I never even thought about heat cycles. I don't really plan on any other extracurricular driving except to & from the track (well I might have to take a few hot laps around the neighborhood) Ha JK. Anyways, about how many cycles would the RA1s be good for? In addition to local tracks, I'm looking at going to Mid Ohio, VIR, & Road America this summer, VIR is about 700 miles from Michigan, do you think this distance / duration would be a problem?

 

I'm using the K104's for my street tires, and they are pretty nice.

Still, compared to an R-compound they are not very sticky. Nice for a street tire though.

-D'oh!

 

Well, I haven't driven a 700 mile trip at once, but I've probably put close to that many miles on the tires going to and from a number of events. Other than the heat cycle issue (which may be a problem given that 700 miles can keep the tires at an elevated temp for a significant period) I doubt you'd see much wear compared to what you'd cause after several laps at the track. I have noticed that even after 50 miles of highway driving, my tire pressures (and therefore temps) are nowhere near what they reach after a couple AutoX runs. This leads me to believe that even after 700 miles, while you may reduce the performance of the tires somewhat, the difference may not be noticeable.

Just conjecture at this point.

-D'oh!