NEW Kumho V730 - Full Review!

[@jakejackson3107]

I just bought this tire last week same size but on a 17x8. I run a 18 focus ST in GS. My first event on them was this past Saturday and I would have to disagree that they feel like garbage at the first event. I thought they performed just as good as my RE71r but it was a 95 degree day. I also measured them compared to my 255 re71r and they are wider than my old tires. To add a little more to your review I had a durometer on hand and compared them to the Re71R and the A052 and these are the measurements I got. RE71r was 60-62 A052 was 55 V730 was 56-58. So far this tire is great for the price and thank you for your videos, they helped me in the decision to purchase them. Also I finished 8th out of 70 in pax

[@rx8matt]

Thanks for the feedback, Jake. i'm glad they're living up to your expectations and i didn't misguide you! If you don't mind, i'll post your feedback in the video description section. sounds like i may have just been experiencing low grip in cold temperatures.

[@jakejackson3107]

@@rx8matt No problem, I will have another event this Sunday on a resealed surface and can come back with some follow up feedback.

[@jakejackson3107]

To add to this I finally got to go head to head Focus ST vs Focus ST yesterday and the other guy is a very competent driver (top 5 raw driver in his STU Focus RS every week and leads pax ponts in our region.) He was on Yoks while im on the V730, He ended up beating me but I was within .3 of his time and we placed 5th and 6th overall in pax.

[@rx8matt]

@@jakejackson3107 wow I wasn't expecting that! Must've been fairly hot out?

[@jakejackson3107]

@@rx8matt it was in the high 80s

[@DeanoTXR53]

Super interesting. A tire that can really be dual purpose without sacrificing being at the sharp end of Autox would be great. RT660 get pretty hot pretty fast. Fine for most autox, but I struggle at a t&t with less down times between runs. Did a TT on them and I had maybe 5 laps in a heavy M2 to try and post a time before they were off the pace enough to make more laps pointless. Great info!

[@ridewhencan]

I may have missed it in your vid but another interesting aspect of this tire is how vocal it is. It really lets you know when it is starting to slide. Only have had it on one freshly paved track and between that and being a new tire I had more slip than I was expecting but really looking forward to getting it out again. I agree that it runs narrow and certainly was surprised by the stiffness of the sidewall. Thanks for the review.

[@rx8matt]

That's a great point. My hoosier a7 are dead quiet and feel vague and mushy at the limit. The kumho talk and provide some tactile feedback near the limit.

[@ElCid_86]

Thanks for the review. I’ve been considering these for my Cayman. Hope to see you at Dominion some day soon. I’m in FXBG.

[@rx8matt]

You got it good! I am driving south from Springfield... morning drives to Dominion are usually fine but I always catch evening traffic! I run with SCCA so perhaps we'll cross paths. I actually put a fresh set of kumhos on and am enjoying them once more

[@rx8matt]

Ps I have a friend in a cayman s who just switched to kumhos and is loving them too

[@cammgt3rs370]

Excellent review. You covered areas many others even tirerack doesn't cover.

[@wusta515]

Thnx for the review. I, too, looked for comparison to the rt660. This one about $15 cheaper or at least in 245/40/18. I’ll try them out soon!

[@rx8matt]

Sounds good. The falken is probably just a little faster but the kumho wears like iron! Can't beat that value

[@postalpancho]

Thanks buddy. I plan to daily and autocross this tire. Was looking at th rt660 but I don't think they are as durable as I like. The price is good, and the performance is decent. I live in West Texas so I don't worry too much about rain.

[@rx8matt]

They are perfect for you. Love the heat and last a long time. Rt660 a little quicker but will definitely wear in your conditions

[@postalpancho]

@@rx8matt yeah the hancook RS4 take too long to heat up for autocross, rt660 won't last as long and the federals have week sidewalls. I think the v730 is that perfect middle ground. Thanks again for the review. And don't even get me started on A052 or RE71s,that's too rich for my blood and I'm not that competitive. I just want to try to go a full season on one set of tires.

