holy colored smoke! Batman...

[Red Dawg]

ECSTA SPT Colored Smoke tires are KUMHO's attention-getting Track & Competition DOT tires developed for drivers who participate in organized drifting and drag racing style burnout events. KUMHO introduced colored smoke tires in May of 2005, and today's ECSTA SPT Colored Smoke tires will continue to be crowd pleasers by producing colored smoke when they are spinning and sliding.
ECSTA SPT Colored Smoke tires feature a unique dye mixed throughout their tread compound to produce the colored smoke. This special tread compound is molded into KUMHO Tire's popular ECSTA SPT's directional tread design that features large, independent shoulder blocks, four straight circumferential grooves and three solid center ribs to combine predictable handling and stability. On the inside, ECSTA SPT Colored Smoke tires feature twin steel belts reinforced by a spiral-wrapped, joint less nylon cap ply on top of rayon carcass plies to enhance durability.
The colored smoke tires feature unique sidewall branding confirming their purpose, and their tread appearance reflects the color of the smoke that will be produced. While red colored smoke tires are available in selected 15-, 16-, 17 and 18-inch rim diameter sizes, the 255/40R17 size is also available in yellow or blue.

Available Colors
Tire Size Red Yellow Blue
205/50R15 X
225/50R16 X
215/40R17 X
255/40R17 X X X
235/40R18 X


Look to ECSTA SPT Colored Smoke tires for a unique drifting and burnout performance.
_________________
Livng life one day at a time
Doggy Style

[Plex]

Interesting...I am sure this must look great while drifting..

[NarendZORCE]

Here's their other colored smoke tire: the Ecsta MX-C (that's how it looks )






Seeing Red
By Erik B. Johnson
Photography: Randy G

Have you ever been doing a sweet burnout and had the suspicion that something was missing? We have, and we discovered the answer: color. Kumho now has addressed this problem with the Ecsta MX-C, which has an added chemical compound that produces red smoke during high-temperature, um, experiments. (They've also produced a blue-smoke version, and yellow is on the way.) The idea came about as a way for drift team Enjuku Racing, sponsored by Kumho, to stand out during Formula D competitions.

The tires, which use the excellent Ecsta MX ultra-high-performance rubber as a starting point, must be offered to the public in order to be homologated for drift competition. As of this writing, there's only a single tire, just one, available for sale anywhere (255/40YR-17 at Tire Rack), but the company hints that a real production run is coming. The price is $1995, versus $144 for a run-of-the-mill Ecsta MX. We fitted two of the tires to a 2005 Pontiac GTO and did a few burnouts and donuts, with the result pictured here. We think this was the best tire test we've ever done.

Click here to see a video of the ECSTA MX-C in action:
http://www.automobilemag.com/multimedia/video/0510_pontiac_gto_kumho/

Source:
http://www.automobilemag.com/features/in_gear/0510_in_gear/
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Drags, Circuit, Solodex, Rally, Karting, the Shows, the Girls, the Car you drive...
ZORCERs done know... the speed lifestyle magazine in the Islands, ZORCE
Click to hear it >> http://www.zorce.com/fortheforums/Zorce15NEW.mp3
Download & SEE iT! >> http://www.zorce.com/fortheforums/Zorce-15.mp4
...........................................................
Oh Yeah! Feel the Rush, it's like... WOW!
May the (Mass x Acceleration)-F+Z be with you...

[NarendZORCE]

Oh jeez it gets better...

http://www.tirereview.com/default.aspx?type=wm&module=4&id=2&state=DisplayFullText&item=7662

Kumho Set to Offer 20-Series Tire

March 15, 2007
Category: North America
(Akron/Tire Review) After creating buzz with its red-smoke-emitting tire and aroma rubber, Kumho Tire USA Inc. is ready to launch another head-turner: a 20-series tire.



The prototype that Kumho Tire USA Inc. exhibited at last year�s SEMA Show is getting ready to hit the market as a special version of the company�s Ecsta SPT ultra-high performance tire.

The 20-series tire has been tested and is being prepared for production, Kumho stated. The tiremaker expects it to be available by January 2008 in a 375/20R21 size as well as a 275/30R19 version for the Dodge Viper, the Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06 and hot rods.

