Anyone used the Hankook Ventus V12 evo2 tires?

[Atty]

Recently upgraded to a new vehicle and ended up with a rather unappealing set of Pirelli all season grand touring tires. Looking for a nice summer set to replace them with.

I live in Central FL so its never below 40 degrees. The only weather I'm worried about is freak showers during the summer. I'm looking for a tire that gives more road feeling and grip. Hopefully without too much noise and decent tread wear. These tires just feel lifeless when you turn the wheel and don't feel any more confident in the corners than my 40k mile set of tires on my old car which were begging to be replaced.

Beyond this set - if no one has any experience - what others are out there for recommendation? I'm not looking to get PSS (too much $$$). The Hankook's look appealing for ~$130.

 

[SithSolo1]

My last set of tires were Hankook Ventus V12 evos. Grip with was pretty good until near the end when the tread got low. Then they were pretty squirrelly in the wet, more so than any other tire I've had. Thread wear was middle of the pack. Also the side was were rather soft, it gave the car a weird "floaty" feel in the turns but I got use to it over time.

I have no idea how they stack up to the Evo2s.

 

[manimal]

got rid of the GTI? I have them on on g35 but wife drives it mostly. I dont like the wear on em however. Granted she brakes like a madman and wears out pads in 20k miles.

 

[halik]

Have the Evos (not evo2s) on the fiancee's A4 Cabrio and had them on my 911. Fantastic tire for the money, especially given the dry grip beats PS2s for ~40% of the cost.

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/hankook-ventus-v12-evo-page-10

 

[Atty]

got rid of the GTI? I have them on on g35 but wife drives it mostly. I dont like the wear on em however. Granted she brakes like a madman and wears out pads in 20k miles.

Yeah, for another GTI.

My Mk6 had a lovely habit of burning through its oil in 2-3,000 miles. After 3 attempts to fix it and over 30 days in service (new cylinder head, piston rings on two separate repairs), the dealer didn't replace a seal and the issue happened again. This time it happened because all the oil fell onto my drive way and garage floor. At this point I called VW. They offered to take the Mk6 and give me a mk7 for trade assistance.


I ended up getting a Mk7 GTI SE w/ lighting & DSG for around $24,000. Wasn't the worst deal in the world. I had to stick with VW otherwise I wouldn't have gotten any deal and my trade in wouldn't have been as good.

 

[JCH13]

Have those on my wife's MR2. I like them as a good street tire: not too expensive, quiet, decent grip, and good in the rain.

 

[Jimzz]

Ratings at tirerack show they grip well but treadwear is a little lower than many expected and not as good in wet as some others. Right in the middle for wear and rain.

The Continental ExtremeContact DW are higher rated. The Cooper RS3-S are also supposed to be good.

What tire size are you looking at? And how many miles do you think a tire like that should last or want to?

 

[Pens1566]

Have the Evos (not evo2s) on the fiancee's A4 Cabrio and had them on my 911. Fantastic tire for the money, especially given the dry grip beats PS2s for ~40% of the cost.

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/hankook-ventus-v12-evo-page-10

That article is 5.5 years old and no one uses PS2s over PSS. Should compare them to PSS.

 

[Excelsior]

I have these on my Passat (sold it a few months back though) and I really loved them for the money. Great grip, good in the rain, hard for me to judge the wear as I didn't have them on for enough miles. They compared faborably to my more expensive Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S.

I like the fact that they're made in Korea too.

 

[Atty]

I have these on my Passat (sold it a few months back though) and I really loved them for the money. Great grip, good in the rain, hard for me to judge the wear as I didn't have them on for enough miles. They compared faborably to my more expensive Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S.

I like the fact that they're made in Korea too.

Oh man, Korea? Using Korean made items to destroy American roads! I love it. This might sell them on it's own.

 

[cbrsurfr]

I had the V12 Evo's on my GTI and liked them. I got the Evo2's for the Evo as my summer tire and like them. I did try them on a track and found they weren't as grippy as I would like but everyday roads they are fine.

 

[xSkyDrAx]

Have them on my speed3. Tread wear on them is pretty low probably about 20kish miles before they're gone. Grip is pretty good. Sidewall is softer than I had liked compared to the stock dunlops. Grip in the wet is decent as well but this is Cali so it's not the best judgement for wet grip.

Overall I like them for the price.

