HANKOOK TIRES - UPDATE #2

[Larz]

For those who are following this thread here is the link to update #1:
http://forums.nicoclub.com/hankooks-upd ... 85713.html
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Fetucini and I just got back from our 9-day trek to the north and back. There are over 4,000 miles on the new Ventus S1 noble2 tires and here is my update:
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We drove from South Florida up to Va and Md. The trip started off in typical FL weather - 85 degrees and sunny. By the time we hit South Carolina, it was raining rather hard and things got worse from there. On the way north, we encountered snow, driving rain, temps as low as 11 degrees, high winds (40mph), and moderate traffic. This trip turned out to be a great test for the tires (and my patience,LOL).
Before I start, I need to mention that I changd the wipers to Bosch and I was staggered at their performance. Perfectly silent and magnificent at clearing the windscreen with no streaks, no marks at all. Best wipers ever!

SNOW:
These Hankooks are rated as "ultra high performance all-season" not winter tires and my car is NOT AWD. Still, they did a great job on light snow, good tracking on the motorway whilst snowing and raining, and braking was confident and controlled. I reckon the deepest was about 4 inches on side streets with a mixture of slush and snow - no issues at all whilst driving appropriate for the conditions.

ICE:
ermmm - how to put this.... Aside from spiked tires, only two hopes for rubber tires: Bob Hope and No Hope.

RAIN:
On the motorway at speeds averaging 65-75mph in drivng rain and high wind, these did as well as the Michelins I previously adored. I had no issues with loss of traction, no issues with losing grip, hydroplaning, or sliding. I could feel the wind trying to push the car and it seemed to rock about very slightly, but the tires stayed true and never lost grip.

TEMPS:
The first mile or so in teen temps, the tires felt hard, but after warming, they rode like normal.

COMFORT:
As always, aside from bridge surfaces, you could barely hear ANY road noise from the tires. In fact, Fetucini commented that she never heard wind noise in the car (because the moderate noise from the Michelins drowned out the wind, I assume). On standard black-topped motorways, near silent. On concrete motorways with tar-filled joints, barely noticeable thump-thump but no where near the level of Michelins and never enough to invade the cabin to the degree that it affected music or conversation.

WEAR:
Only 4300 miles but no measurable decrease in tread.

SPEED:
On the way home, entering FL with about 7 hours travel time left, the weather was great and the roads were not heavy with traffic. I thought it was a good time to test high speed handling and control. Fetucini disagreed. However, she soon fell alseep ... and the test began. As it happened, two high speed cars passed me, following each other. I caught up, and they let me in. I drove between a Porsche Cayenne-S and a Bently coupe at 100-110mph for about 45 minutes and the car handled like I was at 40mph. It floated along the motorway but I still could feel th tires gripping evenly and flawlessly. I credit Infiniti and Hankook for that. Since it had been hours since the last rest stop, and I was desperate for a pee, I had to fall out and the girl in the Bentley gave me a thumbs-up as she passed.
I forgot to check the MPG or the revs. The rest of the trip was mostly 75mph at about 2700rpm with 25.8mpg average.

IMPRESSIONS:
I loved the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus (now replaced by the Super Sport A/S 3 I believe). In fact I never used any other tire brand, regardless of the car I drove. I did NOT expect the hankooks to be as good.
I must say, after this trip, these are NOT 100% identical. However, handling, control, and confidence is sooooo close to the Michelins, I have to say I was still pleasantly surprised at these Hankooks and they really are a perfectly safe and reliable contender. In every category,they performed so close to the Michelins, it was absolutely staggering. The difference is no where near enough to choose Michelins over the Hankooks. In terms of road noise, the Hankooks beat the Michelins, hands down. Perhaps the best thing about Michelins is that even as the tread wears thin, they still perform near-new. No way to determine that for these Hankooks yet as they are still well under 10,000 miles of wear.

Here is the youtube vieo for the Hankook Ventus S1noble2 tire:
http://youtu.be/Rfqx3-I9q7o
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[Frog]

And of course they don't make them in 20s. Nice review thanks a lot.

[rxmclaren7]

great review!!

[TDot]

I thought it was a good time to test high speed handling and control. Fetucini disagreed. However, she soon fell alseep ... and the test began.

Too funny.

And of course they don't make them in 20s. Nice review thanks a lot.

Who told you that. All you have to do is go up 5mm on your side wall which isn't too much, and you're good. The increase will also fit nice for the wheel gap. I was actually looking to get these with my next set of rims in 20". I've been seeing the first thread title for a while now and never thought to look in and see what was being discussed, low behold its all about my future tire lol. Glad to know I was going in the right direction and they run well.

