OEM Hankook Tires, Like or Dislike

[ObsceneJesster]

I think a big part of it are all the nanny sensors keeping us from playing in the snow.

Looks like Sand Mode and Turning off Traction control lets you play a little bit. Although I got to say. I'd rather not get stuck in the snow than to be able to play in the snow.

 

[MikeFreas]

Discount tire recommends a TPMS kit when you buy new tires. I always buy new stems also so it seems to make sense to get this as well. Only cost 6 bucks per tire which is king of a rip considering it's only a few o rings.

Where does everyone get their tires from?

 

[peterk9]

Discount tire recommends a TPMS kit when you buy new tires. I always buy new stems also so it seems to make sense to get this as well. Only cost 6 bucks per tire which is king of a rip considering it's only a few o rings.

Where does everyone get their tires from?

I've bought my 2 sets of Winters from my dealer. I would have bought the Yokohamas there as well for the 2011 Limited but they didn't want to take the brand new OEM Hankooks back so I found a tire shop that gave me $80 each for them on a set of Yoko Parada Spec-X all-seasons the same day I picked up the Explorer.

Peter

 

[lexrid]

We ended up getting 54,000 miles out of the OEM Hankooks. Ended up putting a new set of Hankooks on it this week.

 

[burtman]

I have a 2015 LIMITED Explorer and live in Buffalo NY with lots of snow. I was very nervous also when I read what TireRack said about the OEM 20" tires that came on my Explorer. So far I have 6500 on this vehicle and have gone in deep snow with no problem. I too was thinking about changing out the tires with the dealership before driving off the lot. But after learning how little I would get for the tires I decided to give the OEM tires a try. Glade I did......

 

[ObsceneJesster]

I have a 2015 LIMITED Explorer and live in Buffalo NY with lots of snow. I was very nervous also when I read what TireRack said about the OEM 20" tires that came on my Explorer. So far I have 6500 on this vehicle and have gone in deep snow with no problem. I too was thinking about changing out the tires with the dealership before driving off the lot. But after learning how little I would get for the tires I decided to give the OEM tires a try. Glade I did......

Nice. Buffalo NY is no joke when it comes to snow.

 

[peterk9]

Snow is only one issue with all season tires. When the temperature drops below 44 F they tend to get stiffer and begin to lose their optimum grip. On cold bare pavement they won't have the grip or safety that a dedicated Winter tire provides. That is something many people don't think about. There's a reason most insurance companies provide premium discounts for the use of 4 Winter tires.

Peter

 

[ObsceneJesster]

It can get pretty cold in Maryland every now and then with temps in the single digits a couple times or a week or so over the winter. I've been driving for 18 years here and I can not recall a single issue while driving on cold bare pavement with any of the multiple tires I've owned. Maybe you'll only notice a difference in performance if you really try pushing it. I just can't see "non winter" tire becoming unsafe while cruising down the road at 55mph.

 

[peterk9]

There are still quite a few people who don't use dedicated Winter tires and probably the majority have not had any issues. In 50+ years of driving, I only began using 4 Winter tires in 2001 when I got my first 4WD vehicle, a Toyota Highlander and have used them ever since. The advantages of Winter tires are better traction in snow, ice, slush and cold bare roads due to their construction. That alone makes them safer than so called all-seasons. From a safety aspect, Winter tires will provide a decreased stopping distance in snow and on bare roads especially in 'panic' situations. While 'all-season' may provide a reasonable amount of grip, there is no question that the rubber stiffens as the temperature drops and having to make a quick adjustment or unexpected stop will show their weakness. In the province of Quebec Winter tires are mandatory from December 15 to March 15. I did a quick look around the parking lot of a local grocery store the other day and I'd guess that more than 80% had Winter tires. More info;
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/repair/can-all-season-tires-really-handle-the-snow

Peter

 

[ObsceneJesster]

Anyone know about "All Weather" tires? From what I've read they seem to be between All Season and Winter tires in terms of performance.

If so, they'd probably be a good choice for someone who lives in areas that get a foot of snow on average per year.

