Topic: Hankook Optimo S4

[JohnM]

I bought 4 S4s from Canadian Tire last week and intend to run them as my winter tire here in snow country.

My experience with the Nokian WR was extremely positive - running them in winter and regular all seasons from April to October.

The Nokian was like a mediocre snow tire in snow and slush but vastly better on clear roads which is what we have 80% of the time in a "normal" winter.

So far the S4s feel very good.  Compared to the Michelin Harmonys which just came off, they are just as round and feel more stable.  Despite very aggressive sipes and blocks they are at least as quiet.  Big surprise.  They feel slightly harder (like a hard skin) when rolling but when a bump comes they are no harsher than the Michelins.

So far they are more refined than I expected and maybe tighter than the WRs which felt softer.

Has anyone driven these on snow?

Cheers,
John M.

[PJungnitsch]

Didn't have much luck with them last winter with all the freezing rain/snow cycles we had in Medicine Hat last winter.

Blamed it on the ice, but after finding a loaner Taurus with some nameless CT all seasons had better traction I said to hell with it and got some Blizzak's which were a night and day improvement.

Fine summer tire though.

[JohnM]

Alright, I'm waiting for the snow or maybe not.

I am really taking a shine to the S4s.  They are probably the best tire I've had in 6 or 7 years since I kissed off larger vehicles and started driving things that ride on 175 section tires.  You can't get a really good 175 - 14 summer/all-season tire like an MXV it seems.

The S4s are really very smooth and quiet and have tightened up the handling of the Echo considerably.  I won't be calling out any GTis though.

In the recent torrential downpours, it did extremely well.  To top it off, fuel usage seems to have dropped slightly.  They are definitely tighter than the Nokian WRs but it is hard to imagine the performance the S4s are showing now will hold up just as well in snow and ice.  If it does, they will get a 5 star rating.

So we'll see.

Cheers,
John M.

[JohnM]

This is the final installment on my experience with the 4Ss.  We got close to 15cm of heavy snow last night and it is still coming down.  The 4Ss did extremely well running down the unplowed country roads.  they handle the deep stuff and the slush about as well as a not-so-bad snow tire.  In this regard they are well up to my hopes.

On dry and wet roads they significantly exceeded my expectations by being quieter, smoother and tighter than my previous all season tires.  I haven't had them out on ice but expectations are not terribly high.  The poster above was not impressed.  On the other hand my driving gets extremely conservative in slippery conditions.  If there are any surprises, I'll post them.

Overall, I prefer these against the Nokian WRs as they grip at least as well in all conditions and are smoother and tighter.  I'd also expect them to last longer.  Note that the last Nokians I had were bought 5 years ago and they have almost certainly been improved.

In any case, the Hankook Optimo 4s is the best small (175/14) tire I've ever had and it is good enough for use in snow country.

Cheers,
John M.

[Spheric]

I wonder when Canadian based dealers will start fitting these 'all-weather' tires as standard on new car deliveries ? Some customers do factor in cost of winter tires into total cost when purchasing new vehicles.

[ktm525]

I wonder when Canadian based dealers will start fitting these 'all-weather' tires as standard on new car deliveries ? Some customers do factor in cost of winter tires into total cost when purchasing new vehicles.

In a completely misguided move Volvo was equipping cars like the S80 with Pirelli Rossos (a summer only tire). Not only would these tires only provide about 30 k kms of service they were absolute death in the cold and snow. Why Volvo thought a typical S80 buyer would want a performance summer tire is beyond me. Did they not have research into their typical buyer?

The upside for the dealer was saddling these hapless consumers with a $2k winter tire/wheel package. Perhaps not so stupid after all?