Hankook Optimo 4S Wow!

[redspecial2000]

Morning all and a Happy New Year...

After a fair bit of fishtailing in the colder weather on my OEM Contisport 3 tyres I decided it may be time to invest in these cold weather tyres. After a wee bit of research I plonked for the Hankook Optimo 4S (Autobild recommends them...) through Mytyres annd parted with £350 fitted.

In the dry weather they have been fine, not much difference in road noise and if anything you can put the power down a little earlier than the Contis.

A big pile of snow fell yesterday, so I thought it would be the perfect time to see how these performed. All I can say is- wow! What a massive improvement over the OEM tyres. No traction lights, no sudden sideways departures, excellent braking.

All in all very pleased- we'll see how the wear goes!

 

[npuk]

They came out top in Autobilds all season tyre test. Wanted to get them but they didnt make them in the size I needed so went with Quatrac 3.

 

[redspecial2000]

Just been back out in them in snow, ice, slush and a little mud too and yet again no traction light. What kind of witchcraft is this?!?!?

Watching other cars sliding all over the place (including a Volvo that nearly took me out sliding across to the other side of the road) I now feel that I can now make practical use of my car again in poor conditions.

I've also never seen so many stamps on the side of a tyre before! It appears to be rated for everything...

 

[redspecial2000]

Should have posted a link to the stamps:

Hankook-optimo-4s-bild2 : Frage zu den Symbolen auf Allwetterreifen : Reifen & Felgen : #203685023

I think the only thing missing is "interdimensional travel"...

 

[Stratman]

I recognise the 'three peaks' symbol, what do the others signify?

 

[redspecial2000]

it's a nice little diagram of all the seasons it can work in- sun, rain,etc. M+S is mud and snow rating.

 

[welland99]

Was that £350 each or for four?

Are these type of all weather tyres economical for all year round use, or do they wear out quicker than normal tyres?

 

[redspecial2000]

That price was for four fully fitted and shipped over by Mytyres, although depending on your tyre size that price may vary.

Looking at the online reviews, wear is always rated well, so I guess only time will tell. I was shocked at how poorly the Contis performed in 5C and under- Im quite willing to use the Hankooks (which actually work out cheaper than a new set of Contis!) and replace them more often if need be.

Just came in this morning to a car park full of about 6 inches of snow and ice- no traction light! Im wondering if my traction light has broken...

 

[Sp!ke]

The markings indicate that these tyres are all season tyres and can be used in summer too. Snow, Ice, Rain and Sun.

Wear should be fine even in summer.

 

[redspecial2000]

Ok, so I've had these tyres for a few months now so I thought Id update:

1. Performance in snow- great
2. Performance in wet weather and standing water- fantastic
3. Performance in dry- not so great!

The OEM Contis will always be superior in the dry, but the snow and cold weather/wet weather performance have won me over to these All Season/Cold weather tyres. Wear so far has been fine, but as they are cheaper than the OEMs then I wont mind if they do wear slightly quicker.

 

[Stratman]

Thanks for the update.
In what way is the dry performance not so great? How are they at 'old man' speeds? What is the road noise like?

 

[redspecial2000]

Should be fine at old man speeds! I could only get the XL version of the tyres, so the side walls are pretty solid and as a result it wallows a bit in corners. As for road noise, I'd controversially say they are quieter than the Contis!

 

[bolide]

The markings indicate that these tyres are all season tyres... Snow, Ice, Rain and Sun

The perfect tyre, then, for a British Summer?

Nick Froome

 

[redspecial2000]

Perfect for Scotland!

I wish I could find it again, but I discovered the operating temperature technical sheet for the OEM Conti Sport Contact 3 tyres and was horrified that most of the year the temperature wasnt high enough for the tyre. We really need to insist on specific tyre standards at certain times of the year in this country- it would save lives.

 

[Troon]

Just had four of these fitted to my S211. I haven't done enough mileage to comment yet, but they look like a quality tyre, and the "wheel bearing" noise I had is gone now I'm not rolling on a "Sunny" brand mud + snow tyre, a worn Michelin Primacy Pilot, an "Accelera Alpha" and a Marshall.

Looking forward to seeing how these Hankooks cope in all conditions, and how well they last. If their summer performance is acceptable, I think tyres like these will become the norm for the UK in the next few years. With the mountain and snowflake symbol, they count as legal winter tyres on the Continent too, in those areas that mandate them.

 

[Troon]

An update: I've now covered 23,000 miles on these Hankooks and they're not quite down to the winter tyre 4mm depth markers yet (pic), so I'm expecting them to be OK for this coming winter too.

Other than a very minor noise issue that may be tyre-related (I'll investigate further if it persists on the next set), I've had no problems at all in conditions from -5°C and light snow on the ground to +36°C at 130kph, fully laden on a French autoroute for hours on end.

Note, however, that I drive very sympathetically: no hard cornering, braking or accelerating-from-rest. Other than on wet leaves at the side of the road or wet metal manhole covers, I never trigger the ABS or traction control.

Next time, I may switch to Vredestein Quatrac 3 — another well-regarded all-season — as the Hankooks are more expensive this year than last and I suspect their 99-rated sidewalls are transmitting more road noise than the Vredesteins 95-ratings will. If availability is difficult, though, I'd happily get another set of these Hankooks.

 

[Troon]

Just ordered a set of Quatrac 3 from Oponeo, as it's likely the Hankooks will be wearing out just as it's impossible or very expensive to get any form of winter or all-season tyre in the middle of winter.

Will try to compare and contrast once I've had them fitted for a bit, probably early next year.

 

[frstep]

Am looking at all-season tyres, but the ones I think look ideal are not available in 245/45R17. (Goodyear Vector 4 seasons - apparently quiet and comfy). I can't find the Hankook in this size either and mytyres suggests my choices are only Pirelli P 6 Four Seasons or Dunlop SP SPORT 01 A/S... the reviews of which suggest they are not going to be the ideal tyres - not the quiet all-rounders I'm looking for. Anyone got any other options that fit 245/45R17?

Also... I presume all-season tyres need to be V-rated, not H-rated?

 

[Troon]

Another 24k miles gone, and two of my Quatracs have got to the point where they're a bit twitchier than I'd like on surface water, with roughly 3-4mm left - the other pair are on about 5mm.

The Vredesteins did get a fair few trips in the snow, and they're excellent. Nothing to choose between these two tyres in normal driving, IMO. It's looking increasingly likely there won't be much deep winter this year.

The noise I mentioned (post #16, para 2) is not tyre-related, and I'm going back to the Hankooks this time as they're cheaper at the moment: £99 a corner from Oponeo in 225/55R16 size. I think they wear less quickly too - when I took the Hankooks off, one pair had less wear than I thought, so I sold that pair on as part-worn for £40 to a guy at work.

Quatrac is rated C-C-68dB, Optimo is C-C-72dB in my size. I didn't perceive a big reduction in noise when I last changed.