 

[peterk9]

From what I've read, they are a very good alternative to swapping all-season and Winter tires. I don't have any experience with them but always wonder if there may be a trade off between the two types. It seems that this type of tire is becoming more popular. Seems like a less expensive option compared to buying 2 sets of wheels and tires.

http://www.wheels.ca/guides/all-weather-tires-are-not-the-same-as-all-season-and-heres-why/

http://www.kaltire.com/all-weather-tires/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq8EyJOjoRY

Peter

 

[LMC13]

I'm not very happy with the performance of the Hankooks on my 2014 XSport in the snow. And we're getting a ton of it in New England this year. They seem to slip super easy. The tread pattern I see in the snow looks like there's almost no cross tread. Just 4 straight channels, which really surprises me. I'm not sure how much of this is the tires versus the performance of the vehicle in Snow Mode. I had Nitto Crossteks on my AWD Pacifica and they were unstoppable in the winter. I have to say I felt way more secure on snow with those tires on the Pacifica than I do in my XSport with the Hankooks. I'm on the verge of changing out the tires for Crossteks since NTB is having a 2 for 1 sale right now. Any one else as disappointed in the performance of the Hankooks on snow? Is it just the vehicle?

 

[barrysvt]

I think it's more of a function of the larger 20's on the Xsport than the tire.
Most people here that swap out to dedicated snows also downsize to 18's or even 17's for the winter. My 2012 Limited with the same tires did not have as much trouble in the deep snow as my 2014 Xsport seems to have.

 

[Tony407]

The diameter of the wheel shouldn't affect snow performance. The width will though.

Tony

 

[LMC13]

The diameter will affect how much distance the tire will travel for the same rotation of the axle. The circumference is 2piR, so going from a 20" to 17" while still using 255/50 tires will reduce the travel distance from 94" to 84" for one axle rotation. Net effect is the tire doesn't spin as much for the same output of the engine. Therefore I can see why it seems like it helps grip better. Basically I think it's de-tuning the performance of the drive train.

 

[Roush427r]

I had nothing but trouble with the hankooks, on my 2013 limited it always had a slight vibration and the road noise is horrible i put up up with them for 30k and decided to get rid of them, got toyos open country ht's and they were quiet and the explorer rode so much better. Well I traded my 2013 for 2015 sport and guess what... Same problem but this time to the point that I have apent a total of 20hrs and 3 different dealers to finally get that my tires are bad/defective, but FORD will not replace them because is a wearable item not covered by the warranty even though it had the issue since day 1, the general manager offered me a service package valued at $500.00 for oil services and tire rotations and I get to get stock with the defective tires.

 

[2TimingTom]

I hadn't heard of Hankook tires that came on it so I thought I better get educated on them.

You preface your review by admitting that you nothing about tires. Hankook is a well known, established tire manufacturer. By admitting this, you let the readers know that they can basically ignore the rest of your "review".

I went to one of the most thorough tire websites out there, Tirerack.com (which I hadn't even seen before this).

Here you back up your claim of ignorance just in case the reader was blacked out a few short sentences prior.

Well, it has 270 reviews on this specific tire with a combined rating of 4.89 out of 10! That's right, not even half way to a minimally acceptable tire.

From my casual observations, people like to modify and customize their cars. Therefore they like to crap all over anything OE that can be changed, especially the tires. No matter what the vehicle.

The tire has a "SL" (standard load) for load range and it's placed a vehicle built with plenty of HP and torque and a "tow pkg". Also, it's a "passenger" classified tire on a "Sport" vehicle.

You're jumping to some awfully advanced conclusions for someone who is just beginning their tire education. You don't think that a couple people that are smarter than you have at least halfway evaluated the tires and their effect on chassis dynamics? I realize that cars aren't ultimately designed by engineers, they are designed by accountants but those accountants do take some of what the engineers have to say into account.

 

[pup5581]

Based on the 1 rain storm we have had, the noise and the comfort/flat spotting... I can't wait to dump this tire sometime this summer!

 

[Tony407]

(This is addressed to no one in particular.)

I would bet more than a few people wouldn't be able to identify what tires they were riding on if they weren't allowed to look first. This is one of the reasons I take Tirerack's reviews with a (very large) grain of salt. Show me some "blind" test results for the professional tire reviewers too. That would be interesting.

Tony

 

[GSX-WE4]

We've had ours for a year and we live in the snow belt near SW Michigan. I can honestly say we are pleased with the performance of these OEM tires. In dry, rain or snow they have performed well for us. We went on a trip to Florida a month ago and pon the way home got caught in those big southeastern US snowstorms. We drove in the snow for 600 miles and were impressed with the Sport's and tires performance.