Hankook ipike409: slippery on dry/ wet

[Wilso]

hey guys n gals, I have a set of hankook ipikes, had them for
About 1000km so far. Last year when I got them I could do a burnout just
By launching the car normally, and if I'm accelerating briskly I could get some
Traction loss on dry or wet conditions. I figured this was just typical break in period and it would go away. Drove it through last winter and in the snow/ slush
They were fantastic so I figured problem solved.

I threw them on a couple days ago, and again, same slippery when dry/ wet so I was wondering if you guys think it's a problem? Or normal? Could use some insight to easy my mind.
Thanks

[Nevermore]

I have these tires for my car (I have the 419, don't know if that will affect it much) and last winter was horrible. They performed very well, only slipping when the roads were in terrible conditions. As far as I could tell these were as good, if not better, than the stock tires on a cold wet or dry road. But it had to be cold. What's the temp when you're noticing the slippage? These tires really hate warm roads.

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by Wilso

hey guys n gals, I have a set of hankook ipikes, had them for
About 1000km so far. Last year when I got them I could do a burnout just
By launching the car normally, and if I'm accelerating briskly I could get some
Traction loss on dry or wet conditions. I figured this was just typical break in period and it would go away. Drove it through last winter and in the snow/ slush
They were fantastic so I figured problem solved.

I threw them on a couple days ago, and again, same slippery when dry/ wet so I was wondering if you guys think it's a problem? Or normal? Could use some insight to easy my mind.
Thanks

what is the tire size and what pressures are you running them at?

[Wilso]

Originally Posted by Nevermore

I have these tires for my car (I have the 419, don't know if that will affect it much) and last winter was horrible. They performed very well, only slipping when the roads were in terrible conditions. As far as I could tell these were as good, if not better, than the stock tires on a cold wet or dry road. But it had to be cold. What's the temp when you're noticing the slippage? These tires really hate warm roads.

Ah okay, yeah they were great in the bad stuff. Weather is between 5 and 12 degrees C

[Wilso]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

what is the tire size and what pressures are you running them at?

16/55?/195 and I'm running them at 34psi

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by Wilso

16/55?/195 and I'm running them at 34psi

first time I'm seeing someone write the tire size in the reverse order :o




34 psi is quite high


I'd drop that to 25-27psi... and definitely never higher than 30.

[Wilso]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

first time I'm seeing someone write the tire size in the reverse order :o




34 psi is quite high


I'd drop that to 25-27psi... and definitely never higher than 30.

Lol my bad. Really? I'll give that a shot, I feel like 25-27 is too low :O

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by Wilso

I feel like 25-27 is too low :O

and why do you feel that?




tire pressures are a very personal thing and can vary quite a bit between cars, tires, and ambient conditions.


sometimes an optimal pressure for fuel economy isn't the best pressure for grip


and vice versa


I can pump my tires up to 40-45 psi and enjoy a healthy boost in MPG, but the grip levels will go down.




feel free to experiment ... I mean it's just air! Start by dropping to like 24psi and then add 2 psi each morning for a week and make your own conclusions by the end of the experiment.

[Nevermore]

One dealership that installed mine installed them with 30 psi, but when I went to another one for my oil change they bumped it back up to the stock 35 psi. I didn't feel much of a difference either way. I think the major factor is the temp. They got pretty squirmy above 50 degrees f.

[dradernh]

Assuming you've got the Michelin HP Primacys as your non-winter tire, here are the differences:



Those differences are a noticeably narrower and taller tire with significantly greater tread depth. By themselves that equals much less grip, no matter how much more grip the winter tire compound has. I think your results are to be expected.

That's excellent advice to try different tire pressures to find what works best for you. Somewhat low pressures are generally advised for driving in snow and slush itself, as they'll put a bit more tread on the surface.

That last bit may be counterintuitive, and it's a small thing except when it makes the kind of difference that lets you get home on time. For winter, you choose a narrower-tread/taller-section-height tire so that it will more easily cut through the snow/slush and down to the packed snow/pavement where the grip is better, but then you lower your pressures slightly so as to widen the tread a very tiny bit. Summarized, it's: Narrower to cut through the white stuff, and then wider for better grip once you're finally on the harder surface.

[Akari]

Sounds about like my experience with them as well. They're soft tires meant for snow, of course they're going to have less grip than a summer tire in the dry and wet.

[Wilso]

Thank you all for the great advice and info! I didn't feel comfortable going down to 24 PSI so I dropped er down to 30. Noticed a big difference, a lot less squirmy unless I really try! Even in the rain today it gripped better than before, if anythin I might drop it a little bit lower to maybe 28 because I don't do much driving in the winter Thanks again! <3

[Nevermore]

I forgot to mention, my experience with them is on stock size. 215/45/17. Less section height might make them less squirmy/squishy for me. I like them. Then again I have the newer compound (419) so who knows. Glad to hear lowering the PSI helped.