New Tires(Hankook) and an awesome story.

bdejong11129 · 11-05-2010, 06:45 PM

Some of you may have read in other posts that I have not had good luck with the RFT's on my car. While they looked to be fairly new and had a ton of tread on them they have always been nosiy and over the last two weeks they have all but fallen apart.

I decided a week ago to replace the RFT's on my car and go with standard tires. 90% or more of the threads about this topic were in agreement that putting regular tires on the car make it much more enjoyable of a ride.

I ordered them(Hankook Ventus V12 Evo) from Discount tire on a Friday morning and they quoted me a Tuesday delivery time. On the following monday durring my commute to work the car developed a pretty good vibration above 55mph. I figured that I might have thrown a weight or two so I brought it in to the local shop to have it checked out.

Turns out that I had two fist sized buldges on the inside sidewall of the rear tire. They were huge and no amount of weights was going to fix that. I ended up calling Discount Tire to check on the delivery and figured I would gingerly drive the car there after work and leave it for them to work on in the morning. I was then told that the tires had just shipped that day and would not be here until Thursday.. I was none to happy and explained the situation to the guy on the phone. He told me he was going to see what they could do and put me on hold, after a few minutes he came back to tell me they had a set of used Michelins that were the right size for the rears and that if I wanted to they would install them on the rears for the next few days to get me through until my tires arrived.

To top it off they did this with no charge and no fuss. I arrived there in the morning, they knew who I was and why I was there. They did the swap, ballanced them and had me on the road in 30 minutes. I went back on Thursday when my tires arrived and once again took care of me. I know of no other store that would have gone to this kind of lengths to help a customer out and without charging me a penny to do it. I figured I would give them a

here.

Now for thoese of you who have stuck with this very long post I will say that the new tires are a billion percent better than the old RFT's. There are no words to describe how much better the ride is. Not just on the highway but every aspect of the ride is improved. Even crawling over speed bumps is better. With the RFT's even this was a little harsh but with the new tires it feels more natural. The new tires are also as close to dead silent on the highway as they could be on this car. All I hear now is a very small amount of rolling tire and mostly the wind rushing by the windows.

The car almost feels like it is floating over the road, this does not mean that I am disconnected at all, it only means that the ride quality is more like a BMW and less like a stripped down Civic.

I got 4 tires mounted on the car and out the door for 660.00. I can put two sets a year on the car for the price of one set of RFT's and the possible occurance of a flat is of little concern when compared to the quality of the ride in the car. Best part is that the day before I was going to sign up for AAA they sent me an offer for 44.00 for a year with a free second membership for a family member...All in all it was a great week and we are plannig on a good long break in ride this weekend..

wrh3 · 11-05-2010, 07:38 PM

The V12s take about 1500+ miles to "feel" good, the initial tread squirm almost feels like soft sidewalls. The tire review by Car and Driver was pretty spot on, once you get a feel for these tires and trust them, they stick. I had doubts for the first few weeks but after a few trips to the mountains I think I will buy these again for some of our other cars.

schwank · 11-06-2010, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrh3

The V12s take about 1500+ miles to "feel" good, the initial tread squirm almost feels like soft sidewalls. The tire review by Car and Driver was pretty spot on, once you get a feel for these tires and trust them, they stick. I had doubts for the first few weeks but after a few trips to the mountains I think I will buy these again for some of our other cars.

This was pretty much my thoughts too. Initial squirm was concerning, but they've turned out great!

Rick F. · 11-06-2010, 11:01 AM

bdejong,

Thanks for the input on your tire experience. I like the RFTs on my car--but only when I'm on dirt or rocky roads, where the sidewall and tread strength is an advantage. The rest of the time, the harshness and "tramlining" along irregularities is annoying at best and occasionally even frightening!

Rick F.