[szh]

Nice review for sure. Thanks!

Z

[stm37s]

Good write up again TDot. I know exactly what you are talking about, the Hankooks are very good, I have had a set of 265/35/22 on my Impala SS since 07 and they ride very well and still have dam good tread life, granted she only gets driven when I'm home but never the less a good tire, no wind noise and a Very smooth comfortable ride.

[Logan00]

NIce review, thanks. These are looking more and more like my next set of tires this summer.

[vasekvi]

Great review. Thank you. I had a set of Cooper Zeon RS3A on my last car and they were a marked improvement over the Kumho Ecsta ASX I had before that. I'll have to read up on these and may consider. Got my M used and it has Goodyear Eagle RSA on it right now and they seem quite noisy.

[knelson]

Goodyear Eagle RSA's aren't good tires at all. Nissan/Infiniti signed a huge contract with Goodyear in the early 2000's and then Goodyear decided to cut corners on that tire since making so many of them. In fact, that tire ruined Goodyear's reputation for me. When you go to change those, you'll notice a better tire over time... with about anything you replace them with!

Great review on the Hankooks. I was shopping a set, and am still considering. However I am looking at the Ventus V4 ES H105. Not sure how they measure up to the S1 Noble2.

[vasekvi]

Goodyear Eagle RSA's aren't good tires at all. Nissan/Infiniti signed a huge contract with Goodyear in the early 2000's and then Goodyear decided to cut corners on that tire since making so many of them. In fact, that tire ruined Goodyear's reputation for me. When you go to change those, you'll notice a better tire over time... with about anything you replace them with!

Great review on the Hankooks. I was shopping a set, and am still considering. However I am looking at the Ventus V4 ES H105. Not sure how they measure up to the S1 Noble2.

I remember getting a set of RS-A Goodyear when I got my 1995 200SX SE-R. When I got my M45 I was surprised to see them 18 years later!

[knelson]

Yeah, i don't like to put them down. I have driven a pair down to the last mile because i got them on a car, and can't see spending a bunch of money to replace them JUST because I don't like them. But truth is, they are average tires at best. AND they are moderately expensive... which is the crazy thing. I think they do that because so many people walk in to buy tires and say "replace them exactly" and they don't know there are cheaper and better tires.

[Logan00]

Larz, is there a reason you went with 255/45 instead of 245/45 which is what comes standard on our cars?

Thanks

[Larz]

Larz, is there a reason you went with 255/45 instead of 245/45 which is what comes standard on our cars?

Thanks

Yes, there is indeed a reason: pure, shallow, vanity LOL.

I wanted tires near as wide as the Mercs amd BMs on cars our size. But, I'm also glad you brought this up because I failed to report something earlier.
The extra width is just that - extra width. The sidewall height remains the same no interference with accurate info on the speedometer, no change in height of the car - and these ARE low roll resistance tires. However, I did notice one thing. Coincidence or physics (not sure which): My surface street mpg avge has always been in the mid 16's (due to idling at drawbridges, slow traffic on A1A where my house is, etc). Now I seem to averaging in high 15's - maybe 1/2 mpg less than I used to get. On long Hwy driving I see no chnage in mpg - just surface streets seem to be affected.

[psyopper]

The extra width is just that - extra width. The sidewall height remains the same no interference with accurate info on the speedometer, no change in height of the car - and these ARE low roll resistance tires. However, I did notice one thing. Coincidence or physics (not sure which): My surface street mpg avge has always been in the mid 16's (due to idling at drawbridges, slow traffic on A1A where my house is, etc). Now I seem to averaging in high 15's - maybe 1/2 mpg less than I used to get. On long Hwy driving I see no chnage in mpg - just surface streets seem to be affected.

I hate for my second post to be that guy, but I am actually that guy. Tire size sidewall or profile measurements are actually an aspect ratio of the height to the width. In laymans terms, this second number is a percentage of the width. Our stock 245/45 have a tire width of 245mm and height of 45% of 245mm, or 110mm.

Your 255/45 has a sidewall height of 115mm (45% of 255mm). The overall diameter increases by 10mm. Because of the larger circumference your car goes a little bit further than stock with a single revolution of the tire. In this case, when your speedo reads 60 mph you are actually going 61mph.

Of course this doesn't really explain the difference in your fuel economy, One would assume that you would see an increase in fuel economy, not a decrease, and it would be more pronounced in highway driving where you could be taking advantage of that small increase in final drive ratio.

