Kumho debuts red smoking tire for drift comp

[Pank]

From Kumho's site (http://www.kumhotireusa.com./News/News2005.asp#may06)

FONTANA, CA … May 6, 2005… In the last few years, KUMHO Tire has achieved a number of firsts: the first company to make a 26-inch light truck tire; the first company to produce a 28-inch light truck tire; a class win in the company’s first race in the American Le Mans Series. And now, KUMHO has another first: a tire that produces red smoke. This special version of KUMHO’s ECSTA MX ultra high performance street tire--dubbed the ECSTA MX-C--will make its public debut with Enjuku Racing at the Formula Drift event at Road Atlanta on May 6 and 7.

Enjuku tested the MX-C for the first time the week of April 18, and it literally left the team’s members speechless. “When we saw the red smoke boiling off the rear tires, we just stood there and stared in awe,” said Enjuku lead driver and team captain Matt Vassallo. “I think people will be blown away when they see this.”

The ECSTA MX-C was developed at the KUMHO Technical Center in Akron, OH. “At a product meeting here late last summer, several people were talking about the sport of drifting,” said Guy Edington, manager of the Technical Center. “While watching a drifting video, someone opined that it would be cool if the tire smoke coming off the cars was colored.”

From there the idea blossomed, and Jim Palombo, KUMHO’s senior product chemist, and Gary Bradnick, lead lab technologist, set about looking for a way to make colored smoke. They developed the right mix of chemicals and now have a patent pending for their colorful compound (they’ve also developed a compound that produces blue tire smoke). Following successful testing, KUMHO produced a limited number of the tires.

“We don’t intend to sell the ECSTA MX-C to the general public,” said KUMHO brand director Rick Brennan. “We built them to demonstrate our forward thinking, technical capabilities and ability to respond quickly to the market. Like our race-winning ALMS tire, the MX-C was developed in a very short time—about six months. And like our 26-inch and 28-inch light truck tires, the MX-C gets attention by charting new territory that no other tire company even thought about entering.”

Enjuku’s Vassallo agrees. “ With the car show market and drifting scene ever-expanding in the U.S., the constant effort to make your vehicle stand out in the crowd is the ultimate goal,” he said. “KUMHO has upped the ante with the ECSTA MX-C.”


Video!

http://www.kumhotireusa.com./News/I...HO-redsmoke.wmv

[royL_w/cheese]

link down.....wow this is interesting.

now if they can only get the smell of burning tires to smell like some axe deoderant they'd be in the game.

[krustindumm]

link down.....wow this is interesting.

now if they can only get the smell of burning tires to smell like some axe deoderant they'd be in the game.

blasphemy!

[Ritz S14]

awesome... I wonder what they sell for.

[mjjstang]

is there a working link?

[p11driver]

awesome... I wonder what they sell for.


“We don’t intend to sell the ECSTA MX-C to the general public,” said KUMHO brand director Rick Brennan. “We built them to demonstrate our forward thinking, technical capabilities and ability to respond quickly to the market.
:hs: looks pretty crazy. my friend showed me the video yesterday, i think it was on hachi life.

[KOUKI KA-T]

awesome... I wonder what they sell for.

“We don’t intend to sell the ECSTA MX-C to the general public,” said KUMHO brand director Rick Brennan.

Good thing to, I could just imagine all the kids doing brake stands at every stop light in town with these tires...

[mjjstang]

im thinkin he means what price, not to who. at any rate im sure its gonna be high enough that you wont be putting them on all 4 corners. not that you would anyway.

WOW I just saw the video from the site, damn those are sweet, cant wait to see the blue ones.

[HaLo]

Ricing it up, to a new level!!! ;)

[TiNMAN]

lol, sounds cool :)

[KOUKI KA-T]

im thinkin he means what price, not to who. at any rate im sure its gonna be high enough that you wont be putting them on all 4 corners. not that you would anyway.

I know, the point was looks like they won't be selling them period. Just supplying them to some sponsored cars to run at the events....

[Phlip]

Next they will debut the blue-smoking version, then there will be Bloods versus Crips drifting competitions...

[BobbyBoy]

Damn I heard about this a while ago and havent had any updates since, and now the damn vid isn't working for me.

[orion::S14]

Did anyone check the Kumho website for the video...it's posted there, easy to find.

Here's the correct link:

http://www.kumhousa.com/News/Images/KUMHO-redsmoke.wmv

Right click, save as...~3.3MB (Server was slow as hell for me...~16kb/sec...WTF??) - And don't expect drifting...it's a standing burnout by one of the Enjuku S13's. Pink smoke...kinda cool!

- Brian

[The Jabberwocky]

Matt mentioned that they were somethign like $2,000 PER tire due to small manufacturing and unsure market...still in its testing phase i beleive

[drftwerks]

Damn I heard about this a while ago and havent had any updates since, and now the damn vid isn't working for me.


im loooooooooving the sig !!!!!!!

