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The Ecsta V700 (V70A) is Kumho’s Racetrack & Autocross Only radial developed in Europe and imported to the United States. The V700 is attractively priced and designed to be a racing value by delivering great traction and treadwear per dollar.
While Ecsta V700 radials meet DOT requirements, they are not appropriate for highway use. Shaved or worn Ecsta V700 radials are not recommended for driving in wet conditions where standing water is present and there is the risk of hydroplaning; drivers should drive cautiously at reduced speeds if they encounter these conditions. And like all Racetrack & Autocross Only tires, Ecsta V700 radials are not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice. It’s also essential these tires be stored indoors at temperatures maintained above 32 degrees F.
The Ecsta V700 molds Kumho’s specially formulated, high-grip silica competition tread compound into a directional design that features wide tread ribs to maximize dry cornering grip while enhancing handling and treadlife. Directional tread notches and circumferential grooves help preserve wet traction when run at full tread depth. Kumho advises that the Ecsta V700 Racetrack & Autocross Only radial must be shaved prior to use in dry conditions.
The tire’s internal structure includes two steel belts reinforced by nylon cap plies to help stabilize the tread area and provide high-speed capability. A symmetric internal construction featuring three plies in the sidewall enhances quick steering response and high-speed stability.
As the tire’s outer shoulder tread wears from hard cornering, the Ecsta V700’s directional tread design and symmetric internal construction allows worn tires to be remounted “inside-out” on their wheels to prolong their life.
Important Notice: Kumho Ecsta V700 tires must be shaved to 3/32″ – 4/32″ tread depth for any autocross or track use in dry conditions.
If this tire is not shaved, excessive heat and wear may occur causing the tire compound to blister or wear to the cords prematurely in a localized area.
Tire heat cycling will not prevent the excessive localized wear of full tread depth tires but will continue to enhance tire consistency and wear on shaved tires.
Founder at Tiresout. Used to be working as an engineer at Bridgestone Tires Akron Technical Center. The responsibilities included but were not limited to technical computing, indoor & outdoor testing of new tires.
I replaced my stock Pil*t Sp*rts with these, and the transformation was instant, and incredible! Grip is HUGE, and more importantly, break-away is soft and progressive – very controllable. On the track, cornering grip and turn-in is improved so much that I now use the corners to catch cars that used to walk away from me. Heavy push went to neutral, and rear snap went away – that does a lot for your confidence when you’re hanging it out there! On a VHT surface, I have to add 1500 rpms to launch, or I bog. I did get a couple with open-seam problems, but was advised to run them backward for a while, and that seems to have helped. I was told to expect only about 3,000 miles from them, and given the low cost & high performance, that would be just fine. But with 1800 miles already, I’m expecting to get probably 5,000 from them. These tires transformed a twitchy, 500+HP, white-knuckler into a confidence inspiring cornering machine! *Definitely* buy again.
I used this tire to drive to/from a road course, and then of course a track day. Prior to taking it the track, I did a quick run on a back road to attempt to heat cycle the tire and then let it rest for 24 hours.This is an excellent tire. Buy it, use it, enjoy it. Since I didn’t shave the tire, I hope the tire to get better with upcoming track events.I ran a little north of 35 psi, which is too much for this tire. I think hot temps need to be at 34-35 psi. So far, for the money this tire is a winner.
Excellent tire, great feedback, wears well, very durable
I like using this tire for local autocross competition. I can get 2 autocross seasons out of a set on my CSP Miata. I live near the coast where the temperatures are rarely over 65F. I am able to use the tires at full tread depth and not encounter any negative effects. This is not the fastest tire, but it’s good enough for local events and even HPDE days, if the sessions are less than 20 minutes. They start to get greasy around the 18 minute mark.
Seasonal tire for Summer & some track use. Decent grip, even from cold. HEAVY carcass. Worst part was the cracks that developed around the sidewall/tread interface (in the first 9 months) and later across the tread like a mating joint. I questioned Kuhmo about the safety of the tire and they were Teflon, could not have cared less. They survived a reasonable tread life, but there was always the question of when they would blow apart!
These tires are horrible. I bought these tires in hopes of having a good R-compound that I could use for a year or two on lapping days. I did the recommended heat cycle and shaving. I recently took these out for their first track day and wow, the drivers side front started chinking halfway into the day. The track I went to is mostly right handersand I expected wear on that tire, but I imagine any tire should last more than one track day. I even rotated the tires front to back halfway through the day. Kumho basically told me that my car is setup wrong and I can’t drive, and did nothing to help. $500 down the tubes, I will not buy a Kumho product ever again. Don’t buy these, unless you have money to throw away.