[@rx8matt]

@@postalpancho same here brother. Winning is great... But i need my rubber to last a full season

[@postalpancho]

@@rx8matt it’s been a year and I’m about to get my second set. It is still very well priced, not the fastest but competitive, and wears like an RS4. I beat the shit out of this tire and it lasted a bit over a year. Considering the performance, longevity and characteristics of the tire it is an absolute bargain of a tire. I have a 2023 BMW 230i this time around so I have difficulty with camber so the stiff sidewalls will be extremely helpful. Heading over to slap them on today. Thank again for the review. This is an extremely well rounded tire, enduro, autocross, track day pretty much anything you want to do it will do it. It tries to be good at everything instead of specializing in one thing. Only downside is the poor hydroplane resistance.

[@rx8matt]

@@postalpancho couldn't have said it better myself! I'm planning to go back to them once my yokos are worn out

[@Arbormedics]

How are these going with heat cycles? Just did 26 runs on these this past weekend on my wrx. When we got heat into them the grip was decent. I had a set of rt660 on before that unfortunately heat cycled out. Its really nice not having to spray the tires after a few runs when its 85 degrees out.

[@rx8matt]

they had seemed to be pretty indifferent, although now at 6 TT weekends and 17+ autocrosses they MIGHT be starting to fall off, just below the wear bars. agree that not spraying is a big benefit... i just want to drive the car and stay focused! i was going to try the RT660 next. my hope is that the RT660 is a little faster and am willing to give up some life. my car is light and balanced with excellent suspension geometry so it is very easy on its tires.

[@ChrisHale0629]

Late to this video but appreciate the info. My Nankang CR-1's just wore out (after six months of events!!!) and I'm looking for something more economical or with better wear. That was exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks!

[@rx8matt]

Were those nankangs pretty fast though?

[@ChrisHale0629]

@@rx8matt They were, right up until the end. No signs of falling off from my perspective. I have them on an STI with -3.6f/-2.5r camber and they wore well too. But at $1300 every six months... It's my hobby, not my job. That said my first event on the Nankangs was a 90+F day in SWFL with 25+ fun runs, so I did not give them the best chance for treadwear.

[@archive.garage]

Very informative video, thanks for the in depth details. Good news it can pull double duty between AutoX and Time Attack

[@rx8matt]

It can definitely pull double duty on those fronts. But it doesn't really double duty as both dry and rain setup. On that front... now that my v730s are almost dead I have tires ready to go on that can work dry and rain AND should be able to be even faster at AX and TT.

[@archive.garage]

@@rx8matt Video dropping soon for your new setup?

[@rx8matt]

@@archive.garage the kumhos have another event or two of life but definitely before the end of the racing season!

[@TFritz82]

Surely sounds like another very viable option for TT stuff...perhaps working well for cars like my Evo 8. I've found next to zero real world feedback on them from Evo 8/9 owners. I'd be very curious to see a V730 vs RS4 comparo. They seem like similar performers for 'enduro' people.

[@rx8matt]

I bet they are very close in fast lap performance. V730 probably warms up faster. Might wear a tad more quickly, I don't think anything wears better than rs4.

[@TFritz82]

@@rx8matt exactly my tboughts!

[@MK8GTIinAK]

Great informative video. I'm looking into trying these on my 2022 gti. Do you think they'd be worth trying? The two main plusses for me are price and how well they wear. My car is all stock alignment wise and I run in GS. Still a novice as well.

[@rx8matt]

For sure, they might have won nationals in either GS or HS on a FWD car. They're great in warm weather. Not great in cool or wet

[@umarovracing]

Justin was pretty fast with those tires. I do both HPDE and Track Cross. I am wondering I can get a full season out of them if I do 10 HPDE days and 6 track cross events. Since these tires are pretty fast, I might dabble in time trials too. I am torn on being competitive in track cross vs having good wearing tires for HPDE lol. I am leading currently in the championship, but next season, there will be faster drivers out there.

[@rx8matt]

so, 10 days is a stretch for any tire that is quick IMO. i've done only 3 TT days and maybe 8 autocrosses and i've worn them about 2-3/32". they are wearing really well for how fast they are but 10+ days seems like a stretch. and my rx8 has fairly low weight, good weight distribution, and excellent suspension geometry, so it is very easy on its tires. you could consider two sets of wheels... one for HPDE and one for TT. i still think they are worth a try for you based on how fast they are and the good wear rate.