 

[Fenixgoon]

running V12's on my genesis coupe 2.0T right now. not bad for the money at all. the only thing i don't like is the cold grip..but hey, they're summer tires, they're meant to be used warm.

were i to buy over, i would go with bridgestone RE11's, but those are like...50% more $$

 

[GoodRevrnd]

People in e39 M5 community really like these as a "budget" performance tire, although I was just talking to a guy with an M6 who's had them for 6 months and hates them. For the money I would think you might be much better off with Bridgestone S04s. Although, it appears PSS has come down a bit in price so you could spend a bit more for pure performance. I think S04s are a bit quieter and smoother though.

 

[rsutoratosu]

I did not used them but from all the reviews, same as Sithsolo.. being that it was for a family car with kids, I didn't want to risk it in the rain. I end up getting DWS

 

[rsutoratosu]

Wait, PSS, pilot super sport ? those are fine tires.. I didn't need pss for my other car, so I got the Pilot Sport A/S 3

 

[Atty]

Man so many mixed reviews! Given their price I'm tempted to get them simply because I don't have to worry about being out too much money. Though only 20,000 miles of life and poor rain performance are worrying...ugh! Such a hard decision.

 

[Ferzerp]

Man so many mixed reviews! Given their price I'm tempted to get them simply because I don't have to worry about being out too much money. Though only 20,000 miles of life and poor rain performance are worrying...ugh! Such a hard decision.

This is standard for an aggressive tread tire. Tread is bad for dry performance, so the better the dry performance the less tread. I have pilot sport cup 2s on one of my car. No tread. amazing dry and warm grip; no wet grip. They have no tread.

 

[Triumph]

Man so many mixed reviews! Given their price I'm tempted to get them simply because I don't have to worry about being out too much money. Though only 20,000 miles of life and poor rain performance are worrying...ugh! Such a hard decision.

The Pilot Super Sports have a 300 treadwear rating and a 6 year 30,000 mile warranty. The Ventus has a 5 year, no mileage warranty. Tirerack users give the Ventus a 6.7 for tread life versus 8.4 for the PSS. None of these are guarantees about tread life, but I've heard good reviews for the PSS for life. If you think you can get 20,000 miles out of some Ventus and 30,000 miles out of PSS, then that makes the extra $$$ for the PSS worth it.

I have the Continental DW summer right now. I don't like them, too mushy in the sidewall. But the rain performance is pretty incredible. I haven't figured out mileage yet, but I've had them for just about 2 years and they are dead. I plan on buying the PSS unless there's something better out there.

 

[Viper GTS]

The Pilot Super Sports have a 300 treadwear rating and a 6 year 30,000 mile warranty. The Ventus has a 5 year, no mileage warranty. Tirerack users give the Ventus a 6.7 for tread life versus 8.4 for the PSS. None of these are guarantees about tread life, but I've heard good reviews for the PSS for life. If you think you can get 20,000 miles out of some Ventus and 30,000 miles out of PSS, then that makes the extra $$$ for the PSS worth it.

I have the Continental DW summer right now. I don't like them, too mushy in the sidewall. But the rain performance is pretty incredible. I haven't figured out mileage yet, but I've had them for just about 2 years and they are dead. I plan on buying the PSS unless there's something better out there.

All of this. Consider the total cost per mile not just the purchase cost. Looks like PSS cost about 1/3 more than the Ventus in the random size I chose for the sake of comparison. Probably worth it just from a lifespan perspective much less knowing you have the generally accepted best in the category.

I bought new wheels for my car specifically so I could get super sports come spring, if they're available in your factory sizes I think that's an easy choice.

Viper GTS

 

[kitatech]

I have the Ventus V4 ES and they're great on the Camry, in all weather conditions...just wouldn't last 25k here in south Florida on the hot shell-impregnated roadways...

 

[Triumph]

Also Michelin usually does a coupon for $70 off/set for their tires. Not a ton of money, but 70 bucks is 70 bucks.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I run the original Evo (not Evo2) V12s on my E90 330i. I've had them for about 5 years. They have been good all around, though they suffered a surprising amount of wear from a weekend HPDE. I would not hesitate to buy them again.

 

[Imported]

Had the original Evo V12 on my G35's street setup. Not a bad tire and much better than the FK452s they replaced. I feel like I have more road grip with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 on my BMW though and they handled an autocross much better than the Evo V12.

 

[Cobalt]

My last set of tires were Hankook Ventus V12 evos. Grip with was pretty good until near the end when the tread got low. Then they were pretty squirrelly in the wet, more so than any other tire I've had. Thread wear was middle of the pack. Also the side was were rather soft, it gave the car a weird "floaty" feel in the turns but I got use to it over time.

I have no idea how they stack up to the Evo2s.

Can attest to this about the original Evo. Good tires half way through but didn't inspire much confidence as tread passed the half way point. Switched to Bridgestone Pole Positions this past summer.