OEM Hankook Tires, Like or Dislike

[peterk9]

Buy two, use the "other" Hankook as a full sized spare, but check to see if a full sized tire will fit in the wheel well.

A full size tire will NOT fit the 'spare' tire well. This has been looked at before.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=378923&highlight=full+size+tire+fit+spare

Peter

 

[JEFFSMACHINE]

FYI , Americas Tire will sell You a road hazard warranty to cover factory equipped tires when You buy a new vehicle.
I hate the Hankooks on My 16 Sport, way too noisy.
They are the Ventus S1 Noble2 in 255/50 R20

I wonder if their warranty will cover spike strip damage

 

[stever40]

Hankook Tires - Flat Spots

Hey all

Quick question. Is anyone having flat spot issues with the new Hankook tires that are coming on the new Ex's.

After my Platinum sits for a few days and take it out on the highway it vibrates until the tires warm up. After that, nothing. Can drive it, let it sit at work for a few hours, drive it again and all is smooth. Only happens when it sits for 3 or more days.

 

[Kpwweb]

It's a low profile wide tire thing... Not much can be done except grin and bear it until they warm up...

 

[peterk9]

Hey all

Quick question. Is anyone having flat spot issues with the new Hankook tires that are coming on the new Ex's.

After my Platinum sits for a few days and take it out on the highway it vibrates until the tires warm up. After that, nothing. Can drive it, let it sit at work for a few hours, drive it again and all is smooth. Only happens when it sits for 3 or more days.

Unfortunately it is a normal thing with 20" + tires. The Owner's Manual used to mention that for the early models but it seems to have been removed from the Manual.

Peter

 

[Bill #5 Explorer]

Hey all

Quick question. Is anyone having flat spot issues with the new Hankook tires that are coming on the new Ex's.

After my Platinum sits for a few days and take it out on the highway it vibrates until the tires warm up. After that, nothing. Can drive it, let it sit at work for a few hours, drive it again and all is smooth. Only happens when it sits for 3 or more days.

What are your tires pressures? Should be 35 if I remember correctly. Try adding 1 PSI at a time, and look for improvement. I'm guessing your tires are low.

 

[stever40]

Unfortunately it is a normal thing with 20" + tires. The Owner's Manual used to mention that for the early models but it seems to have been removed from the Manual.

Peter

Thanks for merging this thread Peter. I did a search but resulted nothing. User issue working the search. .

I understand what you you guys are saying however I disagree a little. Previous vehicle was an F150. Came with 20's and Perellis 275/55/20. I would let the truck sit for months and no flat spots. Changed them out with Hankooks 285/55/20 and had same issue as the Ex. I also have a Kia Optima which came with 225/45/18 Hankook and had this issue. I now run 19's (235/40/19 front and 255/40/19 rear) with Perelli P7's with no such issue and being extremely low profile and wide.

I'm not saying Perelli is good however I now have 3 different Hankook experiences with the same flat spot issue.

 

[stever40]

What are your tires pressures? Should be 35 if I remember correctly. Try adding 1 PSI at a time, and look for improvement. I'm guessing your tires are low.

Hey Bill

Thanks for the response/suggestion. Tires are at 35psi. I'll see what 36psi does. Don't want to go too far and create a negative effect with the ride

 

[Sgt1411]

What are your tires pressures? Should be 35 if I remember correctly. Try adding 1 PSI at a time, and look for improvement. I'm guessing your tires are low.

I've been running mine at 40PSI without any issues.

Not too harsh, good performance, tire shoulder sits correctly on road surface.

 

[droptopron]

Stock 20" Hankooks - who else hates them?

:thumbdwn:I had my '15 Explorer Ltd AWD in the snow for the 1st time this weekend. The stock Hankooks are TERRIBLE!
I got stuck 3x with them. This is a big concern as my wife drives this car with the kids in it. When I got home I jumped on Tirerack and these tires are rated 31 out of 32 in the class, and are rated 2.8 out of 10 for snow. We all know what these trucks cost and IMO putting on a cheap Korean tire is not acceptable. I ordered new tires (car only has 10K on it) because these are that bad. I called Ford customer service and they aren't willing to work with me at all on this. I can't believe I'm the only one that hates these tires. I'm hoping Ford Customer Service sees this & reconsiders. I'd hate to think they are willing to lose a customer for life over cheap tires.

 

[tinner]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread but I had my '15 Explorer Ltd AWD in the snow for the 1st time this weekend. The stock Hancooks are TERRIBLE!
I got stuck 3x with them. This is a big concern as my wife drives this car with the kids in it. When I got home I jumped on Tirerack and these tires are rated 31 out of 32 in the class, and are rated 2.8 out of 10 for snow. We all know what these trucks cost and IMO putting on a cheap Korean tire is not acceptable. I ordered new tires (car only has 10K on it) because these are that bad. I called Ford customer service and they aren't willing to work with me at all on this. I can't believe I'm the only one that hates these tires. I'm hoping Ford Customer Service sees this & reconsiders. I'd hate to think they are willing to lose a customer for life over cheap tires.