[@manuelsoto4319]

You can do a video on how to redrill the factory swaybars.

[@rx8matt]

www.rx8club.com/rx-8-racing-25/drilling-factory-sway-bar-237593/

[@ClaytonYatescarenthusiast]

I just ordered these to try. Only because I'm doing a lot of track stuff to setup my bmw for optima but wanted these cause of price and car is heavy and also hopefully wear. I'm running the 255 35 18 in this. And the 265 35 18 re71rs for competition. In the past only ran Falken rt660 in 315 30 18 on 6th gen camaro. Then tried the 245 40 18 on the bmw and it was really good. I'm a big Falken fan

[@rx8matt]

Nice. The kumhos are an excellent track beater tire. I really think I might try the falkens next.

[@rx8matt]

How is the re71rs?

[@harley8728]

How do you know when to replace them?

[@rx8matt]

when you can see the cords! haha. or when they are below the tread wear bars, mine started to loose speed after that. if you aren't worried about competitiveness you could continue to use them but they aren't street legal and might not pass tech inspection at the track or autocross.

[@aroundomaha]

I was debating this tire for the Summer autocross season but decided on the RT660, mainly due to a lack of reviews. Based on your observations this tire reminds of a cross between the RS4 and the RE71. For the performance level these appear to be a bargain and I hope they release more sizes like the 225/35/18 and 245/40/17

[@rx8matt]

I may try the rt660 next. Nice to know that even though the re71r is discontinued we have options!

[@aroundomaha]

@@rx8matt I recently bought a 2022 BRZ so I’m looking into this tire to run in street class.

[@rx8matt]

@@aroundomaha everything I've heard about that car is very promising. It will probably be CS in scca autocross and S4 or S5 for SCCA TT. Not sure if any classing is final at this point. More reviews I am seeing of this tire put it off the pace of the rt660 but I bet it will still last longer.

[@aroundomaha]

@@rx8matt Longevity would be nice since my plan is to maximize seat time at every opportunity. I think Ron Williams won HS this year running Kumhos.

[@rx8matt]

@@aroundomaha wow, I'll need to look into that. I do this they will work well on heavier, camber limited cars (i assume he was in something fitting that description in HS)

[@apordonez]

Thanks for the review! What pressures do you recommend for HPDE hot?

[@rx8matt]

Miata? 25-28. Heavy strut car? Probably 32. But all depends on setup, suspension design, and weight balance.

[@apordonez]

@@rx8matt It's a Porsche Cayman R - 2.5/2.2 camber; Tarett sway bars; GT3 LCAs

[@rx8matt]

@@apordonez 28-30 is probably ballpark at the front

[@apordonez]

@@rx8matt Thank you! I'll give it a go at Laguna Seca next weekend!

[@rx8matt]

@@apordonez let me know what you think. They get faster and feel better after a few heat cycles though

[@tuacati5079]

Matt, since this tire runs narrow, do you recommend going up one size? For example, from 235/40 18 to 245/40/18 Thank you!

[@rx8matt]

Yeah that makes sense to me, unless it's also taller and that causes a conflict

[@mbarjas]

What the difference between 720 and 730 ?!

[@rx8matt]

Tread compound and tread pattern. V730 is a little more durable with less tread. More focused on dry performance

[@xfarhanaimanx]

hows the wear of the tyre so far? think it can go 10k kms or more?

[@rx8matt]

please take the time to watch my video... then come back with more questions. i can probably destroy a long-life all season tire in less than 10k kms and i can make a super soft race tire last 10k kms driving like a chauffer. depends on your driving habits and the car.

[@xfarhanaimanx]

@@rx8matt i did. Just want your latest feedback :)

[@rx8matt]

@@xfarhanaimanx my season wrapped up late november and i have not used them since then. i will make another update once i wear them out. i think that as tread disappears they will wear even more slowly. you should easily get 10k km out of them spirited street driving. they aren't good in rain though if you get lots of rain. they will turn into slicks as they wear down. but i California 10k kms is suuuuper easy on these.

[@rx8matt]

@@xfarhanaimanx alignment also matters a lot for tire wear. i run very little toe. i also have lots of camber but camber isn't as detrimental to wear as toe.