Hankook tire deal and question
 

Hi

I found a good deal on Hankook Ventus V12 Evo tires. Delivered for $540.00, 4 tires, 225/40/18 and 255/35/18 includes $50.00 rebate. They also have a free road hazard warranty. Purchased from Gripston Tires on line. My question is what air pressure should I use? Stock run flats are 33 psi front and 39 psi rear.

Don L

The Z4M with regular tires runs 30/30 so I would try that and then maybe 32/32 and see what works best. Excellent price on the tires!

I swapped out my run-flats for these tires last fall and love them and I also got a $50 rebate with mine and my net price was exactly the same as yours. So far, they have been a great tire. The biggest question I had though was not whether to ditch the run-flats but what size should I get. The Z4M uses a slightly taller tire for some reason than the 3.0si. The width is the same and both are 18" but the M uses 45 and 40 series while the 3.0si uses 40 and 35 series. Since the M tires are non run flat tires, I decided to get the M sizes. I knew being a slightly taller tire that it would have a small effect on the speedometer reading. As it turns out, the change effectively eliminated my speedometer error. Prior to the change, I had a 3-5% higher reading on my speedometer than my actual speed. Now it is dead-on accurate.

The other reason I went for the taller size is that the stock 3.0si tire has a very short sidewall and since the stock tire is a run-flat whose sidewall is very stiff, the likelihood of damaging the rims is minimized. However with standard tires, I wanted a little more cushion in the sidewall. So far, I'm very happy with both the tire and the decision on the size.:thumbup:

Nice sticky tire. Love em. Harder to hit a second though. Sticky

I am running the Ventus V12 M tire size of my 3.0si coupe. I talked to Hankook and they said 40 psi front and back is fine. I did the LVPCA track event at Las Vegas Speedway with the tires at this pressure and they performed very well. The pressure also is fine for Normal driving and doesn't give too harsh a ride. I am very pleased with the tires.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC2kzeIynQ8

"As it turns out, the change effectively eliminated my speedometer error. Prior to the change, I had a 3-5% higher reading on my speedometer than my actual speed. Now it is dead-on accurate."

My 20 inch wheels fixed that problem as well.It no longer overestimated...:thumbup:

I tend to run my street tires in the 37 - 40 psi range. Only downside is slightly rougher ride. Braking, handling, tire wear, and gas mileage are all helped by higher pressures (within reason).

Huh? Smaller contact patch improves handling, tire wear and braking?

EB

I think Pinecones higher pressure tends to keep the tire flat. with the stiff sidewalls you sometimes need more air to force the center of the tire down to keep them from cupping in the middle. if you can get full contact across the tread , it does not matter what pressure you run. Thats why its good to measure the temp at 3 to 4 places across the tire to see how they are contacting the road.

I put the Hankook V12s on my car a few months ago. I'm at 40 psi fronts and 38 psi backs. I have the Si sports package. I drove the car fairly aggressively today after work and I detected a slight burning rubber smell when sitting at a 4 way stop. When I got home I could detect that faint smell in the garage- not overpowering but there. The tires feel warm to the touch. Anyone else experience that?

Check carefully to be sure that the tires aren't rubbing. Are they the correct size?

Yes correct size and I see no rubbing. I wasn't breaking the rear tires loose either.

The tires will feel warm after driving but you shouldn't get a smell.

Certainly tire wear and handling depending on how you define that. I think more likely it improves cornering feel with sharper turn in. Handling I tend to relate to comfort which will be less or more harsh with higher pressures.

I agree with what you are saying but think that 38-40 is a bit higher than I'd go on street tires. Probably closer to 34-36 but to each his own. By the way, to the OP, that was a killer deal on those tires.

I tried 36psi but the car didn't feel right and wanted to pull to the left a bit on some roads. 40psi makes the car handle better and no pulling. I just rolled the car back and forth in the garage. No sign of dragging brakes or rubbing. I can pull on a wheel spoke and roll the car; it's that easy. I'm going to take a "conservative" drive and see if the smell comes back but it looks like the weather here won't cooperate until Saturday. The tires were warm to the touch the other day when I got home; but not at all hot. The smell was at all four corners. It was not concentrated in one spot. I raised the hood and didn't detect any odor there at all. I never experienced this smell with the run flats. I mean, the only change has been the tires. I'm at about 600 miles on these new tires.

Equal air pressures side to side would not explain the pull vs. no pull but whatever works.

The pulling persisted in spite of trying different air pressures. The pull would seem to improve for a short time when I changed tire pressures but then worsen again. I ended up going back to the tire dealer. They first checked alignment, concluded that I had a defective tire. They replaced the left front tire the next day and the pulling has improved immensely. The tire dealer called it radial pull. He said it is a common issue on light truck tires, not usual for low profile tires. Guess I got lucky.