Hankook  Ventus V12 evo2

I had 7 of these tires destroyed by potholes during this 22k mile review. Now that the worst has been set aside for later, let me explain the good things. The wet traction is excellent, it inspires confidence in scenarios that others would tremble in fear in. The cornering stability is the best I've ever felt across any car, and I worked as a porter taking BMWs, and RollsRoyces to different, sometimes far off locations. By no means is my car fast, or even a sporty car, but cornering was significantly increased vs OEM. For a direct comparison, I maxed out a curve with Kumho Solus KH25 225/45/R16s at 62MPH. With the Hankook Ventus V12 Evo 2s 245/35/R18s, I maxed out this same curve under the same conditions at 76MPH (Both dry, but wet performance was a large difference as well, I just don't have those numbers documented). Granted larger width has a great effect, but take it as you will. Road noise is acceptable, but during highway driving it does sometimes bother you, but any music on the lower 10% of volume will easily drown it out. These tires would be the ultimate tires had it not been for a serious flaw. This flaw most likely derives from the structural rigidity of the sidewalls. 7 tires were completely destroyed, destroyed as in: Not able to be patched, by 6 different potholes. Mind you, I avoid any and all potholes wherever possible, but some are impossible to notice. I live in Chicago, quite a few people might understand. The structural rigidity is compromised in this tire. Any scary pothole = death for this tire. One pothole was even enough to destroy 2 tires from the same side. I have contacted Hankook via telephone, email, and twitter, but no response has been allocated. I have left several messages, and no luck. I honestly believe the structural integrity and rigidity of the sidewalls are flawed. 7 tires destroyed over 2 summers in Chicago. Even after trying to avoid any and all potholes. I love their performance, but their reliability rates a solid 0.

These tires replaced the firestone fire hawk A/S that came factory that only lasted 22000mls. I only drive the car from spring to fall so I only needed 3 season tires. these tires are amazingly quiet and responsive. recently I got caught in a heavy downpour on the interstate and could barely see the car in front of me when traffic suddenly went from 70mph to a crawl, the tires stuck like glue, no hydroplaning at all. and I have a better ride than I did with the Firestones, had the tires sent to my local Dodge dealer for installation best tire have ever owned. just hope they wear better than the Firestones.

I have only had these for 100 miles and only on the back end of the car so I can't really comment on cornering or tread wear. However these stick like glue on the dry, and are pretty darn good on the wet. Can't wait to get the front tires replaced with these.

This is on the scatpack challenger 6spd. Incredible grip in the dry. Launching out of corners is very impressive. I only drive the car 2-3 times per week so the tires still look brand new but after about 750 miles driven and being parked in the garage for most of the week, I have no issues with the tires whatsoever. Also I have driven several times in the rain and some very heavy storms during the summer and no problems.

This tire is awesome, have them on my stage 2 wrx and love them. They are very quiet and comfortable. Dry traction is prime. Wet traction is even better! Never been able to make them slip or skip on pavement and they do pretty decent on other surfaces too especially when absorbing pothole shocks. The only complaint I have is they feel a little sloshy at the recommended pressures in that when you turn the wheel there is a...lag...until you feel the car change direction. Probably due to the softer more comfortable sidewall. Overall awesome tire!

Installing my 4th set soon. This last set seemed to wear a little less than previous sets. I attribute this to heating them up at an autocross event when they were brand new. Dry grip is great. Lateral Gs in the autocross event were 1.09 left and 1.10 right. These lateral G readings surpass the manufacturers published specs. I'd say they are the best performer for the price!

I installed the V12, evo-2 tires on my 2004 400HP turbocharged S2000. I chose one size larger than stock. Installed 225/45 and 255/40/17's. These tires replaced Sumitomo HTR ZIII's in the stock size, which never worked or rode all that well on my turbo S. I chose these Ventus V12 tires due to the reviews of soft sidewalls and good grip under heavy acceleration, while still maintaining good cornering power. They did not disappoint. The ride is 100% better than the other tires I've had on this car. Remember, the S2000 is quite light, with fairly large tires. Stiff sidewalls result in great steering response and a horrible, jittery ride. The Ventus V12 tires simply cured my ride issues, while still cornering as well as the other mid range tires I've tried. The cornering speeds seem to be exactly as before, with about 63MPH possible on a local cloverleaf. As expected, the steering response is quite a bit more relaxed, due to the soft sidewalls. Using more tire pressure helps increase response while still retaining a great ride. During cornering "at the limit" there is markedly more tire squirm and less reaction to steering inputs, once again, as expected. This is a great thing on the otherwise overly "twitchy" S2000. It makes the car perform much more like a modern performance car and not a go-kart. Please understand, these tires don't convert the S2000 into a mushy handling Honda Accord. They work well, corner well, brake well and ride well. What more could you ask for? I'm very pleased.

i have these tires on my 240sx and so far they've been great ride smooth and they have great traction when there warmed up i cant do a burnout hardly at all. even when cold they dont slip easy and so far iv gone through some heavy rains and felt very confident with my traction good tires. my alignment is off in the front right now and it hasnt caused any uneven wear so far witch i was actually expecting good tire will buy more.

I can't decide yet on whether I like or don't like this tire. Overall it is a great tire, but some of the areas I feel it's lacking in are some important ones to me. These could just specifically be because of my application. I put between 600-700 miles a week on this tire and here is what I can say about them:

Pros: It is a superb value for the price, which is the primary reason that I bought them. It provides pretty good comfort for this type of tire and so far is quiet on the highway. The tread wear seems to be low on it which is good considering how much I drive. When asking to push it, the tires for the daily grind are good.

Cons: At times I can be a spirited driver and while not on a road course, I have noticed them to be a little soft on the turn-ins. When driving in the rain, I still feel safest and most stable when traveling 5-10 mph under the speed limit in steady rain. With my previous tires (which are from different brand, same category), I felt stable enough to drive at the speed limit. The tire also has a weird coloring or tint to it which I cannot get out, even with tire cleaner and shine.

As I get closer towards the end of the tires' life, I will try and update this review.

These tires are good for higher performance vehicles driven primarily in dry conditions. The treadwear is high, but as expected given they are on a heavy, powerful, RWD car driven quickly and cornered harder than most people would dare. Do not even look at your car in snowy conditions with this tire installed.

I have been buying Hankook evo2 v12 tires for my 350z for the past 6 years. I have 245/35/19 fronts and 275/35/19 rears. The first set I bought I only got around 10,000 miles on them, partly because I never checked my tires for air. So I was running 22 psi fronts, thus it caused my tires to go out completely. However, after getting the same tires and actually putting air into my tires every 6 months, I am running on about 27,000 miles and counting. The rears are almost completely gone, but the fronts still look like they have 1/3 of the thread wear left. Coming from Sumitomo HTR ZIII, these make less noise, have better grip, but the side wall is a lot softer as others have said. If you take care of these tires you can get over 25k miles. I do spirited driving and frequent pulls on the highway as well. Currently trying to get to 30k miles on these tires before I buy them again.

With a treadwear of 320, these things are hard as rocks. I do like them for the highway/city driving that I do, since they show little wear at 6000 miles. I think they might last forever, if you want longer mileage. I've used them a few times in autocross, and they don't hold on as well as the Michelin Sport Cup guys, but the price is great for what they are. I consider them a good performance tire at a great price, and will likely put another set on my Porsche Carrera S, if these ever wear out.