[Logan00]

Yes, there is indeed a reason: pure, shallow, vanity LOL.

I wanted tires near as wide as the Mercs amd BMs on cars our size. But, I'm also glad you brought this up because I failed to report something earlier.
The extra width is just that - extra width. The sidewall height remains the same no interference with accurate info on the speedometer, no change in height of the car - and these ARE low roll resistance tires. However, I did notice one thing. Coincidence or physics (not sure which): My surface street mpg avge has always been in the mid 16's (due to idling at drawbridges, slow traffic on A1A where my house is, etc). Now I seem to averaging in high 15's - maybe 1/2 mpg less than I used to get. On long Hwy driving I see no chnage in mpg - just surface streets seem to be affected.

Thanks Larz, no problem I was just curious

I looked into them yesterday at Tire rack and they are currently $636 for a set of four plus a $60 mail in rebate. Using one of the installers they recommend I can have them installed for just around $800 after rebate, not too shabby.

I even contacted Infiniti and their price matches what I would pay before the rebate but they are a much further drive away.

Thanks again for the recommendation Larz as I have been looking for a new all season tire for a little while; I will probably get these installed in about a month or so.

[Mjkkb2]

The extra width is just that - extra width. The sidewall height remains the same no interference with accurate info on the speedometer, no change in height of the car - and these ARE low roll resistance tires. However, I did notice one thing. Coincidence or physics (not sure which): My surface street mpg avge has always been in the mid 16's (due to idling at drawbridges, slow traffic on A1A where my house is, etc). Now I seem to averaging in high 15's - maybe 1/2 mpg less than I used to get. On long Hwy driving I see no chnage in mpg - just surface streets seem to be affected.

I hate for my second post to be that guy, but I am actually that guy. Tire size sidewall or profile measurements are actually an aspect ratio of the height to the width. In laymans terms, this second number is a percentage of the width. Our stock 245/45 have a tire width of 245mm and height of 45% of 245mm, or 110mm.

Your 255/45 has a sidewall height of 115mm (45% of 255mm). The overall diameter increases by 10mm. Because of the larger circumference your car goes a little bit further than stock with a single revolution of the tire. In this case, when your speedo reads 60 mph you are actually going 61mph.

Of course this doesn't really explain the difference in your fuel economy, One would assume that you would see an increase in fuel economy, not a decrease, and it would be more pronounced in highway driving where you could be taking advantage of that small increase in final drive ratio.

Yup he's right. You now go about 1 mile plus 70FT with the same number of revolutions, or 10 more revs/mile, about 1% change. With all that said the difference is negligible. The radius difference is about 6/32". If you think about it, you get a larger variation between new tread and one at the end of its tread life for the same tire.

[Larz]

I hate for my second post to be that guy, but I am actually that guy. Tire size sidewall or profile measurements are actually an aspect ratio of the height to the width. In laymans terms, this second number is a percentage of the width. Our stock 245/45 have a tire width of 245mm and height of 45% of 245mm, or 110mm.

Your 255/45 has a sidewall height of 115mm (45% of 255mm). The overall diameter increases by 10mm. Because of the larger circumference your car goes a little bit further than stock with a single revolution of the tire. In this case, when your speedo reads 60 mph you are actually going 61mph.

Of course this doesn't really explain the difference in your fuel economy, One would assume that you would see an increase in fuel economy, not a decrease, and it would be more pronounced in highway driving where you could be taking advantage of that small increase in final drive ratio.

Not at all mate! No need to be antzy about posting factual info, ever! Thanks for explaining the aspect ratio and thanks for clearing up the diffrerence in speed. I guess the shop told me that it won't change because they either didn't know ... or didn't think the extra 5mm or extra 1 mph was worth worrying about. Maybe my decrease in MPG on surface streets is just a fluke or maybe I've been using a heavier foot these last couple of weeks. I'm getting married soon so I'll just blame the heavier foot on that, LOL.

[Larz]

Yes, there is indeed a reason: pure, shallow, vanity LOL.

I wanted tires near as wide as the Mercs amd BMs on cars our size. But, I'm also glad you brought this up because I failed to report something earlier.

Thanks Larz, no problem I was just curious

I looked into them yesterday at Tire rack and they are currently $636 for a set of four plus a $60 mail in rebate. Using one of the installers they recommend I can have them installed for just around $800 after rebate, not too shabby.

I even contacted Infiniti and their price matches what I would pay before the rebate but they are a much further drive away.