Were you in the area that had 2ft. of snow this weekend? They are a little noisy.

 

[peterk9]

Sorry for resurrecting an old thread but I had my '15 Explorer Ltd AWD in the snow for the 1st time this weekend. The stock Hancooks are TERRIBLE!
I got stuck 3x with them. This is a big concern as my wife drives this car with the kids in it. When I got home I jumped on Tirerack and these tires are rated 31 out of 32 in the class, and are rated 2.8 out of 10 for snow. We all know what these trucks cost and IMO putting on a cheap Korean tire is not acceptable. I ordered new tires (car only has 10K on it) because these are that bad. I called Ford customer service and they aren't willing to work with me at all on this. I can't believe I'm the only one that hates these tires. I'm hoping Ford Customer Service sees this & reconsiders. I'd hate to think they are willing to lose a customer for life over cheap tires.

Welcome to the Forum.:wavey:
You are by far not the only one dissatisfied with the Hankooks. Also, they are a 3 season tire at best. For Winter you need dedicated Winter tires since they are designed to maintained their flexibility in the cold. The normal so called all-season will begin to lose optimum performance at 43 degrees F. While some all-season tires will provide acceptable grip in snow, it is on bare cold pavement that Winter tires out perform them due to substantially better grip because of a more pliable rubber compound. The industry is now coming out with All Weather tires good in Summer and Winter.
Ford does not monitor the Forum and the FordService reps are away for awhile. They also don't actually communicate with Ford people. In reality, it isn't the tire's fault or that of Ford either that you got stuck. The bottom line is that you didn't have the proper setup for the conditions. Also, if the conditions you found yourself in were anything like the TV reports indicated, even the best Winter tires may not have helped.

Peter

 

[182RG]

When I got home I jumped on Tirerack and these tires are rated 31 out of 32 in the class, and are rated 2.8 out of 10 for snow. We all know what these trucks cost and IMO putting on a cheap Korean tire is not acceptable.

Expensive American "all-season" tires are just as bad in the snow we had this weekend. Only dedicated snow tires / chains are going to be safe. "All-season" is a misnomer above a few inches of snow.

 

[droptopron]

Expensive American "all-season" tires are just as bad in the snow we had this weekend. Only dedicated snow tires / chains are going to be safe. "All-season" is a misnomer above a few inches of snow.

We were out early on Saturday before it got very bad. I know an all-season tire can only do so much but c'mon, these things are terrible and the rankings show that. They aren't highly rated in any category. Not what I expect from a car that stickers where these cars do. I got stuck where some guy in a Jetta got by with some wheel spin but he kept going.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...r=2015&autoModel=Explorer&autoModClar=Limited

 

[droptopron]

Ford does not monitor the Forum and the FordService reps are away for awhile. They also don't actually communicate with Ford people. In reality, it isn't the tire's fault or that of Ford either that you got stuck. The bottom line is that you didn't have the proper setup for the conditions. Also, if the conditions you found yourself in were anything like the TV reports indicated, even the best Winter tires may not have helped.

Peter

That is really unfortunate. My other car is a '10 Caddy CTS AWD. I am on a forum for that car & Caddy Cust Srvc monitors posts, responds and reaches out to people directly. I never had the opportunity to reach out to them because the car has been really good to me but it's good to know that they are there & reaching out.

 

[peterk9]

We were out early on Saturday before it got very bad. I know an all-season tire can only do so much but c'mon, these things are terrible and the rankings show that. They aren't highly rated in any category. Not what I expect from a car that stickers where these cars do. I got stuck where some guy in a Jetta got by with some wheel spin but he kept going.

As I've posted a few times, when I picked up my 2011 Ex LTD in March 2011 I replaced the Hankooks with Yokohama Parada Spec-X tires that very afternoon. I wasn't sure what kind of weather to expect during that month and the early part of April. In the Fall I bought a set of 17" steel wheels and dedicated Winter tires. I also have a dedicated Winter set for my MKT although I have had no issues with the same Hankooks at other times.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

That is really unfortunate. My other car is a '10 Caddy CTS AWD. I am on a forum for that car & Caddy Cust Srvc monitors posts, responds and reaches out to people directly. I never had the opportunity to reach out to them because the car has been really good to me but it's good to know that they are there & reaching out.

FordService provides that service here for us. However, they are only a go between the customer and the Regional Customer Service Manager. FordIVTteam does the same in the In Vehicle Technology threads and provides helpful suggestions to try and resolve issues. Neither group has actual contact with Ford Corporate staff.

Peter

 

[droptopron]

Just for ref, this is what I ordered.

I'll report back with driving impressions.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...r=2015&autoModel=Explorer&autoModClar=Limited

 

[blwnsmoke]

Never had a problem with mine. Being in NH, we get a fair amount of snow. My wife has zero issues when we had them. At 50k, we put Yokohamas on and have 39,000 on those. No issue with them either.

 

[myfoot]

We got 60K on ours and were impressed enough that we bought another set. No problems in the snow here.