View Single Post
Old 02-19-2007, 04:21 PM   #1
ride5000
Scooby Guru
Member Sales Rating: (4)
 
Member#: 32792
Join Date: Feb 2003
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: lincoln, ri
Vehicle:
2003 GGA MBP
12.9 / 105+

Default hankook w300 icebears

size: 205/60r16

yes, a bit taller than oem 205/55r16. i basically picked up about a half inch of ride height.

that's good for the snow.

so far i am quite impressed by the sheer bang for the buck of these tires. i paid $62 each from edgeracing.com. the 65 aspect ratio was a couple bucks cheaper which sealed the deal for me! so a whole new set of winter shoes ran me <$250. that's frigging aces in my book.

as far as performance, on the dry pavement we've had a lot of this season, they seem to be wearing VERY well for a snow tire. the breakaway is very progressive, giving you a very forgiving "fudge zone" before things get nuts. sidewalls are squishy and soft, not surprisingly. i am not running high pressures in them--35psi all around.

lately we've finally gotten some ice/snow on the ground, and my opinion of the tires has not changed. they grip very well on ice, and moderately well on slush. haven't had deep snow, but i expect similar performance to the slush. they really do excel on ice. more than once i've pulled to a stop and parked, gotten out of the car, and nearly fallen on my ass as i've gotten out. i never knew how slippery it really was until i took a step!

these replaced a set of blizzak ws15, their "old tech" dual compound snow that hasn't been sold in a few years. comparing the two, ice grip is equal, slush grip about the same, snow grip untested (but i think the ws15s will edge out slightly due to blockier tread design). however dry grip, price, and wear go to the kooks by a total landslide. i always had squirm issues with the ws15s (even when worn) and despite the much deeper tread depth of these new tires they feel a lot more planted, even when bedding in some new ceramic brake pads by repeatedly hauling it down from 100+ to under 20mph (on private roads).

any other questions, just ask.

hth
ken
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

Last edited by ride5000; 06-07-2007 at 11:59 AM.
ride5000 is offline   Reply With Quote