Experienced Kumho V710 Users Please Read
 

Just bought a set of used V710 sight-unseen, described as 35 asphalt runs with lots of tread left. Arrived yesterday and am wondering if I have problems on my hand. Never seen new V710 before, hence, my questions.

Looking at photo 1, I can see the cords showing on the outside edge where sidewall meets the wheel. Can I still get a perfect seal or only actual mounting will tell?

TireRack specifies new as 4/32'' while having the wear indicator bars set below the circumferential grooves. The ones I got have wear indicator bars all being flush with the groves. Is this "lots of tread"?

Many thanks for insights before I bring them to shop for mounting&balancing.

I'm afraid that tire is garbage....cord should not be showing like that.

The photo on the left shows damage to the bead, so you need to ask your local tire guy about whether it would be advisable to use that tire. It was probably damaged in either the removal or installation of the tire, and it is possible that the person who sold it to you did not even notice it before they sent it to you.

In terms of tread depth, just take it in and measure it at the grooves and in the holes around the tire. You then take that measurement (probably about 2/32nds) and divide it by 4/32nds. You have to decide whether it is worth it to you or not.

I have bought tons of used tires, and almost everytime I end up feeling some sort of buyer's regret. If it was a truly great tire, the other person would probably not sell it. That tire tread does not look that bad to me, but it is probably at or near its "competitive" life. It has a lot of use left in it (as long as the bead is okay to use), but perhaps not the type of use that would be needed at the top tier of national competition.

Hopefully for you it will be a good set to use until you save up the money to get that set of A6's for nationals..

My two cents...

You mean the bead? I don't have any experience with tires in that condition, but I don't think I would trust it...even if it seems to hold air.

It looks like more wear than 30ish RX-8 runs, but if they were on a heavier, more powerful car... :dunno:

Those tires should still have life left in them, but probably not as much as you expected. I'd still be hesitant about the damaged one, though.

That's exactly why I bought it, getting used to true R-compounds and competing for the Tour events at the onset. Looks like the bead damage is something of a problem from what everyone is saying, as in beyond repairable.

They were taken off E46 M3 in AS. I'm not too upset about the tread life, since all I want to do is to be eligible for Devens Tour, coming from Dunlop SP SSR. However, it looks like the bead damage is now a real issue that makes me short of one tire.

Any RX-8ers out there have a throw-away/life-left V710 to help me making a set?
:angel:

I will never buy use race tires, because the rubber is getting old and harden, most race tire are through away because of that reason.

You got had. Now go cry in your milk.

If I were you, I'd ask for money back on the corded one. I certainly wouldn't race on it. Good luck.

Safety first...

just to be on the safe side, i also would not recommend using the the one with the torn rubber.

-hS

Thanks everyone for the quick feedbacks. How easy is it for me to find one single V710 to make a set, realistically speaking? Should I return two to the seller to make my life easier sourcing what I need? What would you do in my position? Return one, two, or four? Is there a used race rubber dealer? The tires were shipped all the way out from WA, so the distance further complicates the problem.

The bead damage makes that one particular prone to sudden deflation/blow-out while competing I suppose, even if it holds air when mounted, correct?

If I were you, I would ask for one-fourth of the money back. Shipping stuff costs too much. It is the most reasonable thing to do. Then, buy two new V710's. Use the new ones on the front, and the used ones on the back (I think it would help with the push), and be happy with it. You will have one used tire in case one of the other ones have a problem.

Interesting, that's a fresh concept. Regarding putting new ones on the front, that idea seems to run contrary to what experts suggest. According to Mototrend's tire testing at Michelin, the new tires are advised to be put in the rear. See http://tinyurl.com/m6rcn, page 3 and 4 on the findings. As far as how it translates to autocrossing when some levels of looseness in the rear is welcome if not desired, I would leave it to the experts.

Honestly, if your plan was to run a few events this summer on these 710s and then buy a set of Hoosier A6s for Nats, I think you may want to change your plan. Count up the total number of runs you expect to take through the end of the season, including any schools (which you may want to consider running street tires for anyway) and Nats. If that number is under 80, I would buy a new set of 710s and run them for the rest of the year, including Nats.

If you try to learn on a set of 710s that are past their peak and then make a switch to a different tire for Nats, you're almost certainly going to have issues. Among other things, the optimum tire pressures are going to be different and you probably don't want to turn your first Nats experience into a test and tune event. If you go with a single set of 710s all year, even though the tires will be past their peak in September, you won't have to put as much energy into thinking about what the car needs at HPT and will be able to focus more on your driving. It would also be cheaper (710x4=$960, A6x4=$1,044 at tirerack and add another $20-$100 for an additional mounting cycle depending on your relationship with your local tire shop).

Point taken. My plan is to just run Devens Tour and local events afterwards on the used V710. National will have to wait until next year as I get used to being a small fish in the ocean, instead of big fish in a pond. Unless I start doing what GJ Dixon did , 120 events a year, I kinda doubt my driving will be up to the par of National this year.

Looking to find replacement used V710 from GB Racing and RC Enterprise, used race tire vendors featured in GRM. Will keep you posted.

Do not worry about your game being up to par :rofl:

Nationals is about great comraderie and great fun in addition to Awesome competition :wiggle:

If I had a $ for everyone that said that I could fund my racing budget...IF you can afford to make it to Topeka, by all means go. I guarantee that you will not regret going back again,not to mention meeting all the fun racers!

send them all back and ask for a refund

he is going to find out the hard way. thinking he save a lot of money for buying junk race tires.