The 20-series SPT was developed by engineers at Kumho�s technical headquarters in Korea, led by manager D.J. Park. �This 20-series SPT will provide the emotional look that drivers want as well as the performance they demand,� said Rick Brennan, director of brand management.

�We�ve pulled out all the stops to create a product that enthusiasts want but no one else is even trying to make.�
_________________
Drags, Circuit, Solodex, Rally, Karting, the Shows, the Girls, the Car you drive...
ZORCERs done know... the speed lifestyle magazine in the Islands, ZORCE
Click to hear it >> http://www.zorce.com/fortheforums/Zorce15NEW.mp3
Download & SEE iT! >> http://www.zorce.com/fortheforums/Zorce-15.mp4
...........................................................
Oh Yeah! Feel the Rush, it's like... WOW!
May the (Mass x Acceleration)-F+Z be with you...

[MANIAC]

Well look how them ricers gonna get more happy .......

[samiirtuner]

thas not gonna mess up your rims right??
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07 NBP si sedan

[Red Dawg]

Hey
Just came from mileage mack
they have the tires in stock
205/50/15
Red Smoke
$850 ea.
_________________
Livng life one day at a time
Doggy Style

[Zandolie]

Allyuh yuh go ahead and send colored smoke signals to the blimp.....
_________________
So Free...Like a Zandolie in a Mitsubishi...

[Red Dawg]

Origin of the concept

Kumho motor sports engineers and marketing personnel were awed when they first witnessed the increasingly popular sport of drifting, where drivers are judged by how well they can control their high horse-powered, rear wheel driven vehicles as they spin the tires around comers while driving at high speeds. The tires create large volumes of smoke as they bum off through degradation of the tread rubber. The tires, as one can imagine, are worn out rather quickly in these events. Although the sport is gaining in popularity, not many drivers have the special driving skill that is needed.

More than two years ago, as engineers and sales personnel discussed the sport of drifting during a product meeting, one of the engineers half jokingly asked: "What if the tires emitted colored smoke?" The new concept was then given to the chemists in Akron to develop.

Search and discovery

when first hearing the idea, we admittedly did not take the request very seriously. The concept was outside the field of our compound development paradigm. Raw material challenges presented to tire compounders are aimed at improving grip, tread wear, rolling resistance, handling, cut-chip, ease of mixing, faster curing or cost reduction, but coloring the degradation products of rubber was not in our play book. We knew of no one who was knowledgeable on this subject. We ignored the project for a few weeks, and then initiated a Google search for colored smoke. This led to a call to a California-based special effects company. When the expert was asked if some of the special formula for smoke grenades could be added to a robber tire tread compound, he flatly told us that it would not work. They evidently would employ a type of colored smoke grenade often used by the military for signaling. These are comprised of a low temperature pyrotechnical composition mixed with one of a variety of smoke coloring dyes. When they are used, a licensed pyrotechnics user must be present.

We then turned our focus to the smoke dyes themselves, and contacted a manufacturer. The smoke dyes function by sublimation at a temperature of nearly 400[degrees] F. The resulting vapor colors the solid smoke particulates, and colors them as cooling and solidification takes place. What if we just added some smoke dye to the tread rubber? Would the spinning, skidding tire reach sufficient temperature to initiate the sublimation? Would the dye vapor be trapped in the rubber or would it diffuse through the rubber? Would enough surface rubber be burned or degraded? Would enough dye be present to color the resulting smoke particles? How could we test the concept in the lab? Another potential obstacle was that the dyes are quite expensive, nearly $30 per pound. The various colored dyes involve various chemistries and do not all sublime at the same temperature, so we asked a dye manufacturer for a sample of the dye that sublimed at the lowest temperature. It was the red dye 1-(N-methyl amino)-9,10-anthraquinone.

Lab trials
after receiving a sample of the red dye, we decided to mix some into a typical performance tread compound. At first, we added about five percent by weight. We then obtained our standard physical properties. The dye basically increased the hysteresis, resulted in a higher durometer and reduced lab abrasion by about ten percent. But how do we test for colored smoke emission? We took some cylindrical buttons used for dynamic testing and held them against our grinding wheel with firm pressure to generate smoke. As the pellets smoked, a reddish hue began to emerge from the grinding wheel! It was not intense but we were encouraged.

