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Hankook iPike W409


fatbastard

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A while back I had posted asking for input on snow tires. I was all set to pick up a set of General Arctic Alimax's then got an offer for the WS70's for basically the same price. Was about to pull the trigger on the WS70's then backed out due to treadwear concerns and went to a local installer that was a distributor for General. They didn't have the Generals in stock but had the Hankook iPike W409's in stock. I looked at the tread and the patterns appear very similar and the price they offered was good so I went with it.

 

Had these mounted about a week ago and put about 600 miles on them so far. The tires seem OK. I know that isn't a glowing endorsement but I haven't had any snow to really test them. But coming from Dunlop M3's that were just about to the wear bands, these do handle significantly worse (as expected). Not as bad as I remember the old WS50's, those you could feel bad tread squirm, this feels more like the car is understeering rather than squirm. We did get some rain and they were fine but again seems like more understeer than I am used to. After the rain it got cold again and there was some ice here and there, overall these tires handled that well. Obviously they didn't stick like a studded tire but they communicated the road surface well and lost traction progressively. Tire noise is fine, I really don't hear them over the aftermarket exhaust. I haven't had a panic stop yet but under hard braking I did not notice any of the rear instability others have noticed with the General's.

 

Providing these do well in the snow, which I expect they will, these seem to be another inexpensive alternative. I will update the review when we get some messy conditions but thought some might want to give these a second look.

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I got these for my wife's forester. I have a 'meh' review on them so far as well.

 

We previously had the general tires, which were phenomenal, but it's hard to compare the Hanooks directly since the width was different (195 iirc on her impreza and 215 iirc on the forester).

 

They're decent on slushy, icy roads, but not great. Haven't tried them in deep snow yet, but that's where I'd expect to see them do well.

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I have these tires (studded) on my car right now. They are the only snow tire I've ever used before so I think they are very good compared to all seasons. But you can expect an improvement going from an all season to a winter tire in snowy conditions.

 

I've put about 1,000 miles on mine and they have seen it all. I think they do well in everything (Almost everyone in North Idaho has these snow tires or some form of the Toyo Observe). Haven't had any issues so far. Went out to the property my parents own and went down the driveway. It hasn't been plowed all winter and it was heavier snow. I plowed the snow with my bumper and you could see where I drug bottom all the way down. Coming back up was a chore because it is a pretty steep driveway. I made it out though, not without trying a few times but I made it. The tires do well in rain, never hydroplaned once. So from a noob standpoint these have been good. Are there others I definitely want to try? Yeah, Nokians...

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Did a road trip yesterday up to the Catskills. I seem used to the tires handling at this point though I do find myself entering turns more tentatively than I used to. Also noticed the car seemed a little less stable with cross winds, nothing scary just not quite as planted. Could have just been the road since I am not used to it. Also noticed no change in gas mileage, a friend of mine lost 1-2mpg with the Generals. Did see an inch of snow in an unplowed driveway and thankfully no slipping. I would have been really dissapointed if that happened. Still waiting for some real snow to test them out but I'll keep you updated on how they perform.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is my update on their foul weather performance:

 

Yesterday I went out to storage to get my sled, roads were covered with about 1-2" of a packed snow that was slushy in places. First thought was dissapointement as I was making my way out of my development. I was able to go just fine but found ABS seemed to kick in quicker than expected. But as I made it further along I realized it must have been much more slippery than I thought since I saw three cars (all FWD) stuck. As I drove around I found the tires to be pretty good, they did slip a little on off camber turns but it was predictable and progressive so overall I felt confident by the time I got home.

 

This morning we had snow up to the top of the hood and the car pulled straight out of the spot even thought it was plowed in. Granted the wifes A4 with RE960's did the same but this was the first time I was able to do the same in the subie and this time the the subie was more secure doing so. Last year with the Dunlop M3's I was not able to do this and had to shovel the car out, so this is a big improvement in snow traction.

 

Overall I am pleased that these seem to be better than the M3's in foul weather performance as this is what I was looking for with the new little baby boy. The only caveat is they give up a lot in dry weather performance. Not that I was expecting a great handler, but it seems like the dry differential is bigger than the foul differential. I'll update more as I get out and about some more, hope it helps.

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