General Hankook Optimo 4S (all season) tyres on my 500 TA

[The Twins]

Just done the first 500 miles on the Hankook Optimo 4S (All Season) tyres.

Here are some observations (coming from Goodyear Efficient grip tyres which still had 6mm tread)

- for their 185/55/15 size the Hankook looks slightly wider and bulge out from the rim slightly more (they have built in rim protector too)

- grip on snow is amazing. We live on a steep hill and normally only 4wd cars car get up in the snow. I had no problem on the Hankooks. I even could stop half way and pull away again with no slipping

- steering precision / feel is improved and 'turn in' is more positive

- ride quality is very slightly worse, noise is no different

I went for these tyres after reading extensive reviews from Germany, Canada and UK. I wanted tyres that performed in snow, wet, ice etc but did not have too much compromise in the dry as I like quite a 'sporty' drive when conditions are good.

They cost £320 from ATS.

Hope this little review helps if you are looking at winter / all seasons tyres.

Cheers,

Ian.

 

[306maxi]

I really would advise against the use of all season tyres. A friend of mine is a tyre testing engineer for Continental and his issues with all season tyres is that they're not the best in the summer or the winter as they're a compromise tyre and because they're a compromise they will wear more as they'll be too soft at the height of summer and too hard on the coldest days.

If you absolutely have to have a tyre to cope with all seasons and can't be bothered having two sets of rims then all season tyres are a good idea I guess, but two sets of tyres are a much much much better idea.

 

[udtrev]

I run All Season tyres (Vredestein Quatrac3)

I'm happy with them, I do not have the storage space for an extra set of wheels so went for the All Season option when my tyres needed replacing

Trev

 

[ahmett]

I really would advise against the use of all season tyres. A friend of mine is a tyre testing engineer for Continental and his issues with all season tyres is that they're not the best in the summer or the winter as they're a compromise tyre and because they're a compromise they will wear more as they'll be too soft at the height of summer and too hard on the coldest days.

If you absolutely have to have a tyre to cope with all seasons and can't be bothered having two sets of rims then all season tyres are a good idea I guess, but two sets of tyres are a much much much better idea.

Yes but maxi dont forget the UK has a mild climate in that it really doesn't get that warm, i wouldnt call summer so much summer = )

In Greece you would have more problems with all season tires in 40c heat with even higher road surface temperatures, in that your soft tires would literally cook and not only that because of the heat the old and cheaply made road surfaces also melt so its like driving in the wet at times as the roads themselves have no grip!

 

[The Twins]

I run All Season tyres (Vredestein Quatrac3)

I'm happy with them, I do not have the storage space for an extra set of wheels so went for the All Season option when my tyres needed replacing

Trev

Hi Trev,
Yes, the Quatrac 3 was the other tyre on par with the Hankook.
Contrary to what some members claim these are the very best of the all season tyres and are 90% as good as full winter tyres and 90% as good as the very best summer tyres... In fact in many circumstances they out perform the summer tyres even 'in the summer' if it's wet or below 7 degrees.
As I mentioned in my post, the Hankooks actually feel like they handle better in the dry than the Goodyears that I took off.
Cheers,
Ian.

 

[ahmett]

Hi Trev,
Yes, the Quatrac 3 was the other tyre on par with the Hankook.
Contrary to what some members claim these are the very best of the all season tyres and are 90% as good as full winter tyres and 90% as good as the very best summer tyres... In fact in many circumstances they out perform the summer tyres even 'in the summer' if it's wet or below 7 degrees.
As I mentioned in my post, the Hankooks actually feel like they handle better in the dry than the Goodyears that I took off.
Cheers,
Ian.

From what I see the goodyear efficient grip tires were never rated well. They are an eco tire anyway so no performance!

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

So here you buy a true Italian designer car and than you ruin it by putting far east crap on it.....!!
Unbelievable...!
(Btw,I'm saying this not as moderator, but as car freak...!!)

 

[Geddes]

So here you buy a true Italian designer car and than you ruin it by putting far east crap on it.....!!

No. He's putting the best available all season tyres on a Polish built budget car

I ran Optimo 4S's on my Panda and they were great.

 

[The Twins]

No. He's putting the best available all season tyres on a Polish built budget car

I ran Optimo 4S's on my Panda and they were great.

Thank you Geddes! I rest my case

 

[The Twins]

From what I see the goodyear efficient grip tires were never rated well. They are an eco tire anyway so no performance!

I agree Ahmett - this is why 'all seasons' tyres can sometimes be better than 'summer' tyres. Not all tyres are equal.

 

[The Twins]

So here you buy a true Italian designer car and than you ruin it by putting far east crap on it.....!!
Unbelievable...!
(Btw,I'm saying this not as moderator, but as car freak...!!)

Only Pirelli tyres will do for you then Peter?

 

[OrangeSport]

I can definitely see the appeal of all weather tyres, especially if they really do offer above average performance in all conditions. For many people the entire car is a compromise; for us the 500s are fun, cheap to run, stylish and big enough.

Sometimes we could use more space (like to move a wardrobe) or might like five seats, but 90% of the time they work well for us, and there is nothing we would really prefer. I imagine these tyres are similar.

