Hankook V12 tires anyone?

[nosturbo]

I recently purchased a set of Hankook V12s for my 2004 Turbo Cab. The first 500 miles was absolutely horrible!!! The car felt really "floaty" and unstable, when I hit triple digits. However, As I put more miles on it(currently 1000), it feel progressly better. Has anyone have experince with these tires?? I guess, I got what I paid for the were only $600 for the whole set after the rebate.

[rogerjohnsen]

I just got a new 19" tire / wheel package with Hankook Ventus V12 EVO's installed and so far am absolutely loving these tires. (Although I wish I had gotten your price - mine we're just shy of $1,000 for front and rear) Overall the ride is drastically improved over the stock 18" hollow spoke turbo twists running Pirelli P-Zero tires. I've had them on for a week now and have put a couple of hundred miles on them on highway, around town and twisty back roads. No complaints - in fact, the ride is so much better than my stock tires that I'm in a bit of a shock. Grip is outstanding - I've found myself taking corners I had done many times in the past at higher speeds with the car feeling much more stable and precise. Assuming you had these installed on your stock wheels, I'm assuming they're 18" so that would mean the tire's aspect ratio is larger so perhaps the sidewall stiffness is where the floaty feeling is coming from. The 19" wheels have a smaller aspect ratio; which might explain why I don't notice this. What PSI are you running? Are all tires the same? Also, curious to know what the tire dimensions are. Mine are 235-35-19 (front) and 295-30-19 (rear).

[rogerjohnsen]

Here's a picture of the new wheels / tires... :jump:

[nosturbo]

Yes, all tires are the same brand new from tire rack. Is your car lowered?? or with different suspension? Did you drive the car with the top up or down?? I have tried 36/44 and 34/42 Thanks again.

Edited June 11, 2011 by nosturbo

[phillipj]

Same question Roger.. Is your car lowered?

[nosturbo]

Same question Roger.. Is your car lowered?

Philip, are you having the same tire problem??

[rogerjohnsen]

Except for the tires / wheels (and stereo) the car is all stock so the car isn't lowered. I think it just looks lower since the 19" rims give it more wheel. As for the convertible top up / down - definitely both but more top down - probably like 70% of the driving. Haven't noticed any difference between havnig the top in either position though. I checked the tires and they're running at 35.5PSI all the way around.

The other thing I was thinking about when you say your ride has improved with more driving is something along the lines of initial break in. While I don't recall hearing about it for car tires; I've owned a number of sport bikes and know when I get new tires they always warn me that the initial break-in will be slippery or that traction won't be as good. It's almost like the initial layer of the tire needs to be worn off before it gets grip. That might explain why it's gotten better over time. The other thought I had is temperature potentially being a factor.

[Guybrush Wilkinson]

I had V12 Evos under my 1999 Carrera 2. I was really happy with price/quality. I dont know how they work for a turbo though.

[nosturbo]

I had V12 Evos under my 1999 Carrera 2. I was really happy with price/quality. I dont know how they work for a turbo though.

what tire pressure are you running? Thanks

[BOOSTTT]

I have the same tires on my 03 996 turbo and love them! I do have the camber more neutral than stock on the rears so more tred is holding/wearing more even. Great traction with 19's, but wear a little quick. Maybe it's because I drive like a madman. LOL

[OscarAH1W]

Just replaced PS2s with the V12 Evos. LOVE THEM. Not as much Tramlining and no float at triple digits. I can't even get them to squeal in my favorite 15 MPH corner at well above recommended speed...My Turbo Cab is running the hollow spoke Sport Techno wheels that were optioned from the factory. Car feels the same top up or down. 600 dollars for the set seems like too good a deal to be true. Any chance there is some difference between your tires and the tires the rest of hung for 1K +/-?? Oh... just looked at the thread... Porsche specs 36 psi up front and 44 PSI in the rear. Maybe that'll change the dynamic...

Edited August 5, 2011 by OscarAH1W

[rogerjohnsen]

Yeah - I have to say the "stickiness" factor has me driving faster than my normal fast too! :)

Thanks for sharing the PSI information. Good to know and will change mine to be in spec.

[txhokie4life]

Great Value -- but they are noisy.

I find they have a lot of road noise -- especially the rears.

Mike

[slymtl2001]

Hi All, have the exact same car 04 911T convertible with same tires. I previously had the Continental tire which I've worn out the rear tires completely in just 7000 miles doing strickly highway. For the same price 660$ minus 60$ mail-in rebate, got 4 hankook v12 (Front and rear) and I love them. I was bit concerned at the begining looking at the tread pattern, thinking they would be noisy. I am very impressed, they are very quiet on the Highway even at High speed 140+, great cornering traction too. Definitely will buy again. The thing that work for me is the fact that our car have very agressive camber in the front wearing tire very unvevently from the inside. At least with these tires since they are not asymetric, you can actually do a front rotation every 3-4K mile and wear them evenly. When I swapped my continentals in the front, they still had plenty of tread left on the outside but the inside was completely worn out. For the purpose of me doing strickly highway driving, these tires are very good.

