OEM Hankook Tires, Like or Dislike

Car 54 · August 26, 2011

I think I want to replace my Sony (Japanese) radio with a fully American Ford (mytouch) solution...oh wait. =\

Bill #5 Explorer · August 26, 2011

ExploGoldRob said:
from personal experience, the only thing worse than Hankook tires, are the cheap Kumho's... as soon as I can, I'm replacing these garbage tires with Goodyears..

LOL!!

The Hankooks on my Limited have been great!

And the Kumho's on my Porsche Turbo have been excellent. But they do wear fast.....only get about 8,000 miles on the rears......or one weekend of track use. Price of admission.

In my last 280,000 miles of Explorer driving (on my 4th Explorer in 8 years) the WORST replacement tire I had was a Goodyear. Forget the model. Very expensive.

Car 54 · August 26, 2011

Bill, you track your car too!?

Are you running the Kumho XS?

My German car on Japanese tires (R888)

peterk9 · August 26, 2011

DominicanX said:
Also could we not bash the entire product line.

As one who dumped the H426 the day I picked up my Explorer, I agree that not all Hankooks should be judged by some of the negative reviews on the OEM Hankook. Looking at 1010tires.com, customer reviews on the whole line of Hankook tires show a rating from a low of 3.3 to a high of 4.4 out of 5. As is the case with many new vehicle tires, the OEM are not the best in the product line.

Bill #5 Explorer · August 26, 2011

Car 54 said:
Bill, you track your car too!?

Are you running the Kumho XS?

My German car on Japanese tires (R888)

I've done a few DE's to improve my driving skills and learn the 993TT's potential in a safe enviroment. The Kumhos I'm running are the Kumho Ecsta SPT's. 235/40/18 front and 295/30/18 rears. Road America is my favorite track. I'll be there Labor Day weekend. I do not track my Boxster S and run Michellin PS2's on her.

Car 54 · August 26, 2011

Nice! I'm one of those nuts in the right seat at DE's and also participate in Lemons/Chumpcar. I've never been to Road America. Hopefully some day!

Bill #5 Explorer · August 26, 2011

Car 54 said:
Nice! I'm one of those nuts in the right seat at DE's and also participate in Lemons/Chumpcar. I've never been to Road America. Hopefully some day!

Road America is an awesome venue. One of the Top 4-5 in the USA for sure!

I was at the Lemons event at Gingerman just a few weeks ago helping a team/friend. They run an old 944. May go again at the Joliet Autobahn early Fall.

dbrook1 · August 26, 2011

wildcatman said:
Most people don't know this but Goodyear will replace new car tires with the same size Goodyear's if the vehicle has less than 500 miles on it. All you have to do is call one of their stores and ask about the new car tire exchange program. I am getting mine replaced tomorrow and all I have to pay for is mounting and balancing.

wildcatman,
I'm wondering where you got this info. I called 3 Goodyear stores today (actual Goodyear stores, not tire superstores/discount centers). I spoke to 1 salesperson, 1 salesperson that checked with his manager, and 1 manager and none of them knew what I was talking about. Thanks for any light you can shed.

wildcatman · August 27, 2011

dbrook1 said:
wildcatman,
I'm wondering where you got this info. I called 3 Goodyear stores today (actual Goodyear stores, not tire superstores/discount centers). I spoke to 1 salesperson, 1 salesperson that checked with his manager, and 1 manager and none of them knew what I was talking about. Thanks for any light you can shed.

Well, I don't really know if this is something other Goodyear stores do around the country. The one in my city has been doing this for years and I called them last week to see if they still traded out new tires and they said yes. Got mine done yesterday. And I'm not an employee of Goodyear or anything. I asked the salesman about it and he said it's just a loyalty thing Goodyear does. He says that Goodyear reimburses the store for the tires and then they get to sell the Hankooks, usually to a dealership.

I paid $76 for the whole thing after taxes, which included mounting, balancing and $2 per tire for the TPMS.

