due to Hoosier's continually not being able to make the 285/30-18 S04 I need for the front of my car, I've been considering getting a set of Ecsta V700's to run for this season, and was curious about how well you folks have liked
them. I ran Victoracers (and liked them just fine) on my GSX, but have always run Hoosiers on the Corvette.
A few specific questions:
- how has tire life/stick been relative to S03's? That seems to be one definite plus of the Kumho's.
- did you get yours shaved down to 4/32, or no?
- can you use V700's on a road course, or would they be damaged like an A3S03/4 would?
- Do you have any trouble getting them up to temperature in 3 autocross runs? My current old S03's are only grippy after 3-4 runs!
After seeing Gary Thomason run on V700's this weekend in Farmington, and getting some of his opinions on Kumhos versus Hoosiers, I'm thinking a bit about getting a set, seeing what I think, and pocketing the $300 price difference. He said that the S03 is very fast in the 2-8 heat cycles range,
then seems to really drop off, whereas he said he'd been running his current V700's for a long time now, and hadn't noticed any significant degradation in performance. That 2-7 number is pretty consistent with what other folks have told me, and he said "new Kumhos are going to be a lot quicker than old S03's".
I sure can't afford to replace S03's 2-3 times a season, so I'm wondering if V700's might take my dollar a bit further?
First of all, Jake you've already talked to the expert on this subject. Gary knows. Whatever he said, believe it.
For my $.02, make sure you specify which V700 you talk about, the ECSTA or the Victoracer. There're different tires.
I'm running Victoracers up front and ECSTA in the back. On Gary's advice, I ran the Victoracers unshaved, but had the ECSTAs shaved. They seem to heat up quickly compared to the Hoosier 03s I used to run, and require water between consecutive runs on hot days to stay cool enough to work well. Understand I'm talking autocross only, here. No experience with track events.
I'm one of those that ran V710s for the first months of this year; and I can say they were way better than 03s. Much better cold, and stuck like glue. Hope Kumho can fix their problems without impairing the stick. Took Victoracers and ECSTAs in exchange for the recalled V710s. The V700s are not quite as good as the V710s were in my opinion, but Kumho is to be commended for their generous handling of the problem. We're anxiously awaiting the return of the V710s or their replacements. Incidently, some of my competition out here is running Hoosier A3S04s and the results, while good, don't show me as big an improvement over the 03s as the Kumho V710s were. Your mileage may vary, etc., etc.
Good luck!
I bought a set of Ecstas used last year and have used them for maybe 8-10 autox's last year and this year. I have not had a problem with their grip when cold, nor have I noticed a drop off in performance as the number of runs go up. For the price they can't be beat. In fact I have't lost in SS since I switched from the F1's.
Last edited by rudy oliver : 05-12-2004 at 01:38 PM.
Don't have all the answers for you, but some info that may help you decide.
I ran the V700s, both Victoracer and Ecsta, for a few SCCA road races last year. They will hold up just fine on a road circuit.
IMO, they don't last any longer than the R3S03s did, which I also tried.
For road racing, I bought mine shaved and heat cycled.
Thanks Brad - that at least answers the road racing part of the thing. They seem like a pretty good idea - just want to hear a bit more from the autocrossers...
First of all, Jake you've already talked to the expert on this subject. Gary knows. Whatever he said, believe it.
It was awesome talking to a guy that knew that much about racing these cars...every question I asked he had a good answer for. Turns out, for a while he was running the exact setup I've got now. So, I think I'll stick with it for a while!
Quote:
For my $.02, make sure you specify which V700 you talk about, the ECSTA or the Victoracer. There're different tires.
I'm running Victoracers up front and ECSTA in the back. On Gary's advice, I ran the Victoracers unshaved, but had the
Ah, yes, I forgot that. I was talking about Ecstas, since they have the sizes I need - 285/30-18, and 305/30-18 for the rear.
Are you running a Victo/Ecsta combination to get the tire sizes that you need, or for some other reason?
Quote:
ECSTAs shaved. They seem to heat up quickly compared to the Hoosier 03s I used to run, and require water between consecutive runs on hot days to stay cool enough to work well.
Interesting. It was about 80* in Farmington, and I never saw Gary watering down his tires. I guess you're talking about 90*+ days then?
Quote:
I'm one of those that ran V710s for the first months of this year; and I can say they were way better than 03s.
I'm hoping they'll make the V710 in 18" sizes when the time comes - they should be excellent! For the moment, I think that a set of shaved/heat-cycled Ecsta V700's are what I'm leaning towards.
I've got one more set of used 285/305 S03's to burn through, and then it'll be time for new tires. If I'm lucky, maybe they'll have the 710's available by then? We'll see...
I can't add much, and based only on autocross usage--
You've got to get them shaved. They'll chunk up if you don't.
It took three heat cycles, or autocrosses, before the grip seemed to offer a clear advantage over street tires. I was a little surprised by this.
You don't have to order them heat cycled from a longevity perspective, but having it done might "get you to sticky" a little quicker (see above).
I have met a lot of guys who don't like the Ecsta V700s and went back to Victoracers (not Corvette drivers, as it happens). My experience so far is OK, but the autocross season is young.
Hmm, seems I just read this same question some place else...
Just did my first track day at Streets of Willow on race rubber with a set of V700s on my Solo II Superstock legal Z06 (ran 275/40-17 and 305/30-18 sizes.) Had been there once before on the stock F1s. Kumho recommends shaving for track use, so I did. Stuck very well. Did a best lap of 1:29.01 so I was very happy with how they performed. Ran about 60 laps (1.8 mile course) and should get at least one more full day if not 2 out of them.
Have not autocrossed on them. Might try them in a practice soon so I can compare them to the Hoosier 4s I now have. As somewhat of an aside I think the V710 is much better auto-x tire than the Hoosier 4. The Hoosiers get greasy (from heat) easier. The 710 turns in better and has better straight line grip. They also grip better on on their very first (as in brand new tires) than the Hoosier 4 (or 3.)
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