I know it's a bit of a thread revival, but I wanted to post a review here in hopes that we could get this thread going again. It helped me decide to buy these tires, so please, continue to post reviews here!
Tire: Hankook Ventus HR II
Size: 215/40/16
Driving Style: Aggressive/Daily Driven
Time/Miles on Tires: 1 year (approx 12,000 miles)
Category: High Performance All-Season
Pros: Price, size, performance. These tires are very inexpensive at $72 (discountiredirect.com) or $50 (onlinetires.com) each. They are also the only High Performance All-Season tire in this price range that comes in this size. I wanted stiffer sidewalls and more grip but could not afford to upgrade rims on my P5, so I purchased these tires for the extra girth. They will fit on stock P5 rims in this size, it just takes a lot of PSI to mount them. There are other choices in this size and in 215/45/16 if you are looking for a summer tire, but these are the only All-Seasons and they work great for me in Kentucky, where I only occassionally encounter an inch or so of snow.
I noticed an immediate difference in handling, acceleration and braking. I can launch the car much better now, and these tires in conjunction with the great brakes on the P5 mean I can stop very well. In my opinion, the best part about these tires is the handling. I can throw my P5 into a corner at a ridiculous speed and the car will not break loose. In a long, sweeping turn, they hold the road and don't squeal. They are also great for country road switchback driving (FUN!). These tires are still very sure-footed even after a year of hard driving, and I trust them implicitly.
The wet traction is very good, and when I do break the car loose in the wet, it is always predictable. I cannot recall sliding while coming to a quick stop in rain with these tires.
Cons: The tires got louder after about 5k miles, and they do not ride very smoothly. This is due in large part to the fact that they're so low profile. However, I don't think that the noise is more than would be expected for a cheaper, extremely low profile tire. The road noise and slightly harsher ride is a price well worth paying for the handling.
They are wearing well, and at this rate I expect to get 2 more years, maybe 20k more miles out of them, which I consider about average for my driving but some may consider a con.
Snow performance is not a con, but not really a pro either. They're adequate, but I haven't ever daily driven in snow before these tires, so I can't really fully comment on their capabilities. I do think that they are safe, but they're not a winter only tire, that's for sure.
Recommendation: If you're looking for a cheap upgrade in grip with some all-season capability, these are the tires for you. I would recommend them and hope to purchase another set when these wear out (if I don't upgrade my rims first!)
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