Tire tests

The next step was getting the approval to purchase ten pounds of red dye at $30 per pound so that we could mix some dye into a rubber compound and have some tires retreaded. We asked a retreading company to send us some of their tread rubber and decided to add the dye to the rubber on a mill at a level of 10% by weight, in the hope of intensifying the smoke color.

We took the rubber compound to a local rubber processor to have the rubber coated and slit into strips to accommodate the retreading. We noticed during the process that the slab dip turned pink. We also noticed staining of the conveying belts. This raised a red flag of concern with our future plans to produce tires in our production plants. We had the tires retreaded and then shipped back to Akron. The treads were bright red, but the red bloom could be wiped off rather easily.

We had the tires mounted on the company van, pinched off the brake lines and began to spin the tires. At this point, no one really knew what to expect. In the lab trials, we only saw a wisp of pink smoke coming off the grinding wheel, and the lab pellets wore out rather quickly. As the tires spun, we began to notice a bit of red colored smoke around the wheel wells. As the rpm increased and the tread surface got hotter, clouds of red smoke began to engulf the vehicle. Over the roar of the revved-up engine, I could hear a few cheers from the few Kumho employees who had gathered to witness the trial. Amazing, I thought. This actually works.

Later, we ordered some blue colored dye and had a few more retreads made. Our next trial included a blue smoke tire on one drive wheel and a red tire on the other side. Smoke had hardly been noticeable in grinding wheel trials on buttons containing the blue dye, but on the vehicle, an intense cloud of blue smoke billowed from the wheel well on one side, and red emanated from the other. A purple hue appeared over the vehicle as the colors merged.

Drifting debut

we purchased enough dye to build tires in Korea. Our motor sports engineer contacted a drift team (Enjuku) that competed in the Formula D circuit. After testing our special tires, they enthusiastically welcomed the opportunity to debut the Red Smoke Tire at the April 2005 Formula D Drifting event in Atlanta. The Formula D events were also aired on G4 TV.

Kumho Ride and Drive

At Kumho's Ride and Drive event in June 2005, Kumho introduced a new high performance tire, and journalists from several magazines were present. The event was kicked off by two sports cars spinning and skidding, doing donuts on the track. One sports car was equipped with both red and blue colored smoke tires. The bizarre spectacle resulted in significant free advertising for Kumho, as articles and photos were included in several web sites and magazines in the next few months.

Ford auto show

Following the June event, we took the colored smoke tire road show to Carlisle, PA, and entered the "burn-out" contest at Carlisle's Ford Auto Show event. Factory Five, which sells do-it-yourself Cobra-styled auto building kits, entered one of their custom-built Cobras, with colored smoke tires on the rear driven axle, in the "burn-out" contest. The result was more valued exposure for the Kumho brand, as the tires billowed red and blue smoke clouds. A "Cars of Carlisle" TV program airs once per year on Speed Channel, and one of their programs covered the colored smoke burn-out.

Manufacturing issues

as with many new concepts, the colored smoke tire is not without its special manufacturing issues. As the tread is processed, the dye blooms to the surface and stains the slab dip; conveyor rolls, processing equipment and the mold surfaces. This results in new housekeeping tasks that are certain to hamper productivity. Attempts to address this, including dye encapsulation, have thus far not been successful.

Physical property adjustments

Lab trials adjusting the polymer blend by increasing BR and reducing SBR resulted in recapturing the loss of tread wear, while traction is equal to the control recipe without smoke dye.

Summary

Colored smoke dyes can be added to tire treads to color the smoke generated by the high speed spinning of tires against paved road surfaces, provided that dye sublimation temperatures are reached in the tread surface. This has been accomplished by mounting tires on the rear axle on rear wheel drive vehicles. The color intensity is proportional to the amount of dye that is added and the temperatures that are generated. Physical properties will be affected, resulting in faster tread wear and higher tread compound hysteresis, but traction may be enhanced. Housekeeping issues in the manufacturing plant have hampered widespread production of these tires, due to color staining of processing equipment, molds, etc. Other techniques are being explored.

Nevertheless, the colored smoke tire has been a successful marketing item for Kumho, and has the potential of being a high profitability product, assuming that housekeeping issues during manufacturing can be addressed.

This article is based on a paper presented at a meeting of the Rubber Division, ACS.
_________________
Livng life one day at a time
Doggy Style