Notes on the tire replacement

[dxtra196]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=188 If you want good grand touring all season tires these are it. I'm leaning into getting Michelin premier a/s tires, I'm going to pass on the free tire recall. If you want ultra performance tires get one of these http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=201 and for comparison here's the test results for the hankook http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=200 Look into the chart an see what matters most to you.

 

[Ernie3647]

The "wet" track performance of the Hankooks are the lowest performing of the lot. As I stated a few times before these are good weather tires. They were (for me a conservative driver) not good in the rain and useless in any snow condition. My wife mentioned about their lack of composure in the rain a few times as confirmed the by test results. Actually classifying them as "All Weather" is a stretch. While I was reluctant at first to change the tires the performance in bad weather convinced me. The new tires are better suited to my needs as bad weather performance is more important to me than dry weather handling which is quite acceptable also.

 

[dxtra196]

Here is Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires test results. They perform better than the hankook. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=138

 

[Nikgen]

Here is Michelin Primacy MXM4 tires test results. They perform better than the hankook. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=138

Do they test all of these tires on the same car? If not, how can you really compare - especially on things like slalom speed and cornering/g-force? Are they all instrumented measurements or are people providing subjective input - if the latter, and it's not always the same person (impossible), how can the comparisons be meaningful?

 

[dxtra196]

Do they test all of these tires on the same car? If not, how can you really compare - especially on things like slalom speed and cornering/g-force? Are they all instrumented measurements or are people providing subjective input - if the latter, and it's not always the same person (impossible), how can the comparisons be meaningful?

If you scroll to the left there's a video showing some of the process and what they do, I'm sure they use some type of device measuring parameters otherwise they wouldn't be reliable. And yes they use the same car. Here's a link of the video http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/videoDisplay.jsp?ttid=138

 

[lbpuppy]

The old Hankooks were a very smooth riding tire. I had no issues with them ...

The Michelins do not ride as smoothly. There is a subtle, but definitely there, gravelly effect compared to the Hankooks. It's not significant, and really only appears at highway speeds. That to me is the only downside to the swap -- a modest degradation of ride smoothness.

I agree....

 

[Ernie3647]

I agree....

You might have missed the revised assessment.....

Well, I'm probably going to regret this, but.....I'll wade in to this part of the conversation....

As in my original post, I'm not categorically slamming the Hankooks. Great ride, more luxury tilted than the Michelins. But my definite sense is that the Michelins handle better and make the car more agile. It's a subtle improvement, but it is unmistakable. And if you hate the flatspotting on the Hankooks...and I LOATHED those tires every morning in the colder months for the first 5 bumpy miles....Hyundai has wisely given you a path to happy.

That being said, if you can run the original tires for a while for free and still get the swap, hey....free rubber. I did the swap early (car only had 8K miles on it), but the flatspotting made me dislike the car (or at least not like it as much), so I'm glad I pulled the trigger quickly. YMMV.

On one more point...another poster had mentioned the bad Hankook performance in slick conditions. I can attest to that. Had some genuinely scary moments in snowy conditions on those puppies. Time (and this winter) will tell about the Michelins.

 

[GDT]

You might have missed the revised assessment.....

Umm, not so much "revised" as....expanded? Original comments still intact, just added the bit about scary performance on snow for the Hankooks.