mwood

Title says it all...anyone hearing anything on the new series Kumho?

I see Tirerack still has the old ones on special...$224/each

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

I would not expect to see a new tire till the end of the 1st quarter, if the track record for the slow boat from K town holds true. Seems to me like the old one works just fine.

mwood

I would agree, the current tire is awesome.

But, here's the thing: I just killed the last set of Kumhos I had left last weekend...112 runs or so and hundreds of street miles. Pretty amazing, they haven't really corded, just lost the grooves...although the rubber in the middle is starting to kind of pick up...

We start up again end of January and the only tires I have in the garage (since my housecleaning sale after Topeka) are a set of 12 run Hoosier 285's, which I'm thinking of using for the SD Tour...which means I need to get another set of tires. The other way to play it is to use the HoHo's for locals and pick up some fresh Kumhos before the first tour, but the Hoosiers don't wear all that great, so it's kind of hard to use 'em up on local events...

So, if the new Kumhos are going to be available in the next two months or so, that will make my decision easier.

Zoom4Three

Mike-

Just to add to what Jason has said, our understanding is production is not scheduled until sometime in January(subject to change). Allow 6 weeks for the boat ride, plus another week or two to filter through distribution. End of first quarter is best case unless they have some aired in to "prime the pump".

Chris H

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iTrader: (1)

My current thought process on anything from Kumho, is when I have it in my hands it is available, beyond that it is wishful thinking.

Yep, you bring them used seven month old tires to SD.

mwood

Hey, I'll only be using them one day, right?

Thanks, Chris, and you too Jason, for the update. It makes the decision easy. I'll just run the Hoosiers until a few weeks before SD and then buy whatever tire makes the most sense, at that time.

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

I think you have it all wrong.... A smart guy would buy a set of those "close out" tires from Tire Rack. Just because there is a "new" tire does not mean it is always better than the current stuff for autox, see the Hoosier A3S04-5/BFG Gforce (1999ish)/Kumho Ecsta V700/ etc. I have a fresh set of the old tires just in case.

chiketkd

iTrader: (5)

+1 My co-driver and I will be looking to pick up a set of current gen V710's for the reason Jason mentions alone...becomes even more imperative when you take Harvey's comment into consideration.

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

The guy who waits for the better stuff, is the one who will always be a step behind.

mwood

On the other hand, the Hoosiers appear to be just as fast and will continue to be available now and in the near future...so, if all of a sudden there are no V710's to be had in, say, February, it's not like you don't have another viable option.

I'll be curious to see how this set of HoHo's wears, now that I'm actually putting some air in them

chiketkd

iTrader: (5)

How many runs did you get out of previous sets of 285/30/18 Hoosiers?

I figured the extra width would help the tire wear better...

mwood

Matthew and I got through only a Tour (San Diego) and a Pro (El Toro) on the first set before we corded. But, there are a couple of variables which need to be accounted for...

First, that included a bunch of practice laps on the test and tune course which Andy Hollis set up at SD, which was somewhere in the 25-30 second range. Second, El Toro beats the shxt out of tires, being very abrasive, and the Pro course was long, slalom intensive and fast...and Matthew added a few laps to the total in the challenge. And, third, and most importantly, we were running the tires in the mid to high 20's, pressure wise. Chris Harvey suggested higher pressures when we ran the set I now have at Topeka and the tires worked very well at those pressures on the HPT surface.

So, I'm guessing I should be able to get more than the 45-50 runs we got on the first set, this time around. How much more, and how long until they fall off in terms of performance, I'll report when I find out.

CRX Millennium

iTrader: (1)

Interesting, I would have thought that you are going with 'Kook C71 given your good experience on the old car. Anyway, having choice is good, whether Hankook/Hoosier/Kumho.

Zoom4Three

I will jump in with another data point on the 285 A6's. John Rogers and I are getting 35-40 runs on them before flipping. Once we flip them another 35-40 runs are easily do able since the cording typically happens at the sidewall/ tread cap junction.

This is on medium to high grip asphalt surfaces, running low forties for pressure when warm. If you are running on high grip/cheese grater concrete, I would recommend even more pressure to extend the tire life.

Chris H

mwood

Chris, how are they after flipping? I would think with that many runs, and with the sidewall/tread cap wear, they'd have quite a bit of "camber" in their set, hurting the contact patch?

chiketkd

iTrader: (5)

I did like the kooks' on my WRX, but I didn't have the choice of running a V710 with that car (no 245/40/17 size). Given the choice between a V710 and a Z214, I'd give a slight edge to the V710.

Zoom4Three

Mike -

We haven't done any back to back testing with a new set, but I would estimate the difference is pretty minor after a couple of runs to scrub in the new (flipped) shoulder. With R-compound tires, 3-4/32nd tread on the outer half is better than 1-2/32nd. You want that extra tread depth to conform around the small bumps in the surface and create mechanical grip. As you wear the outer half of the tire down, you have less soft rubber to conform to the pavement because just beneath the soft compound is the much harder underlayer and finally the belt package. While you may not have exposed them yet, it does become more difficult for the small peaks in the pavement surface to push into the tread. This is part of the reason why pro road race teams keep fresh tires on the car when quailfying, the correct tread depth is actually more important to performance than a heat cycle or two.

Hope this makes sense,

Chris H

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

lol

https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...3&postcount=46

mwood

You got me...big deal!