[91CRXsiR]

im loooooooooving the sig !!!!!!!
me too but is it PG-13?

[IGSDann]

I miss seeing his beautiful car with the bridge in the background... It's just not the same. Now it feels like a HIN show...

[meatish]

Word on the street is theyre around $2000 PER TIRE. They have to make them available to the public in order for them to be legal at FD, so there you go.
Personally i think its a great idea, so long as everyone doesnt start using them.. Kind of reminds me of the colored smoke out the back of stunt planes; kinda cool, but the novelty wears off if they keep it on for the entire show. This might be the start of something, though.. could you imagine, just like stunt planes, three cars going by in tandem, burning red, white, and blue smoke? 2 Months until the fourth of july.. lets make it happen. Anyone have $8000?

[driftingstyles]

man, i cant wait to get those for my car!

[Flipzide]

lol.. you think they'd make scented smoke too?


id love to smell bananas or flowers at a drift competition :naughty:

[infinitexsound]

pass................

[Blues13]

Haha, I thought it was gonna be pretty cheesy, but looking at the video it looks like a good idea.. reminds me of cotton candy... mmm.. cotton candy.

[sw20>>s14]

something hypnoticing about looking at those thick plumes of smoke...reminds me of paper mario! score!

[Jeff240sx]

Word on the street is theyre around $2000 PER TIRE. ... three cars going by in tandem, burning red, white, and blue smoke? 2 Months until the fourth of july.. lets make it happen. Anyone have $8000?

$2000 x 2 tires per car = $4000 per car. $4000 x 3 cars = $12000. What school did you (or not) graduate from?

-Jeff

[stuntman240]

$2000 x 2 tires per car = $4000 per car. $4000 x 3 cars = $12000. What school did you (or not) graduate from?

-Jeff


To get white smoke you can use normal, non $2000 a tire tires.

[Ritz S14]

$2000 x 2 tires per car = $4000 per car. $4000 x 3 cars = $12000. What school did you (or not) graduate from?

-Jeff

He's right. It is $8k. To burn off white smoke you just put the regular MX tires on. :)

edit:
Damn it.. one minute too late. :zzz:

[Jeff240sx]

To get white smoke you can use normal, non $2000 a tire tires.

Doh. I lose.
-Jeff

[WILDACEX187]

wow i can just picture ken nomura (sp) blazing these tires up in a long drift in his r34......(day dreaming)......yep that would be cool :bow:

[BobbyBoy]

Too bad it is patented and only Kuhmo drivers will be able to use them...
Unless another tire company develops a color smoking tire using a completely different method.

[dirtysouthjuggalo]

they were using these at formula d in atlanta. it was pretty cool and they smelled weird like they were sented or somthing a little much for me but pretty cool

[nrg]

The KUMHO headquarters in so cal is a few blocks from me. Too bad these tires won't be in production =\
I wouldn't mind a set.
Anyone remember the Bridgestone scorcher tires?

[holisticbeatz]

nrg.. you live about 7 miles from Kumho USA, right?

[sepulchral]

pretty sweet.. i want to see the blue smoke now

[nrg]

nrg.. you live about 7 miles from Kumho USA, right?
Probably about 2-3..
Why?? hah

[RBS14]

you can buy them at tirerack and enjuku's site.

cmon, $2k/per isn't thaaaaaat much.

[RSP13-Sideways]

Wow.........that's intense.....

[m0rex]

I picked some up last week lasted me until yesterday. I might put some on my skyline im still not sure. Btw these grip like a mofo.

[Pank]

The KUMHO headquarters in so cal is a few blocks from me. Too bad these tires won't be in production =\
I wouldn't mind a set.
Anyone remember the Bridgestone scorcher tires?


http://adaptivestrategies.com/BFGoodrichScorcherTA-Red.jpg

would those smoke red? I've seen them on cars before, but i've never seen them after/during a burnout

[ghostuss]

hell no. THese are just normal tires with red strips.

[nrg]

^^ they just burn red tracks on the ground. To let people know what gang you're from =)

[xtreme_s14]

dude.. $2000 for colored smoke? :eek2: i'll wait 'til 4th of july to get some smoke bombs to strap on to my wheels! lol yah sure they won't last as long.. but it'll look just as cool! while i'm at it, i'll put some fireworks in my exhaust so it looks and sounds like my car's backfiring.. :ugh: oh and a piccolo pete in the engine bay so it sounds like i have a crazy ass t88 turbo spooling.. :tweak:

tires w/ colored smoke - $2000/tire
smoke bombs, fireworks, piccolo pete - $10.00
making your car look and sound cool with sparks & smoke - priceless!