Loganfilm · August 28, 2011

Did they give you the high-end Eagle GT's?

ksav8r · February 24, 2013

Optima H426 Tires - No traction in snow?

I had my first real snow experience in my 2011 Explorer this past week and it was a disaster. After entering a parking lot I got stuck. 3 hours later I had dug out enough to get out after getting stuck multiple times in the lot. While this was going on, dozens of vehicles, all makes and models i (2 wheel drives, 4 wheel drives, front and rear wheel drives) were coming and going in the same snow depth with not a single one of them getting stuck. This happened 3 more times after leaving the lot trying to get home. The tires just spin and can't get any traction (my tire pressure was correct).
Are the Optima H426 tires that came with the 2011 Explorers truly an all weather tire or is that just bull? Have others here had this experience with them? I will not drive in the snow again with these tires. I guess I'll need to buy new ones after only 12,000 miles and drive my wife's Honda Accord until then when it snows.

Paul

swshawaii · February 24, 2013

You're not alone.

http://www.tirerack.com/survey/Surv...timo+H426&fromTireDetail=true&tirePageLocQty=

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Optimo+H426#

peterk9 · February 24, 2013

ksav8r said:
I had my first real snow experience in my 2011 Explorer this past week and it was a disaster. After entering a parking lot I got stuck. 3 hours later I had dug out enough to get out after getting stuck multiple times in the lot. While this was going on, dozens of vehicles, all makes and models i (2 wheel drives, 4 wheel drives, front and rear wheel drives) were coming and going in the same snow depth with not a single one of them getting stuck. This happened 3 more times after leaving the lot trying to get home. The tires just spin and can't get any traction (my tire pressure was correct).
Are the Optima H426 tires that came with the 2011 Explorers truly an all weather tire or is that just bull? Have others here had this experience with them? I will not drive in the snow again with these tires. I guess I'll need to buy new ones after only 12,000 miles and drive my wife's Honda Accord until then when it snows.

Paul

Welcome to the Forum ksav8r.:wavey:
I am sure you will get some various opinions on this subject. I traded in my Hankooks for Yokohama Parada Spec-X tires as soon as I left the dealership because they had a more aggressive tread.
The main reason was that I picked it up in March and I was unsure of what the weather was going to be like. We have had some good snow storms in that month before. I did some checking on Hankooks in general and the reviews for Winter driving were not very good.
So called all-season (really are 3 season) tires are not designed for Winter driving regardless of whether you get snow or not. The Hankooks like all non Winter tires start to lose grip at 43 degrees F on bare pavement.
Then in the Fall I bought dedicated Winter tires and mounted them on the Explorer Base model 17" steel wheels and run them in place of my 20" wheels from the end of October to the end of March.

It would also be helpful if you show which model you have in your vehicle specs. That way it will show in the left margin where your forum name is and it would allow members to give the correct info on any questions/concerns you have.
Good luck.

Peter

blwnsmoke · February 24, 2013

I live in NHand have had zero problems driving in the snow as well as my wife who is the primary driver of the Ex. We live in the woods and are usually one of the last streets plowed. They are not as good as winter tires but again, have had no issues driving in 4-5 inches of unplowed snow.

ksav8r · February 24, 2013

swshawaii said:
You're not alone.

http://www.tirerack.com/survey/Surv...timo+H426&fromTireDetail=true&tirePageLocQty=

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Optimo+H426#

Thanks for the links. I wish I had found them before this snow came

ksav8r · February 24, 2013

peterk9 said:
Welcome to the Forum ksav8r.:wavey:
I am sure you will get some various opinions on this subject. I traded in my Hankooks for Yokohama Parada Spec-X tires as soon as I left the dealership because they had a more aggressive tread.
The main reason was that I picked it up in March and I was unsure of what the weather was going to be like. We have had some good snow storms in that month before. I did some checking on Hankooks in general and the reviews for Winter driving were not very good.
So called all-season (really are 3 season) tires are not designed for Winter driving regardless of whether you get snow or not. The Hankooks like all non Winter tires start to lose grip at 43 degrees F on bare pavement.
Then in the Fall I bought dedicated Winter tires and mounted them on the Explorer Base model 17" steel wheels and run them in place of my 20" wheels from the end of October to the end of March.

