Kumho  Ecsta V730

This is an EARLY review of these tires. I put them on 1,500 miles ago. These were purchased for my 2014 Cadillac CTS V-Sport TwinTurbo V6. Stock is 420hp, with intent to run HPDE and auto-x from time to time. My car is tuned to about 500hp at the crank. When tires are warm and on high grip surface, it is hard to spin the tires, like I gotta brake stand and work at it. I am running TSW wheels on a 18x9.5" setup all around with 275/35/18 setup on my car (vs the stock 245/40 up front) for better auto-x turn in. I will report back after having the chance to get these on a course somewhere.

Size Impressions: These tires are NOT as chunky as Falken Azenis RT660, but they are also not pinner little skinnies. They have good wheel lip protection and come moderately wide for their size.

Wear and Grip impressions: The outer tread patter (the super shallow portion) still remains clearly, which I am surprised at because it looks SO SHALLOW. I have had a road rally with about 35 miles of HARD driving in backcountry, canyon roads. The road was significantly tighter and rougher than Angeles Crest Highway with more surface transitions and a rougher surface and composition. The maximum cornering traction available was, in a word, astounding. Keep turning the wheel, the car keeps cornering harder. I have been PLEASANTLY surprised. These are a great bang for the buck.. . . VALUE!! They stick. They do not seem to telegraph what the front axle is doing super well, but about as well as the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 3+tthat I purchased my car with.

Ride and comfort impressions: The sidewalls are robust and and work well on my 4,000lb car. I run OEM recommended pressures on these, 32f/36r, and the comfort and sound in the cabin has been indistinguishable to the Pilot Sport AS 3+, so far at least.
I hoped to buy Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3, but they were NOT available and these were more affordable anyway.

Overall Grade at 1,500 miles: A

Simply, love these tires and a big step up from version 1.0 (which I did NOT have any issues with). I use them only for track days, including driving to and from each event. The mileage listed is approximate, but doesn’t matter. These tires perform really well across all dimensions and warm up pretty quickly (about two laps). While a little slower on turn in that prev. owned Nitto NT01 and Toyo R888 they are more predicable through and out of the turn, and very progressive as they move up to and through their ‘traction budget.’ I run pretty grabby brakepads on the track and these work well again up to and through the traction budget. Finally, I’ve found the wear to be borderline amazing with plenty of life left. I’ll attribute this to the tread pattern which essentially turns to full slick across half the tire after about 1 mm of wear. While I’m always wanting to try another tire (Nangang on the list) I’ve no rational reason to switch for next season.

These have been working real well at Time Attack. They do not grip well on first hot lap but I usually will have my fastest time on the second or third lap.
Once hot they only fall off a little and still remain consistent over a 20 minute session. They don't get greasy and are very predictable once warm.
So far I've had 5 track days on them and they may have another 5 left in them yet, I rotate the tires before every new track day putting the one with the most tread where it will be worked the most.

These tires have exceeded my expectations. Great very predictable dry grip with great responsiveness and great treadware. The tires don't talk much when the when you find their limits but maintain enough grip to recover. Wet traction is decent on a damp track but switch to rain tires if there is standing water or a downpour.

Compared to the Michelin Cup 2's they are superior for an autocross event. Don't take time to heat up and seem to perform on the first run of the day. Good feedback and progressive when exceeding the tires limits.

These lasted much longer than Falken 660 without giving up any drivability. Race at WGI on these for 8 hrs and on the Falkens for 8 hrs lap times were very comparable Best lap times by only thousands were on the Kuhmo’s

I drive these exclusively on track, turning 2:15-2:20 laps at VIR. This set of tires has lasted 18 track days, 40-50 laps/day and are not fully worn out. As an amateur HPDE driver I am more concerned with durability than that last second of speed, but I find my times very consistent from lap to lap, and grip remains consistent and predictable as well. They seem very tolerant of a wide range of ambient temperatures from near-freezing (once warmed up) to 95+ without getting greasy. I consider these as dry tires only; they get squirrelly on a damp surface, wet and rain are a no-go, or a go-off. Overall very pleased, just mounted another set for this season.

Do not buy this tire. These have lasted two months, and I am going to have to replace them soon. The only positive about this tire is its price compared to other Super 200s in this size.

These tires are unsafe in the wet. Even with nearly full tread depth, I was experiencing hydroplaning events on saturated road surfaces WITHOUT standing water. The tread pattern wears to a two-groove slick, which means the wet behavior of this tire has only gotten worse with time.

Wear has been the worst I have experienced in this category. The tires are down to 2/32" after only 3 hours of track time and ~20 autox runs, both in moderate 60-80F temperatures. The mileage has only been driving to/from events and a few in-town errands. This is on a 3300lb car with 3.2/2.3deg camber F/R on 255/40-17. The tread shows notable longitudinal cracking on the outer shoulder and middle rib, and I am concerned about delamination. Compare this to the RT660 where I ran similar track time in hotter temperature, probably 100+ autox runs, a few thousand miles of road trips, and perhaps another thousand miles of in-town errands, all while being faster in all conditions and maybe lasting 1-2 laps less on track before getting greasy; I still had 4/32" left on the 660s.

The tire compound is very sensitive to loading and feedback to the driver is inconsistent. These would be workable characteristics if they were capable of generating the same peak traction as the A052/RE71RS, but the V730 is generally a full second off the top tires on a ~50s course in addition to being harder to drive. Auditory feedback is confusing: higher pitched tones can either indicate insufficient loading or overloading while lower tones can either indicate being at or greatly over the limit of adhesion. Feedback through the steering wheel and chassis is muted, and the tire is especially sensitive to axial forces of braking and power. The lack of effective feedback makes this tire especially poor at the limit.