Guys how far do you think you could drive on these to an event without screwing them up? I'm kind of curious because the Kumho's are half the price of the Michelin PSC's I'm about to buy.

Just wondering what your experiences have been.

 

Obviously, the soft compound will wear faster than street tires. Not nearly as fast as track miles, however.

The biggest issue, IMHO, is that if you get any sort of rain or moisture on the road, the nearly slick Kuhmo's can be a handful.

I drive about 45 miles each way to the closer track without hesitation.

Another track is about 120 miles each way that I'm reluctant to drive to on my track tires.

 

I remember a few years ago a guy drove a Miata from Washington to Topeka for nationals on Kumhos. I've never driven over 50 or 60 miles on mine but it's not a problem as long as you don't get caught in the rain. Keep in mind that the tires are so soft that they will pick up everything.

 

Full tread Victoracers are fine in the rain, and actually the preferred tire for that condition when racing. I drove my current set from San Diego to Topeka and back (about 1400 miles each way IIRC, a lot of it through nasty thunderstorms), and they were none the worse for wear. As they get more and more worn obviously standing water becomes an issue.

What really kills 'em is the constant heat cycling they'd get if you drove them to work, etc. on a daily basis.

Like the Michelin, they were designed to be a tire you could drive to/from the autox/track on. Have no worries. Kumhos rule!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jzr
[B]Full tread Victoracers are fine in the rain, and actually the preferred tire for that condition when racing.

 

My main concern is that I dont want to heat cycle them to death drving to events, since I dont have the little trailer some of the guys do, or a suitable tow vehicle.

There is a track event I would like to run in Georgia in January, about a 800 mile drive from here. I would suppose that should be OK, if people are driving on them back and forth from Nationals?

I just hate to spend those HUGE $$$s on the Michelins if I don't have to. You can buy 2 sets of Kumhos for the price.

 

You might look into Formula V traction treatment sold by many racing parts suppliers. That treatment supposedly puts back into the tire what is lost with heat cycling or tires that are far from manufacture date.

 

Solution 1 - Bite the bullet and build a trailer (I'll even help). Total cost (including hitch) is about $600, about the cost of a set of installed tires.

Solution 2 - Ask someone from S Florida to carry your wheels up to the event. Is Mitch going?

Solution 3 - Buy a 2-car tow rig and I'll help you drive up .

Though it has been done, I don't like the idea of driving so far on tires that will be dangerous in the wet. On my last pilgrimage to Roebling Road, we drove through a lot of wet weather and at least one downpour each way. Florida can have some pretty serious rain, even in January. Even with nearly full tread SO2s, I still slowed down a lot. The track at Roebling is pretty hard on tires, so I'm certain that your return trip would be on near-slicks with minimal tread on the inside only. The outer sides of the tires will definitely be smooth after 2 days.

 

Do you think a solution would be to buy harder less sticky tires like the A032Rs?

This is the biggest pain in the butt. If I were cleared solo I would just rip out the passenger seat and throw them in there. @$@%@ !@*&^&*!!!

 

No. I really don't like the idea of driving any competition tire on extended road trips, especially after the tread has been worn off.

[QUOTE][B]This is the biggest pain in the butt.