johnnycage

As the title says, the winters went on. 4 new Hankook i*cept evo's, 195/60r15's on steelies.

First the rubber:

They are a newer tire by Hankook, intended toward performance, billed as the official tire of team Canada and have EVO in their name! Here is the marketing mumbo jumbo.

- Winter i*Cept evo is studless, high-performance winter tire developed for high performance and sports cars.
- This dynamic looking tire provides excellent performance under winter weather conditions.
- Relies on the asymmetrical pattern to respond to slippery winter weather conditions, including wet and frigid road surfaces and snow and ice.
- New generation silica compound is optimized to provide wet, snow and ice performance, while latest 3D sipe design prevents small blocks from sliding and enables them to support each other for exceptional snow and handling performance while reducing abrasion.
- 3D sipe design provides exceptional snow and handling performance while reducing abrasion.
- Jointless bead wire provides strong stability and a comfortable ride while maximizing steering response, high speed stability and durability.
- Converging lateral slot design reduces noise and assists in water and slush removal.

You can get a good look at the tire here, http://tires.canadiantire.ca/en/tire...er-i-cept-evo/

Then the review:

So far the conditions have been mostly dry. Handling so far feels great. When you take your turn, the break away is as you'll expect. Grip feels good and gives me confidence, it also feels much better than it did with my all seasons during the summer especially in wet conditions. Now cornering grip does go down the more wet it gets but the braking grip does not feel changed.

One major thing to note is that these tires are made of two rubber compounds. On the inside its harder to last longer, the outside softer for better grip. It you take note on your cars feel, upon immediate steering things will feel spongier. However once under load, they grip and you quickly get feedback.

So far there hasn't been snow so I'll have to edit this later once I have driven in some. The feeling I get is that these won't grip the same as a Blizzacks or hankook's ipike however will handle far better in milder winter conditions like we see here in Toronto, Ontario Canada. I am betting these will excel in wet and dry conditions.

Now in terms of noise change, I haven't heard any what so ever. These tires are quiet as heck. I love the fact they don't add to the already loud cabin we have.

nekkidlad

iTrader: (4)

hope the winter tires work out for ya...
i wish i had winter tires....i could afford them but i knwo i'd end up having some issue and be stuck w 4 new a/s tires(i just bought a set a few months ago) or 4 new winter tires after it gets wrecked or sumn...

johnnycage

I have all seasons too, I use them outside of Winter. Once my all seasons are done I'll buy summers. Personally I don't think you can go wrong with winters on. You'll be far more likely to avoid any crazy crash

nekkidlad

iTrader: (4)

yea but w my luck i get winter tires and wreck it in summer...so i just havn't bought any....plus im hoping to eventually get 17"s.....then i have a set of new snow tires sitting around

but i just got a set of 16" A/S a few months ago...i have to wait ~2yrs+ for theese to wear out(...more if i get snow tires)... before i get 17" wheel+tires now...

i thought about getting new wheels and tires but it's too close to winter and my old tires were junk(~2/32" outer edges and bald/belts inner edges), i'd be all over the place...so it was either get a new $400 set of 16" A/S tires, or a set of ~$400+ 17" wheels and ~$400 tires AND a set of ~$400 snow tires...(wich i'd have to get later anyway but @ least if i do it in spring/summer i can go a few months between the buys...)

plus i have a legit excuse for the wheels...my OE wheels are all bent...it's like a massage chair on the freeway...lol
i could get them fixed but it's ~$100 a wheel....(at that price i can get a new set of wheels for ~$50 more)