Nhopkins1394 · 11-06-2010, 12:19 PM

Did the tramlining stop?
I'm planning on doing this very same thing for my little Z4 3.0si
What car did you put yours on and what sizes did you buy?

bdejong11129 · 11-06-2010, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nhopkins1394

Did the tramlining stop?
I'm planning on doing this very same thing for my little Z4 3.0si
What car did you put yours on and what sizes did you buy?

YES....I have never heard the term(tramlining) before owning the Z4 and I hated the feeling of the car "wandering" on me. Now on the highway the car tracks right where I point it.

Mine is a 2003 Z4 3.0i, and I stuck with the stock size for the 18" sport rims I have on the car.

(Picture before new tires just to show rims and size)

gatorfast · 11-06-2010, 04:05 PM

I have the V12's on my car as well. Have 2-3K miles on them now. They are significantly quieter and more comfortable than the stock continentals. Grip is great as well and they handle wet pavement nicely (rains a lot in south florida). Cant beat them for the price.

ZStig · 11-06-2010, 07:18 PM

In my 3k mile experience, these tires are overrated and terrible in the rain, performing much worse than my old michellin pilot ps2s (performance degrading substantially in colder weather). In fact, another member here shares this opinion (his sepang bronze roadster ended up in a ditch)

I can easily break traction all through second gear in the wet

bdejong11129 · 11-06-2010, 09:11 PM

I will keep an eye out for that. The day I had them installed it rained cats and dogs and they held the road just fine. It may be that I am driving a standrad 3.0i and not an M so its is harder for me to break the wheel free, add to that the automatic tranny and I dont think it should be to much of an issue for me. :0

I am going to assume that you are driving with DSC/DTC off when you state you can break traction through second gear? I am not well versed in the M series car so I dont know if it operates at all like the standard Z4 because when running in the default mode DSC on I have a very ahrd time breaking it free unless I turn it all off....When driving in the rain I stay in normal non-sport safety man modes...

lstratos · 11-07-2010, 09:06 AM

Congrats! i plan to take mine off after the winter since i wont be driving it at all.. That tramlining with rft is annoying...

esqu1re · 11-07-2010, 10:48 AM

I've had generally positive experiences with the Hankooks. The sidewall is kind of soft, so you don't get that scalpel sharp response, but the grip was much better than stock contis.

ZStig · 11-07-2010, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdejong11129

I will keep an eye out for that. The day I had them installed it rained cats and dogs and they held the road just fine. It may be that I am driving a standrad 3.0i and not an M so its is harder for me to break the wheel free, add to that the automatic tranny and I dont think it should be to much of an issue for me. :0

I am going to assume that you are driving with DSC/DTC off when you state you can break traction through second gear? I am not well versed in the M series car so I dont know if it operates at all like the standard Z4 because when running in the default mode DSC on I have a very ahrd time breaking it free unless I turn it all off....When driving in the rain I stay in normal non-sport safety man modes...

traction on, but its lax in the M, so the car still dances side to side. on a corner, I've been able to do a small drift in second gear with traction on with moderate throttle. just be careful

Huz-Z · 11-07-2010, 04:49 PM

I put a set of Hankook V12s on my car in August and i love them. My wife drove the car today - first time with the new Hankooks. She was amazed at the improvement in the car. Her exact words were "OMG - it is like driving a completely different car. What a massive improvement!"

Nhopkins1394 · 11-07-2010, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

I put a set of Hankook V12s on my car in August and i love them. My wife drove the car today - first time with the new Hankooks. She was amazed at the improvement in the car. Her exact words were "OMG - it is like driving a completely different car. What a massive improvement!"

I read on "Tire Rack" that these were not good in freezing weather, snow, or ice.
Being in Canada, You don't drive it in the winter do you.
They are supposed to have serious cold weather lack of traction.

Here in Dallas 50 degrees is a cold day. I figure I'll be able to use them year-round with very little problems.
Anyone else find them "not sticky" in the winter cold weather?

Huz-Z · 11-08-2010, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nhopkins1394

I read on "Tire Rack" that these were not good in freezing weather, snow, or ice.
Being in Canada, You don't drive it in the winter do you.
They are supposed to have serious cold weather lack of traction.

