The ridiculous name aside, has anyone put these on their 8 (or other car) yet?

C&D gave it the #2 spot in a recent summer tire comparo test and TireRack.com is carrying them now for $130 a tire with a $50 rebate on 4. At $130, the Hankook is inhabiting the lower end pricing for tires for the 8.

Also a well-respected German auto publication gave these Hankooks high marks in a comparison test.

Not to say that low end = bad. The Kumho Ecsta SPT and General Exclaim UHP are all below $130 and are excellent tires, esp. for value.

Also - just saw TireRack redid their Website - kudos to them for making it easier to narrow down tires after initial results.

 

not bad at all, i would get them

 

Too bad I didn't have an extra $500 bucks lying around - I'd give them a go as well.

 

I bought a set of these about 2 months ago just after the C&D article appeared. I got them from Tire Rack with a set of OZ wheels that were on sale at the time. So far, I have probably about 1200 miles on them. If you're looking at these for daily use, I have found them to be extremely quiet, and the grip seems to be good as well. I can't report on rain performance as I seem to have avoided all the major storms while driving with these so far. Very comfortable ride. Much softer feel than the original the OEM tires, and softer than the all-season GY Eagle F1's that I took off. My mileage has improved noticeably but that could be due to a recent reflash and new plugs at the

Just yesterday I spent the day at a solo driving instructional course with them and my sense was that they were more than grippy enough, but not as communicative as they could be. Their braking performance is fabulous, which is what I've found on the road as well. They break away very smoothly. The tires seem to have stood up well to all the runs we made and my highly novice driving technique.

I would definitely recommend them. I feel that they were a great value for the price.

 

^ Thanks for the detailed report.

 

Anyone else with opinions? For my next set, I'm leaning toward these or possibly Bridgestone RE760s.

 

Thought I'd kick this one back up.

 

Had them for 6k miles so far. Wearing moderately well, handle wonderfully. They grip well, are quiet, and very predictable. The corners don't feel soft at all, the response time is VERY good, and I think I'll stick with them for my next set again! I had compared them to the 760's too, and am glad I went with the VENTUS... if anything they're lighter than the 760's, and less expensive.

They're definitely a great tire so far.

 

I may go with these for my next so also. Finally dropping the stock tires

 

Well if you got the Bridgestone stock tires, all the more reason to get rid of them.

Thanks for the updates.

 

Just bought these tires. Should have them installed by Thursday before I head out of town with them. I purchased them at discount tire and saved $42 with a tire rack price match and Hankook has a $50 mail in rebate. The $92 saving will pay for a few tanks of gas on my road trip There is some really nice twisty mountain roads on my trip so I should be able to provide a decent review.

 

Sweet pdxhak thanks for bringing this thread up. I actually purchased these tires last month and had them put on. I completely forgot about this thread haha.


My opinion on the tire.

Their pretty good, much different than the re040s. I havent had a chance to do much twisty roads but I did a little only around 65-70 F. I need it a little hotter to really tell.

But here are my points of these tires.

- Soft sidewalls
- predicatable sliding, but very noticeable at 35psi
(I recommend going to at least 38psi the handleing greatly increases)
- comfortable highway and public road driving
- Pretty good wet traction
- Probably can only last 2 track days.

 

I currently have KDW2s which are good in the dry and wet and have soft sidewalls. But they are loud as hell. I dropped down a size so I'm hoping that helps with sidewall flex. And they are quiet

 

Yes the hankooks are very quiet, I love it.

I went with 245/40/18

What did you order?

 

245/35/19. I currently have 255/35/19.

 

My road trip is 1800 miles round trip so they will get plenty of use the first week

 

nice, I'm doing cross country road trip in sept for sevenstock. LOL

 

Just bought a set for my R3. I'll keep ya'll posted on their progress. I've done my homework, and for what these tires are capable of doing...and the price. They have to be one of the best tires for the money out there. Especially for '8' drivers.
See ya out there fellow Rotorheads!!!
-A Texas Wankelhead @ Fort Hood.
[2010 RX-8R3 MICA BLUE]

ZOOM-ZOOM!!

 

Have them and they are nice tires. Good grip, smooth ride but treadlife was not what I had hoped for. Probably could've rotated a little more. I drive in the city for the most part and take every turn about as fast as I can without annoying other drivers or getting pulled so it's probably all my fault. Thinking about buying these again to be honest.

 

Gunna necro here for a bit. I just dropped my rx8 off to get these mounted. 265 35r18s. on 9" WedsSport Sa-70s. First autocross for my region is tomorrow. hopefully ill get them heat cycled at least once before racing tomorrow. Will report more then.

 

Resurrected from the dead, love it

 

They are not a bad tire. Autocross should be OK. You have less to worry about on heat cycles and more about getting the mold release off. I would be careful on the track though. IIRC, they are a 280 tread wear. That zone is prone to chunking. I have a picture someplace of 4 of them chunked at a track weekend. Autocross is not going to get them that hot though.

Should be fine. Remember to turn the car, then apply power. Pushing = Slow.

 

Not able to autocross today. Wasn't able to get all of the prep work done. But, my initial street driving perception of the tire is. They do not feel as planted as the worn out 245 40 18 bfg rivals I had on before. Even with being wider. Steering feel is greatly diminished. I was hoping the tires would inspire more confidence in the turns than they do. Makes sense because they're not autocross tires like the rivals are. But I was expecting more out of them. That being said, there's not a lot of road noise, they still grip the ground rather well. And are a softer more complaint ride than the rivals were. I have not driven them to the limit. Not an easy or smart thing to do on the street. It's also been rainy and cold As well. That could have a bit to do with it

 

I still have never paid a high price for a tire, since I got a set for $400.

I really liked them at first,and they needed up to 45 hot psi when new.

As they aged I noticed the softness went away, and I needed only 40 psi hot.

However, after about 4 or 5 years they are about gone at only 13k miles.

I have Pirelli P7 summer performance tires on a 2 year old BMW X1 s28i with 13k miles, and they are half worn with better traction.

I always start with a tire that's good in the rain, since it's also a street tire.

My next step up was going to be Continental DW, but I prefer Michelin Pilot Super Sport which tests better, and lasts longer for about same per mile cost.

 

Um,

The V12 is not a competitor for the Rival. Rival is 200 or treadwear summer tire, the V12 is a 280+ treadwear more general use tire. You will see the difference when you hit a big puddle. The Rival, at least mine, were not real fond of puddles. Great track tire, great dry tire, but will hydroplane because really no grooves. They will last a LOT longer on the street than the Rivals though.

Time for 2 sets...