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

Only Pirelli tyres will do for you then Peter?

Absolutely!
Pirelli is the only tyre I use on my Fiat, Alfa (and Ducati motorcycle) indeed!
Right now, both the Fiat and Alfa are on Pirelli wintertyres, in April the summer Pirelli's ( P6 and P7) are on again.

 

[stu0710]

So here you buy a true Italian designer car and than you ruin it by putting far east crap on it.....!!
Unbelievable...!
(Btw,I'm saying this not as moderator, but as car freak...!!)

There is nothing wrong with Hankook tyres IMHO. I swapped the Pirelli's on my SAAB for them, better ride, better grip and twice the wear.

I really would advise against the use of all season tyres. A friend of mine is a tyre testing engineer for Continental and his issues with all season tyres is that they're not the best in the summer or the winter as they're a compromise tyre and because they're a compromise they will wear more as they'll be too soft at the height of summer and too hard on the coldest days.

If you absolutely have to have a tyre to cope with all seasons and can't be bothered having two sets of rims then all season tyres are a good idea I guess, but two sets of tyres are a much much much better idea.

I don't agree with this as I have used TOYO all season tyres on my Volvo now for 2 years and although they don't have quite the wet weather grip of the old Pirellis they are much, much better in the winter on snow and ice and have lasted more than 8K miles longer already and are still at 5mm tread depth all round. If you don't push your car hard then all weather tyres can be a really good compromise.

 

[306maxi]

I don't agree with this as I have used TOYO all season tyres on my Volvo now for 2 years and although they don't have quite the wet weather grip of the old Pirellis they are much, much better in the winter on snow and ice and have lasted more than 8K miles longer already and are still at 5mm tread depth all round. If you don't push your car hard then all weather tyres can be a really good compromise.

I'm not saying they're bad per se. Of course they're going to be better than summer tyres in the winter. I did say that if you don't have space for another set of wheels that all season's are a better bet, but they're still not going to be as good as winter tyres.

The thing is that if you do have space for both tyres then you'll be better off with two sets. You'll have a wider performance envelope, in the summer you'll have the best possible grip and in the winter you'll have the same also. An all season tyre is going to wear more in the winter than a winter tyre and more in the summer than a summer tyre.

Not to poo-poo Hankook and Vredestein (Both make great tyres), but your MIchelin's, Conti's and so on generally don't bother with all season tyres because two separate sets are a better idea.

Peter, Pirelli have made some pretty rubbish tyres at times. Personally I won't bother with Pirelli's at all.

My 500 came with Bridgestone Potenza RE050A's on and it's sublime in the summer on them. When the suspension keeps the tyres in touch with the ground it can go around corners quite well. Sure, once it gets cool they're rubbish, but I put my snowtrac's on then.

If you're going to compare an admittedly good all season tyre to an eco tyre, the all season tyre is always going to win if you're judging things on performance.

 

[306maxi]

Please don't think I'm not saying that all-season tyres aren't good, they are obviously better in snow than summer tyres and if you've got no space to store another set of wheels (I don't buy this tbh......) then it's better than just running around on summers.

Personally I'd rather have at least a couple of pairs of shoes for my car when conditions vary the way they do in the UK.

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

Right.
And Fiat made bloody rubbish cars as well, still we like them, don't we...!!

:slayer:

 

[The Twins]

I can definitely see the appeal of all weather tyres, especially if they really do offer above average performance in all conditions. For many people the entire car is a compromise; for us the 500s are fun, cheap to run, stylish and big enough.

Sometimes we could use more space (like to move a wardrobe) or might like five seats, but 90% of the time they work well for us, and there is nothing we would really prefer. I imagine these tyres are similar.

Well said ; )

 

[The Twins]

I'm not saying they're bad per se. Of course they're going to be better than summer tyres in the winter. I did say that if you don't have space for another set of wheels that all season's are a better bet, but they're still not going to be as good as winter tyres.

The thing is that if you do have space for both tyres then you'll be better off with two sets. You'll have a wider performance envelope, in the summer you'll have the best possible grip and in the winter you'll have the same also. An all season tyre is going to wear more in the winter than a winter tyre and more in the summer than a summer tyre.

Not to poo-poo Hankook and Vredestein (Both make great tyres), but your MIchelin's, Conti's and so on generally don't bother with all season tyres because two separate sets are a better idea.

Peter, Pirelli have made some pretty rubbish tyres at times. Personally I won't bother with Pirelli's at all.

My 500 came with Bridgestone Potenza RE050A's on and it's sublime in the summer on them. When the suspension keeps the tyres in touch with the ground it can go around corners quite well. Sure, once it gets cool they're rubbish, but I put my snowtrac's on then.

If you're going to compare an admittedly good all season tyre to an eco tyre, the all season tyre is always going to win if you're judging things on performance.

I agree... Except when it's not snowing in winter the all season tyres will perform better than a dedicated winter tyre.

I'm just glad the Goodyear EG's are gone!

Cheers,

Ian.

 

[306maxi]

most people aren't all that worried about how their winter tyres perform when it's not snowing. Hell, a summer tyre is adequate when it's not snowy or icy. It's when it shows that you want 100% performance from your tyres.