Here in Dallas 50 degrees is a cold day. I figure I'll be able to use them year-round with very little problems.
Anyone else find them "not sticky" in the winter cold weather?

Nope - I would NEVER drive my Z4 in the horrific winter conditions we can get here. The city applies so much salt to the roads that its like driving your car in a highly corrosive bath for four months straight. In addition to the cosmetic damage that would do to the car, I would expect the soft top and motor to be destroyed in very short order. Its no trouble to spot the guys who lease their cars up here as they leave their factory aluminum rims on for the winter and do not replace them with steel wheels. By April, the aluminum rims have corroded so that they look like someone took a shot gun to them.

As for tire traction, I think you are fine for normal driving with the Hankooks at temperatures around 50F. In fact, I've been driving around last week at below 40F with no issues, and there are a lot of hills in my town. It was raining one day also. No traction issues at all. I can't speak for spirited "go-mad" "you really should be on a track" driving though.

Cheers!!

thekurgan · 11-08-2010, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nhopkins1394

I read on "Tire Rack" that these were not good in freezing weather, snow, or ice.

No "summer" tires are recommended for low temps, but for the price of these, you could probably get a spare set of wheels/all-seasons for that period.

Huz-Z · 11-08-2010, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thekurgan

No "summer" tires are recommended for low temps, but for the price of these, you could probably get a spare set of wheels/all-seasons for that period.

But is there even a need for that? I didn't think Texas got snow etc.

Nhopkins1394 · 11-08-2010, 09:36 AM

Yeah, not much snow...usually just sleet, freezing rain, and then ice.
But when it does, I literally just stay home. Too many crazies who think they can drive in the ice.
NO ONE can drive in the ice.

thekurgan · 11-08-2010, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huz-Z

But is there even a need for that? I didn't think Texas got snow etc.

Ummm, yeah.

Huz-Z · 11-08-2010, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nhopkins1394

Yeah, not much snow...usually just sleet, freezing rain, and then ice.
But when it does, I literally just stay home. Too many crazies who think they can drive in the ice.
NO ONE can drive in the ice.

To even attempt that, you would need a good quality snow tire that can accept studs, and have the studs installed. Only then would you have any hope of traction. But I think I've seen comments that studded tires are illegal in many parts of the US.

bdejong11129 · 11-08-2010, 11:17 AM

Not to much of an issue for me since I live in North Carolina. While we do get cold here,30's in the morning and 50's in the afternoon for winterish weather. We do get at least one snow fall a year and I usually either work from home or take one of the other cars to work.

It was 37ish this morning (dash chime for icy conditions) and the tires felt normal to me. I do have to say that I dont thrash the car around every corner on my normal daily commute. I did end up taking the 540 degree tour last year in the 5er when I hit a patch of black ice. Was a real eye opener as to how fast you can have the rear end swap places with the front end even under mild accelleration when ice is present.

I will keep posting here as the colder weather arrives and see how well they hold up. Either way, for the cost they are definately better for ride comfort and noise than the POS RFT tires that were on the car. I think too really get an idea of performance I would have to get time on a track and I dont think I will do that with a brand new set of tires....

