15951

Longest tire name ever...

Anyway, after 14k miles on my stock Dunlops, it was time to replace them. The outside edges of both front tires were trashed, and the rears only had a few mm's of tread left before death. I did quite a bit of research on replacement tires, with my criteria being that I wanted tires in the $150 range that were aggressive but QUIET. The Dunlops became quite loud as time wore on, and I wanted to see an improvement in that regard with the replacement tires.

I found the subject tires by reading about them in a recent Car & Driver comparison test, in which they bested the benchmark PS2 in many categories and came in 2nd to (coincidentally) a Dunlop tire. What caught my eye was that the Hankook's not only finished near the top of the pack in most tests, but also did great in the wet, and were rated 5/5 for noise levels.

I paid $126 for the fronts, and $157 for the rears, not including the $50 rebate I need to mail in. Counting the rebate, that's $516 for highly rated performance tires - not too shabby. They're Y rated - as if I'll ever see speeds that high - and have a treadwear of 280, which is comparable with stock.

Subjective: It's tough to compare worn-out tires to brand new tires, but I don't think the Dunlops were ever this quiet. I couldn't believe how quiet and smooth the car felt on the way home, and these tires seem to absorb road imperfections pretty well. I didn't notice the tramlining that the Dunlops frequently exhibited. On the negative side, even though the load index is higher on these than the Dunlops, they feel softer in cornering. They're sure-footed, but do not feel as sharp as the stock Dunlops.

All in all, a positive experience so far. I would recommend these for a reasonably priced replacement tire that will give you 95% of the experience of a PS2 at less than half the price. With a tread life of 15-20k miles, I'll take all the help I can get...

projectdna

iTrader: (56)

sounds good. i think i'll be going w/ a set of those when my fronts are due for new tires.

windex

iTrader: (1)

I currently have these tires on my car and do quite a bit of spirited driving and I have NO complaints I would honestly say they are the best bang for your buck

And yes the name is ridiculously long

pchan0

iTrader: (5)

I was on 1010tires.com and these are priced at 285CDN for a 235/35/19. Which site give you that low price?

MotoX

iTrader: (2)

I have this in 19s about four months and no complain.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

tirerack.com has em in that size for $158 US each

(original poster paid a touch less since he's not running 19s)

these (in OEM size) are the exact tires I'm buying once my originals wear out, based both on the C&D article and the numerous positive remarks I've seen on em here and elsewhere

15951

I bought them at a local shop. Tire Rack and others would have been more expensive with shipping, and this store was able to get them within a day (even though they don't normally sell Hankooks).

If they're within $12/tire or so of the online stores, it's a wash after shipping.

allst4r

iTrader: (7)

damn should of gottten these instead of generals hahaha

15951

Update: I've had a chance to drive on different road surfaces now, and can definitely say that these tires are more quiet than the stop Dunlops. I've had some vibration at high speeds, but I think the wheel balance just needs to be redone.

I hate getting wheels balanced - it seems like it's almost never done as well as the factory does it when the car is new.

kbkura

I have these tires too... I got them on with the F-sport wheels. 235-35-19 F & 275-30-19 R. I love how they look and how grippy they are (even in the rain - important here in N.O.). However, I have to disagree about the sound level... I would say they are significantly louder than the stock tires. There may be an increase in sound because of the wider tires, but I doubt that is very significant. My friends, family, and I can all say that we feel it is louder. Nonetheless, an awesome performance tire for a decent price.

MiniCobra1

I have these on my 370z, got about 900 miles on them so far, really impressed with them for the price. I'd say they are about 95% of what the Bridgestone REO50's that came on it stock. Pretty low noise, great cornering and braking, and decent launch.

thechosun

iTrader: (3)

Ive got these tires on my rears,

in terms of performance they are great, takes a bit to break them in before you get the best grip. my interior is kind of gutted right now so i cant compare road noise but they are at least the same as the dunlops, and nicely priced.

MY ONLY GRIPE:
other tires, michelin ps2's dunlop's (stockies) etc have a more streamlined profile, these kind of bubble out and make the tire look a lil fat on the sidewall. i dont like it at all. but, they were cheaper and im not that wealthy so i went with them. if you really care about the aggressive look of your tires, these might be a deal breaker, they almost were for me.

other than that, great tires.

RaysIS350

After 30k miles on my OEM Dunlops it was time to look for replacements. I purchased the Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's all around in 18's today.

I have to say, I immediately noticed how much QUIETER these were! The Dunlops were NEVER this quiet.

They feel very smooth on the road, like the OP, they almost feel like they are absorbing the road imperfections.

Had the car up to 85 on the freeway - and no issues at all - they were very smooth and vibration free.

I would definately recommend these tires to anyone looking for replacements. I'm very pleased with these Hankooks and they should get better wear than my originals, and the Dunlops gave me 30k miles.

Phiber

Are the Hankook directional or symmetric?

RaysIS350

They are directional.