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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

Last edited by ride5000; 06-07-2007 at 11:59 AM.
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Old 02-23-2007, 01:14 PM   #2
parker
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Member#: 46241
Join Date: Oct 2003
Chapter/Region: SWIC
Location: Orison, Crusader. Stanton
Vehicle:
- Can I get
a wayo

Default

I would reccomend this tire after full season of use as-well.

It is wearing very well with some spirited driving.

I would only ask for better lateral traction in the slush/ snow.
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Old 02-23-2007, 07:13 PM   #3
hadboosttroy
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Member#: 109560
Join Date: Mar 2006
Chapter/Region: NWIC
Location: portland, OR
Vehicle:
2002 BMW M5
Goodbye STi :(

Default

same here, wonderful tire, excellent value. I found them be superb in all winter conditions
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Old 02-24-2007, 11:34 PM   #4
raamaudio
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Member#: 50340
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Morgan Utah
Vehicle:
05 FXT
Crystal Grey Metalic

Default

I am running a bit wide for snow, 225/50/17 but I needed the diameter for my Forester.

I took an 1,800 mile December trip and never once worried about having enough tire for anything I could run into and I hit it all, heavy snow in a pass that was not well plowed, ice, buckets of rain, dry, day, night, sub zero, 60 degrees. They did very well in everything.

Certainly not all out snow tires but decades of snow experience can make up for that.

I have also hauled arse in some serious twistes and am amazed at their grip and progressive breakaway, I have driven on worse summer performance tires!

Quiet, smooth, a bit soft in the reflexes but that is part of being a snow and ice tire.

I run higher pressure and am wearing the middle down a bit but that is to be expected, it sure makes them work better on dry surfaces.

Even though wide they are still fine in the slippery stuff, much better than I expected.

Rick
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Old 02-25-2007, 04:24 PM   #5
02WHITEDUB
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Chapter/Region: W. Canada
Location: Edmonton
Vehicle:
02 ProTuned TD04
Now with more clunks!

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Running the same tires and agree completely with your review. Great value!
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Old 02-27-2007, 06:44 PM   #6
n801a
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Chapter/Region: RMIC
Location: north of happy valley
Vehicle:
06 spec b bye STi
07 rs 04 Metro

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running these on my sti def not to bad in the dry but very good in the snow so far this season
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Old 04-24-2013, 07:49 AM   #7
ride5000
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Member#: 32792
Join Date: Feb 2003
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: lincoln, ri
Vehicle:
2003 GGA MBP
12.9 / 105+

Default

ha, still running on these suckers. just took 'em off for the season last week.

obviously they wear like IRON.
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Old 04-24-2013, 10:39 PM   #8
jacobsen1
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Member#: 16711
Join Date: Mar 2002
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: Bozeman MT
Vehicle:
2005 OB XT 5MT
2015 Outback

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blast from the past?!
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