11-05-2010, 06:45 PM	#1
bdejong11129 Private First Class 7 Rep 114 Posts Drives: 87 E30 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Raleigh iTrader: (0)	New Tires(Hankook) and an awesome story. Some of you may have read in other posts that I have not had good luck with the RFT's on my car. While they looked to be fairly new and had a ton of tread on them they have always been nosiy and over the last two weeks they have all but fallen apart. I decided a week ago to replace the RFT's on my car and go with standard tires. 90% or more of the threads about this topic were in agreement that putting regular tires on the car make it much more enjoyable of a ride. I ordered them(Hankook Ventus V12 Evo) from Discount tire on a Friday morning and they quoted me a Tuesday delivery time. On the following monday durring my commute to work the car developed a pretty good vibration above 55mph. I figured that I might have thrown a weight or two so I brought it in to the local shop to have it checked out. Turns out that I had two fist sized buldges on the inside sidewall of the rear tire. They were huge and no amount of weights was going to fix that. I ended up calling Discount Tire to check on the delivery and figured I would gingerly drive the car there after work and leave it for them to work on in the morning. I was then told that the tires had just shipped that day and would not be here until Thursday.. I was none to happy and explained the situation to the guy on the phone. He told me he was going to see what they could do and put me on hold, after a few minutes he came back to tell me they had a set of used Michelins that were the right size for the rears and that if I wanted to they would install them on the rears for the next few days to get me through until my tires arrived. To top it off they did this with no charge and no fuss. I arrived there in the morning, they knew who I was and why I was there. They did the swap, ballanced them and had me on the road in 30 minutes. I went back on Thursday when my tires arrived and once again took care of me. I know of no other store that would have gone to this kind of lengths to help a customer out and without charging me a penny to do it. I figured I would give them a here. Now for thoese of you who have stuck with this very long post I will say that the new tires are a billion percent better than the old RFT's. There are no words to describe how much better the ride is. Not just on the highway but every aspect of the ride is improved. Even crawling over speed bumps is better. With the RFT's even this was a little harsh but with the new tires it feels more natural. The new tires are also as close to dead silent on the highway as they could be on this car. All I hear now is a very small amount of rolling tire and mostly the wind rushing by the windows. The car almost feels like it is floating over the road, this does not mean that I am disconnected at all, it only means that the ride quality is more like a BMW and less like a stripped down Civic. I got 4 tires mounted on the car and out the door for 660.00. I can put two sets a year on the car for the price of one set of RFT's and the possible occurance of a flat is of little concern when compared to the quality of the ride in the car. Best part is that the day before I was going to sign up for AAA they sent me an offer for 44.00 for a year with a free second membership for a family member...All in all it was a great week and we are plannig on a good long break in ride this weekend..
	Appreciate 0 Tweet Quote