Thanks again for the recommendation Larz as I have been looking for a new all season tire for a little while; I will probably get these installed in about a month or so.

You're welcome mate! I had my set shipped to a local Tires Plus shop. I ordered them on Friday and they arrived at the shop on Tuesday - very quick! The mounting and balancing was around $100 if I remember right. The alignment was free because I previously bought their 3yr/36k mile package that provides free alignment every 5k miles and every new tire install. For slightly more than the cost of two reg alignments, you get them free for 36k miles. If you do it every 5k miles, you get 7 alignments for near the cost of just 2 !!
For my driving area the roads are 90% flat and smooth do it's not likely the alignment will be 'out' every 5k miles. BUT ... if you live in place like NY with roads that have pot holes and ruts I reckon you will benefit greatly from this package.

[Logan00]

Great info, thanks

[calidoso]

Any new info on these? Im about to order a set (245/40/19) for my new set of oem sport wheels.

[EniGmA1987]

However I am looking at the Ventus V4 ES H105. Not sure how they measure up to the S1 Noble2.

V4's have fairly significant tramlining in my opinion. I don't know if it is as bad as the RSA's since I never owned them, but too much for me.

[Larz]

Any new info on these? Im about to order a set (245/40/19) for my new set of oem sport wheels.

I'm up to about 5,500 miles now - most of that traveling from Ft Lauderdale to Key Largo and back for snorkelling / diving with the Mrs. No change in my opinions at the start of this post.

The V4 ES is classified as "ultra high per all season" just like the S1noble2. The V4 ES H105's are also listed at Tire Rack and you can "watch a test video there. Those did not fair well - "slow sterring response, lacks grip on the wet track, sluggish handling'. The V4's, like the S1noble2's, did well for noise and ride comfort.

The Ventus S1 noble2's out-performed the rest of the test group in real world 'ride', 'noise and ride comfort', 'performance-dry', steerng response", and 'handling predictability' and on the wet track it surpased the group in braking.
The V4's were #3 or #4 (out of 4 brand tested) in most categories.
The best part: You get a $60 rebate for buying a set of 4 S1noble2's right now at Tire rack. They make a 255/40/19 and they are $712 for a set of 4 after rebate. They don't list a 245/40/19 size but you can call them to see if they have it
I won't go back to 245 seris as these 255's are sooooo much better looking and I lost no handling compared to the 245's.

*** The S1nobe2's also come with the blue 'dot' for mounting. Infiniti OEM wheels also have the blue 'dot' to ensure the tire is matched precisely to the characteristics of each wheel for optimum performance and wear.

[calidoso]

Would 255 fit good on 19" OEM Sport Wheels without any issues? I also plan on getting Espelir Springs in the near future.

[EniGmA1987]

Yes they are fine.

[calidoso]

Alright awesome.

[Frog]

Well I just put 4 of these tires on my m56s
I'll keep u posted as to traction. But ride quality is good , noise is quite!

Discount tire sold them to me. I do have to say that the rim protector is basically non existent. Which worries me.

Anyone put 255/35/20. On there m. It would be just a bit wider for rim protection and .7 of an inch shorter.

[Logan00]

Going to get a set installed this Friday, ordered from Tire Rack. I will give my impressions afterwards.

[TDot]

Just placed an order for mine for my new wheels. Have to take a 1600 mile round trip plus another 200 miles of driving during the trip, so I should have a good immediate impression.
My only worry is these wheels are so new and everyone's reviews are less than 7K, I'm worried about how these will ride 15K in. I actually wanted the top rated GMax because they have good reviews 20K up relative to price, but they are directional and I'm not a fan of directional.

[Larz]

These tires are marked with "outside" on one side so they are not directional, but cannot be mounted willy nilly.
I'm probably near 10,000 miles and have noticed no changes from the day they were installed. Still no noticeable tread wear (I didn't actually measure so I don't know the exact amount). They seem to be just a wee bit louder than new, but barely noticeable and I would expect that as they wear. Handling is still great - saving me from riding up a transit bus butt the other day. The car swerved as if it was on a sling shot - out of the lane and back into it with no squealing, no loss of grip at about 35 mph.

[Frog]

An update on my hankook tires.

After 3 months of being unable to help them balanced, and I had a constant tire pull to the right no matter which way i rotated them. I returned them for michelin's cost me 850$ more Treadwear was down to 8/10 of an inch in 3000 miles

I want to make this tire work but I just couldn't keep them balanced it was annoying at 65 to 75 mph.