64
/ 100
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
72/100
11 owner reviews
Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.
Head-to-head
Updated September 2026
Kumho Ecsta V720 vs Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 — Compared (September 2026)
Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.
VS
85
/ 100
Objective (60%)
71/100
8 professional tests
User signal (40%)
94/100
2,005 owner reviews
Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.
VerdictWinner: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 — better treadwear, wet and comfort. Pick the Kumho Ecsta V720 if dry matters most to you.
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Category breakdown
6 categories, side by side
Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.
Dry
Score (0–100)
Ecsta V720 leads by 7
Why this score
| Source | Ecsta V720 | Pilot Sport Cup 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 78 |
| Tire Rack owners | – | 94 |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 93 | 94 |
Wet
Score (0–100)
Pilot Sport Cup 2 leads by 29
Why this score
| Source | Ecsta V720 | Pilot Sport Cup 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 77 |
| Tire Rack owners | – | 55 |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 54 | 60 |
Comfort
Score (0–100)
Pilot Sport Cup 2 leads by 22
Why this score
| Source | Ecsta V720 | Pilot Sport Cup 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 50 |
| Tire Rack owners | – | 76 |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 45 | 74 |
Noise
Score (0–100)
Why this score
| Source | Ecsta V720 | Pilot Sport Cup 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Professional tests (TWG score) | – | 56 |
Treadwear
Score (0–100)
Pilot Sport Cup 2 leads by 40
Why this score
| Source | Ecsta V720 | Pilot Sport Cup 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Tire Rack owners | – | 65 |
| Tyre Reviews owners | 50 | 59 |
Handling
Score (0–100)
Pilot Sport Cup 2 leads by 2
Why this score
| Source | Ecsta V720 | Pilot Sport Cup 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Tyre Reviews owners | 94 | 93 |
Scores at a glance
| Category | Kumho Ecsta V720 | Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Relative Score | 64 | 85 |
| Dry | 93 | 86 |
| Wet | 54 | 83 |
| Comfort | 45 | 67 |
| Noise | – | 70 |
| Treadwear | 50 | 90 |
| Handling | 94 | 96 |
Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.
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Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.
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Recomputed
Headline score
64
/ 100
Tire A
85
/ 100
Tire B
Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.
From owners
Pros, cons & observations
Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.
The Kumho Ecsta V720 is widely regarded as a high-value extreme performance tire that excels in dry-weather traction and steering feedback. While users appreciate its competitive pricing and capability for spirited street or casual track use, the trade-offs include rapid tread wear and significant road noise, which may deter those seeking a refined daily driving experience.
Pros
- Exceptional dry grip and traction for high-horsepower vehicles
- Excellent price-to-performance ratio
- Precise steering feedback and firm sidewall construction
- Reliable performance for spirited street driving and casual track days
Cons
- High levels of road noise
- Rapid tread wear
- Inconsistent wet weather performance, with some reports of hydroplaning
- Lack of comfort for daily commuting
Observations
- High-horsepower rear-wheel-drive vehicles (350hp-500hp) report excellent straight-line and cornering traction.
- Lightweight vehicles (sub-1 ton) may experience more pronounced issues with wet-weather grip and road noise.
The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 is widely regarded as a premier track-focused tire that offers exceptional dry-weather grip and steering precision for high-performance vehicles. While it provides surprising levels of feedback and stability for a semi-slick, users emphasize that it is not a traditional daily driver tire, as it requires significant heat to reach optimal performance and suffers from rapid tread wear and compromised wet-weather safety.
Pros
- Exceptional dry-weather traction and cornering grip
- High levels of steering feedback and communicative handling
- Predictable and progressive breakaway characteristics at the limit
- Strong, stiff sidewalls that enhance stability during spirited driving
- Surprisingly capable on track for a street-legal tire
Cons
- Very short tread life and rapid wear
- Poor performance in cold temperatures and standing water
- Requires significant heat to reach optimal operating grip
- High price point relative to longevity
- Tendency to pick up and throw road debris due to sticky compound
Observations
- Users with high-horsepower, rear-wheel-drive sports cars (e.g., Corvette, M2, GT3) report the most significant benefits in traction, though they also experience the fastest wear.
- Drivers of lighter vehicles (e.g., Mazda MX-5) note that the tire's stiff sidewall significantly improves steering precision compared to standard performance tires.
- Some users on AWD platforms noted that the tire's performance is highly dependent on proper tire pressure management to avoid overheating during track sessions.
Specifications
Specs side by side
| Attribute | A · Kumho Ecsta V720 | B · Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Summer Extreme Performance tires | Summer Trackday and Competition tires |
| Vehicle type | Passenger Car / Crossover | Passenger Car / Crossover |
Final verdict
Which one should you actually buy?
64
/ 100
Kumho
85
/ 100
Michelin
Winner: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 — better treadwear, wet and comfort. Pick the Kumho Ecsta V720 if dry matters most to you.
Pick tire B
You want the longest tread life
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 scores 90 vs 50 on treadwear.
Pick tire B
Your priority is wet-weather safety
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 scores 83 vs 54 on wet.
Pick tire B
You want the most comfortable ride
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 scores 67 vs 45 on comfort.
Pick tire A
You want the most grip on dry roads
Kumho Ecsta V720 scores 93 vs 86 on dry.
Tire A · Kumho Ecsta V720
Tire B · Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2
More comparisons
Also compared with
Kumho Ecsta V720 also compared with
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 also compared with
How do we compare tires?
Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.
Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.