11-05-2010, 07:38 PM	#2
wrh3 Car Guy 31 Rep 796 Posts Drives: 2005 MCS, 2013 Corvette 427 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: ATL, GA iTrader: (10)	The V12s take about 1500+ miles to "feel" good, the initial tread squirm almost feels like soft sidewalls. The tire review by Car and Driver was pretty spot on, once you get a feel for these tires and trust them, they stick. I had doubts for the first few weeks but after a few trips to the mountains I think I will buy these again for some of our other cars. __________________ Bill- 2005 Mini Cooper S, 2013 Corvette 427 www.billswebspace.com/bmwindex BMW CCA Member # 389948
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-06-2010, 11:01 AM	#4
Rick F. Lieutenant Colonel 948 Rep 1,910 Posts Drives: 2013 BMW 335i cabriolet Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Catonsville, MD iTrader: (0)	bdejong, Thanks for the input on your tire experience. I like the RFTs on my car--but only when I'm on dirt or rocky roads, where the sidewall and tread strength is an advantage. The rest of the time, the harshness and "tramlining" along irregularities is annoying at best and occasionally even frightening! Rick F.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-06-2010, 12:19 PM	#5
Nhopkins1394 Accountant, 1st Class 8 Rep 237 Posts Drives: 2006 Z4 3.0si Roadster, Black Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Irving, TX where the Cowboys used to play! iTrader: (0)	Hankook tires Did the tramlining stop? I'm planning on doing this very same thing for my little Z4 3.0si What car did you put yours on and what sizes did you buy?
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-06-2010, 04:05 PM	#7
gatorfast Major General 4995 Rep 6,863 Posts Drives: 718 Cayman Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: SoFla iTrader: (4)	I have the V12's on my car as well. Have 2-3K miles on them now. They are significantly quieter and more comfortable than the stock continentals. Grip is great as well and they handle wet pavement nicely (rains a lot in south florida). Cant beat them for the price.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-06-2010, 07:18 PM	#8
ZStig instagram 997turbotom 279 Rep 7,377 Posts Drives: Interlagos Z4MR Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Delray Beach, FL iTrader: (4)	In my 3k mile experience, these tires are overrated and terrible in the rain, performing much worse than my old michellin pilot ps2s (performance degrading substantially in colder weather). In fact, another member here shares this opinion (his sepang bronze roadster ended up in a ditch) I can easily break traction all through second gear in the wet __________________
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-06-2010, 09:11 PM	#9
bdejong11129 Private First Class 7 Rep 114 Posts Drives: 87 E30 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Raleigh iTrader: (0)	I will keep an eye out for that. The day I had them installed it rained cats and dogs and they held the road just fine. It may be that I am driving a standrad 3.0i and not an M so its is harder for me to break the wheel free, add to that the automatic tranny and I dont think it should be to much of an issue for me. :0 I am going to assume that you are driving with DSC/DTC off when you state you can break traction through second gear? I am not well versed in the M series car so I dont know if it operates at all like the standard Z4 because when running in the default mode DSC on I have a very ahrd time breaking it free unless I turn it all off....When driving in the rain I stay in normal non-sport safety man modes...
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-07-2010, 09:06 AM	#10
lstratos Private First Class 8 Rep 139 Posts Drives: Z4 3.0i Join Date: May 2010 Location: Queens iTrader: (0)	Congrats! i plan to take mine off after the winter since i wont be driving it at all.. That tramlining with rft is annoying...
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-07-2010, 10:48 AM	#11
esqu1re Lieutenant Colonel 41 Rep 1,855 Posts Drives: M Coupe Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: East Coast iTrader: (0)	I've had generally positive experiences with the Hankooks. The sidewall is kind of soft, so you don't get that scalpel sharp response, but the grip was much better than stock contis. __________________ ///M Coupe: RPI Scoop, OE Strut, CDV, Volk RE30, SS Brake Lines, Stromung Exhaust
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-07-2010, 04:49 PM	#13
Huz-Z Brigadier General 851 Rep 4,057 Posts Drives: Z4 3.0si, 328 XDrive, X5 35i Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Canada iTrader: (0)	I put a set of Hankook V12s on my car in August and i love them. My wife drove the car today - first time with the new Hankooks. She was amazed at the improvement in the car. Her exact words were "OMG - it is like driving a completely different car. What a massive improvement!" __________________ Huz-Z BMW Z4 3.0si Roadster. Montego Blue Metallic. Premium and Sport Package.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-08-2010, 09:36 AM	#18
Nhopkins1394 Accountant, 1st Class 8 Rep 237 Posts Drives: 2006 Z4 3.0si Roadster, Black Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Irving, TX where the Cowboys used to play! iTrader: (0)	Yeah, not much snow...usually just sleet, freezing rain, and then ice. But when it does, I literally just stay home. Too many crazies who think they can drive in the ice. NO ONE can drive in the ice.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

11-08-2010, 11:17 AM	#21
bdejong11129 Private First Class 7 Rep 114 Posts Drives: 87 E30 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Raleigh iTrader: (0)	Not to much of an issue for me since I live in North Carolina. While we do get cold here,30's in the morning and 50's in the afternoon for winterish weather. We do get at least one snow fall a year and I usually either work from home or take one of the other cars to work. It was 37ish this morning (dash chime for icy conditions) and the tires felt normal to me. I do have to say that I dont thrash the car around every corner on my normal daily commute. I did end up taking the 540 degree tour last year in the 5er when I hit a patch of black ice. Was a real eye opener as to how fast you can have the rear end swap places with the front end even under mild accelleration when ice is present. I will keep posting here as the colder weather arrives and see how well they hold up. Either way, for the cost they are definately better for ride comfort and noise than the POS RFT tires that were on the car. I think too really get an idea of performance I would have to get time on a track and I dont think I will do that with a brand new set of tires....
	Appreciate 0 Quote