Kumho Ecsta MX-C colored smoke tires and… herbal scented tires
Kumho's engineers must have inhaled tire smoke one too many times. We admit that tires spewing forth colored smoke
from a burnout are kind of neat, but only if a set of the $1995 tires (that's $2K each!) is being melted on some other
guy's car. But tires scented with the aromatic effusion of Lavender and Rosemary? C'mon. Eric has reported back that
they smell like herbs that have been growing in a tire planter. Makes sense.
Click through for more pics and info on these two oddities…
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jj jones 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
HOLY REPOST BATMAN
this is just sad. how can anyone read autoblog on a semi-regular basis when it's always the same articles?
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euro2low 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Agreed.... Seems like Autoblog is getting a bit slow on the news. This article is so 6 months ago....
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one2three 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Who cares if it's a repost. I haven't seen this before. Anyway it certainly is unusual.
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Ford Mustang 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Is it $2K a set or $2K a tire?
Either way, this is a stupid idea. It's fine if you're going to be doing a burnout contest, otherwise why not spend the cash on something worthwhile?
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papercutninja 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Ford Mustang,
It's actually $2K per tire (!!) and generally used for drifting competitions because that's one of the few types of motoring events that have tire smoke on a consistent basis. Also, these tires are usually given to sponsored drivers, as no one is quite insane enough to spend 8Gs on a tire that will last a day or two at the track. Sure, it can be used on the drag strip, but the burnouts aren't part of the competition. Unless that driver REALLY screwed up.
I believe that the original post was about the RED smoke tires that Kumho came out with. These new ones are BLUE, AND for some crackhead ass reason infused with lavender/rosemary. Personally, i like the smell of burned rubber.
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Jaymez 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
I've seen tires that have a color strip in the tread. Supposedly, when you do a burn out with 'em you'll leave a little colored patch on the pavement with the rest of the rubber. I don't know about you, but, when I light 'em up, my drivetires tend to drift side to side a bit, thus I'd expect the color to be covered.
This is just stupid. Of all the things that money and R & D can be put into, why this? Granted, the counter question is why not, but still. Of course, that's why we have spinners, in car TVs, Navi systems, and other useless junk.
You want blue smoke? Save some money and burn some oil. I always thought tire smoke had a blue tint to it anyway.
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Moxie 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Actually this is news.
Previously the tires were not going to be available for individual purchase, they were being made in limited quantities for Kumho sponsored Drift Teams.
Due to a SCCA Formula Drift rule change that requires a minimum production run of 2500 for tires to be eligible for competition, you know have these tires seeing commercial sale.
So, the tires are only out for homologation.
If you don't understand the need, then you don't understand drifting. It's a subjectively judged sport, so colored smoke would give you an edge. But once again, if you don't "get" that, you don't "get" drifting.
As for the scented smoke... not my cup of tea, but you should at least acknowledge the technology. It is impressive, if not slightly goofy.
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Rene Curry 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Here is how to do it on the cheap...
Take a windshield washer bottle & pump. Fasten a fanned sprayer nozzle to point at the tires, electric push button, & voila! Hey, add your favorite cologne too!
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