[logray]

If you are looking for cheap tires the Falken's are also pretty good, had them on my sport techno's before going with Bstone RE050A's.

[RxPorsche]

I'm running Nitto Invos they are great.:thumbup:

Edited August 9, 2011 by RxPorsche

[AMTRAK]

Which Falkens are you running? I was looking at getting the FK452s in 235/35/19 and 315/25/19 to run on my 2005 TTS.

[Richard Hamilton]

Check the load ratings on the Falkens. The ones on offer this side of the pond are a much lower load rating than th P-approved tyres. I use Yokohama Advan Sport V103's on mine, and am very pleased with them. I have done around 8000 miles on them, and they still have 5mm of tread left. I got through 2 pairs of Contis on the rear in the same distance.

['02996tt x50]

I went from the OEM p zero's in 18 then ps2's in 19 ( $1850.00 a set! ) and finally the v12's stock fitment, and as many have experienced the first 500 moles is downright scary until ya scrub em and they do settle down a bit but sidewalk flexing still apparent to me. They're a hell of a deal though at $680 a SET(?) . I have since traded cars and picked up an 03 tt with a gt2 setup so I'm back to running the michelins ($500.00 each rears! ) as choices are few in a 315/30/18 so that's the price I have to pay. I wouldn't trade away the lowered stance and handling of the gt2 euro spec ride/height. It's night and day from my MY 02 x50 car.

[lennon31987]

have on my 04 cab as well, havent put enough miles on them to accurately say but I am not rubbing anymore! For the price, I dont think these can be beat.

[minny]

Check the load ratings on the Falkens. The ones on offer this side of the pond are a much lower load rating than th P-approved tyres. I use Yokohama Advan Sport V103's on mine, and am very pleased with them. I have done around 8000 miles on them, and they still have 5mm of tread left. I got through 2 pairs of Contis on the rear in the same distance.

The Contis were the same on my Carrera but on the turbo I still have 5mm of tread after 7k miles.

[Hijack]

Thought, I'd chime in on this one as I just put the Hankooks on my 2004 TT Cab this week. Exact same experience as the OP. I really don't like them. They feel unbelievably "floaty" and unstable. This is not just at 100+ mph either. Spirited driving on the twisties is far more white-knuckle than with the Pilots that I had before. Heck, even on interstates going straight they don't feel like they're tracking well. I regularly get the car up over 150mph and I can tell you, its a nervous experience with these right now.

Hopefully they calm down as per the OP's experience, otherwise, I may not wait to replace them. They feel dangerous to me.

[nosturbo]

Thought, I'd chime in on this one as I just put the Hankooks on my 2004 TT Cab this week. Exact same experience as the OP. I really don't like them. They feel unbelievably "floaty" and unstable. This is not just at 100+ mph either. Spirited driving on the twisties is far more white-knuckle than with the Pilots that I had before. Heck, even on interstates going straight they don't feel like they're tracking well. I regularly get the car up over 150mph and I can tell you, its a nervous experience with these right now.

Hopefully they calm down as per the OP's experience, otherwise, I may not wait to replace them. They feel dangerous to me.

don't worry

Thought, I'd chime in on this one as I just put the Hankooks on my 2004 TT Cab this week. Exact same experience as the OP. I really don't like them. They feel unbelievably "floaty" and unstable. This is not just at 100+ mph either. Spirited driving on the twisties is far more white-knuckle than with the Pilots that I had before. Heck, even on interstates going straight they don't feel like they're tracking well. I regularly get the car up over 150mph and I can tell you, its a nervous experience with these right now.

Hopefully they calm down as per the OP's experience, otherwise, I may not wait to replace them. They feel dangerous to me.

Hijack, give them maybe at least 2000 miles to break in, but, night and day when compared to PS2s. I really thought there was something wrong with my car at the begining. Good luck to you!!!

[no partials]

I put Hankook on my 2002 911 turbo x50. They are great in my opinion. I am not an aggressive driver & my driving is mostly around town.

[shark715]

I have Hankooks on my '04 C4S. I replaced the OEM Conti's on the rear first, and with 11k miles on them, there's still plenty of tread left on the rears, but I typically don't drive the car hard. Until I replaced the Conti's on the fronts, I was surprised how easy it was to activate the stability control. I had read the warnings about mixing brands of tires, but I didn't expect to notice the issue when not driving the car hard . Now that I have Hankooks on both axles, and that issue is gone. I would be difficult for me to compare the handling as it's been a while since I had the OEM Conti's on both axles, but I have no complaints about the handling now. I will say that flatspotting may be a bigger issue with the Hankooks versus the Conti's, but with the huge difference in cost I think I made the right decision,