It would also be helpful if you show which model you have in your vehicle specs. That way it will show in the left margin where your forum name is and it would allow members to give the correct info on any questions/concerns you have.
Good luck.

Peter

Thanks Peter, I'll probably start looking for other tires. Unfortunately we have another storm coming tomorrow

This is my 3rd Explorer and I had never had problems in snow with the previous models. I bought this one in 2011 but we had a nonexistent winter last year fortunately. My previous 2 were 4WD but I hardly ever used it so went with 2WD this time. Not sure how much 4WD would have made a difference in this case given the total lack of traction.
I updated the model but haven't seen where to enter all the specs. I will look around some more.

Paul

ksav8r · February 24, 2013

blwnsmoke said:
I live in NHand have had zero problems driving in the snow as well as my wife who is the primary driver of the Ex. We live in the woods and are usually one of the last streets plowed. They are not as good as winter tires but again, have had no issues driving in 4-5 inches of unplowed snow.

Hello, I'm glad they're working out for you, wish they would for me

. One spot trying to get home was at an intersection that had been plowed, it was very slightly uphill with maybe 2 inches of new snow (no ice). Just set there spinning when the light turned green. I finally had to back up to flatter ground about 50 feet, time the light and accelerate hard to make it through the intersection. Again all other vehicles around me here were not having a problem.

swshawaii · February 24, 2013

ksav8r said:
I updated the model but haven't seen where to enter all the specs. I will look around some more.

Look no further. Scroll down to "thread display options". :thumbsup:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/profile.php?do=editoptions

Smartas · February 25, 2013

ksav8r said:
Hello, I'm glad they're working out for you, wish they would for me . One spot trying to get home was at an intersection that had been plowed, it was very slightly uphill with maybe 2 inches of new snow (no ice). Just set there spinning when the light turned green. I finally had to back up to flatter ground about 50 feet, time the light and accelerate hard to make it through the intersection. Again all other vehicles around me here were not having a problem.

We have owned our 2013 XLT for about two weeks...
I live in south Denver and the last two snow storms I have skeptically taken the Explorer out to test the tires performance. I have never owned Hankook and still don't trust them but, in their defense I have had zero issues with their snow traction and stability. Case and point we live on top of a hill with 12% incline and we were hammered with 16" of wet spring snow today. The explorer has performed as well as any of the previous German branded cars with expensive rubber shoes.
As stated I will replace these tires at the first hint of poor performance but, so far no issues...

SHOinSUV · February 25, 2013

I had this concern when I first bought my Ex Sport. I immediately contacted the service manager at my dealership to get the Yokos that Peter is running. You won't believe it, he talked me out of them! He asked me to give the Hankooks a try before I spent money on different tires. Now that I have driven in some light and deep snow in Northeast Ohio, I can tell you that they aren't the worst tires I have had, but they also aren't the best. I would say that the TireRack reviews are pretty much spot on.

To the original poster, I would highly recommend a dedicated set of snow tires, especially considering where you live. I think the Hankooks would be ok had you gotten 4wd. Unfortunately, with the 20" wheels, our options for a great all-season tire are very limited.

OEM Hankook Tires, Like or Dislike

Car 54

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Bill #5 Explorer

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Car 54

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peterk9

Bill #5 Explorer

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Car 54

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Bill #5 Explorer

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dbrook1

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wildcatman

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Loganfilm

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ksav8r

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swshawaii

peterk9

blwnsmoke

ksav8r

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ksav8r

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swshawaii

Smartas

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