I just bought some 205/45-16 Kumho ECSTA V700 tires from the tire rack last week and had them shaved and heat cycled. I had them mounted on Saturday and autocrossed on them on Sunday. After the event I noticed what looked like chunks of the tread missing in a line. The tread appears to be separating. A friend of mine said that this is normal for Kumho tires and to keep running on them. I called Tire Rack and they said that there is no Warranty and offered me a small discount on a replacement set. Anyone else seen this?

I will post some pictures shortly.

Scott

 

 

Looks like the tire was sitting on something. Mine do that when I have them stored on a wire shelf.

 

This picture was taken just after the tire was taken off the car. Chunks of the tread are missing.

 

>>I just bought some 205/45-16 Kumho ECSTA V700 tires from the tire rack last week and had them shaved and heat cycled. I had them mounted on Saturday and autocrossed on them on Sunday. After the event I noticed what looked like chunks of the tread missing in a line. The tread appears to be separating. A friend of mine said that this is normal for Kumho tires and to keep running on them. I called Tire Rack and they said that there is no Warranty and offered me a small discount on a replacement set. Anyone else seen this?
>>
>>I will post some pictures shortly.
>>
>>Scott


Scott,
The same thing happen to my new set of 205/45-16 Kumho Ecsta V700. I went to a track event at The Streets of Willows April 16, 2004 with Redline Events. My first set of new V700 tires heat cycled only one session and 23 track miles, the whole set all four tires had the same straight line as you have in your photo, only difference being that I had almost no treadware, but added to the huge chunk right at the same line. Lucky for me I took two sets of tires and wheels, Second set already had one track day at Buttonwillows @ 178 track miles, which I used as my backups till they were almost bald with NO chunks just bald. I could say that I do know how correctly inflate tires for track use. I've used the same type of Kumho V700 tire for 38 track events and over 4,200 track miles . I sure hope Kumho fixes the problem cause their my favorite tire. Sorry I have NO pictures as backups

We need to get the word out !!

Roy

 

>>>>I just bought some 205/45-16 Kumho ECSTA V700 tires from the tire rack last week and had them shaved and heat cycled. I had them mounted on Saturday and autocrossed on them on Sunday. After the event I noticed what looked like chunks of the tread missing in a line. The tread appears to be separating. A friend of mine said that this is normal for Kumho tires and to keep running on them. I called Tire Rack and they said that there is no Warranty and offered me a small discount on a replacement set. Anyone else seen this?
>>>>
>>>>I will post some pictures shortly.
>>>>
>>>>Scott
>>
>>
>>Scott,
>>The same thing happen to my new set of 205/45-16 Kumho Ecsta V700. I went to a track event at The Streets of Willows April 16, 2004 with Redline Events. My first set of new V700 tires heat cycled only one session and 23 track miles, the whole set all four tires had the same straight line as you have in your photo, only difference being that I had almost no treadware, but added to the huge chunk right at the same line. Lucky for me I took two sets of tires and wheels, Second set already had one track day at Buttonwillows @ 178 track miles, which I used as my backups till they were almost bald with NO chunks just bald. I could say that I do know how correctly inflate tires for track use. I've used the same type of Kumho V700 tire for 38 track events and over 4,200 track miles . I sure hope Kumho fixes the problem cause their my favorite tire. Sorry I have NO pictures as backups
>>
>>We need to get the word out !!
>>
>>Roy



As an update to all The BAD tires had a DOT# 4703 (the chunked ones)
The good tires DOT #'s 1802, and DOT #1102 (the fantistic ones)

I ordered last week 4/19/04 eight new Kumho V700 tires. Low behold what turns up with my order are 5 tires with a DOT # 1102 and I assume 3 Bad tires with the
DOT # 4703
The guy's trying to get them to exchange the three bad with a good run batch

 

Isn't this the same tire that M7 shredded during his WRX STi challenge at Willow? There were some pics, but I can't locate them...

 

yes guy's it's the same V700's, the difference was mine totally delaminated making me lose tracktion in the middle
of a turn...........Craaaashhh at 90mp

I was told I was getting my money back, but they back tracked offering me 15% of a new set :???: :???:

peter

 

Some of the miata guys have reported problems with the V700s in that size as well.

Miata.net forum thread here.

 

Kumho has recalled the V710s, maybe this is related to those failures?

 

My V700 went through 2 autocrosses and have similar wear across the tread. Some people said it's normal. I've seen the same problem with the victoracers. For my set, it only happened on the front tires. I was told that it only happens in the initial runs, and it will stop afterwards.

Anybody else have similar experience with this?

 

I also have had this happen with the wifes car 205/45/16 kuhmo v-700s she has been very easy on the tires as she has been learning to autocross and started to run them on her 2nd event. The tires started to split across the tread like the pic above but without the chunks missing. The tirerack is trying to blame it on not getting them shaved and heat cycled. I have a pyrometer and we fully heat cycled the tires properly, bagged and stacked them before her first event, her air pressure has been 38 front/33 rear and has not had any rollover on the honda like the mini's tend to do. On her 4th event on them they still looked almost new but the first tire I went to put on the car had a split on it, after checking the rest of the tires they were fine. After the event all 4 were split! She ran the best she had to date but still ran around 7/10ths of the ability of her car. The split is more defined than the one above and is 1/4 inch deep and angled at about 45 degrees. Tirerack says to mount the tires reversed on the rim and that will fix them! I say: If the tires should have been mounted in that direction then kuhmo should have put the arrow in that direction! they are mounted per manufacturers directions if this is not right then it is a defect in the tire that should be replaced!

 

From RTS's post below.

As an update to all The BAD tires had a DOT# 4703 (the chunked ones)
The good tires DOT #'s 1802, and DOT #1102 (the fantistic ones)

The DOT # on mine is 1802 and I've had no problems. What is the DOT # on your bad tire?

 

Take a look at Grassroots Motorsports"Aug 2004 page176-179 for a discussion and possible explination fore the tread splice.

Motor on

 

The DOT number is 4703, it seems like we have a bad batch here! all 4 tires are split just like the picture above.

 

I had the same problem with the V700s. After a couple of autocross runs, I switch them around running the reverse direction. It actually wears much better now. Looks like the treads are glued together in an angle and the overlaping tread is facing the recommended rotating direction. Running them reverse will not be going against the sealed area. Since then I don't chunk them out anymore.


Hope that helps.

Aaron