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Old 11-29-2010, 03:29 PM   #1
AaronCompNetSys
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Thumbs up Review: Hankook i*cept Evo Snow Tires

I ordered and installed the Hankook i*cept Evo snow tires from my local Discount Tire. They seem to be very new to the market, and I was looking for some that were comparable to my old Yokohama AVS Winters, which were discontinued in place of the Yokohama W.Drive.




I was looking for a tire with a proper shoulder on it for dry handling, while still being decent in snow. The price for the W.Drives were substantially higher, so I decided to go with the Hankooks.

Dry Impressions:
So far, the total cornering grip appears to be simular to my old AVS. Once committed to a turn, the break away is very predictable. On proper suspension, you get like 80% of the total grip of a summer tire of simular size.

Wet Impressions:
In the poring rain or damp mornings, the amount of grip is much better than any all season. The level of cornering grip is noticeably and predictably less as it gets more wet, but the braking grip appears closed to unchanged regardless of wetness.

Cold/Warm Impressions:
So far, no temperature change appears to affect it.

Handling Feel Impressions:
One of the advertised features of this tire is a different rubber compound on the inside than the outside. The inside is supposed to be harder to last longer, with the outside softer for more grip. Driving on your wits or impulse, you don't notice it too much, but if you really take note, there is a weird rubbery feeling upon initial steering input. Its almost like you can jiggle the tires around a tiny bit with nothing happening, it reminds me of all seasons. Once any load is exerted on the tire, the softer portion grabs and there is quick feedback and lots of grip.

A consequence of this, which I discovered quickly: if you exert extreme yaw (jink the wheel hard), the back tires can break loose if they are not loaded properly. This meant I can do power sliding u-turns in the dry. It also means I can setup 4 wheel drifts, by overloading the rear tires briefly just before a medium turn. If you've ever driven a RWD car on balding tires with lots of camber, its exactly the same; in RWD, you can spin them up pretty easy, but once loaded in a corner they have plenty of grip.

Snow impressions:
Light snow and slush. The acceleration grip is just remarkable on pure snow (prolly just the larger width), but the deceleration and horizontal grip is the same as other snow tires I've tried. The slush/standing water handling is remarkable, I hit a huge puddle and the sound scared me because there was no feedback in the wheel or loss of traction. It was completely stable.
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Old 11-29-2010, 03:42 PM   #2
AaronCompNetSys
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I only recommend these tires to experienced spirited drivers. If you are a spirited driver with lots of camber on the back, I don't recommend these unless you are very comfortable with oversteer in the dry.

Posted in second post because its more subjective than all the rest of the review, and others may or may not agree.
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Old 11-29-2010, 11:18 PM   #3
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Very interesting read, thank you! I think you're among the first to have offered such an in-depth review of the tire. They were highly rated in the last CR, and have sparked much interest in many of us.

Just two quick questions:

How many miles on them, currently?

In the wet impressions category, what all-seasons are you comparing these to?
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Old 11-30-2010, 12:02 AM   #4
AaronCompNetSys
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About 500 miles so far, and the only all season's I've used on the Subie are the Re-92s. I've tried a few other random ones on other cars that I have no idea what they were.
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Old 11-30-2010, 01:19 AM   #5
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tried finding a set of these in a size i can use and found none on discounttire's site then again, i rarely find tires in sizes i want on their site!

which size did you buy and how much did you pay?
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Old 11-30-2010, 09:02 AM   #6
AaronCompNetSys
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225/45R17 $159, $763.98
I wanted 215s because the wheel is only 7", but 225 was all they make. For the balance of price, performance, and installation, I couldn't find any other prices anywhere locally that would beat that price installed. Several other stores couldn't even get the tires, and the only other cheaper deals were mooshy shoulder snow tires. I think tire rack prices have dropped a bit on the Dunlop and Pirelli, which may be a good competitor for the Hankooks.
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Old 12-13-2010, 09:31 AM   #7
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Did a bit of snow driving today and yesterday. So far they are pretty standard on pure snow under braking. It is quite difficult to brake them free actually to do a power slide, I end up gathering up too much speed before they break loose sideways.

Full throttle in 2nd on pure snow was a new experience, with the wider tires I suspect was the cause for almost full traction, a wheel breaking loose here or there and fighting back for traction.

These tires are sold out in my area, I don't know where you could get them
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Old 03-29-2011, 01:33 PM   #8
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Really been beating on these, and they seem to be taking it in stride. The outside edges are a bit worn, but the insides where its important is just fine. It is just below 40F outside.

Being chased by a GTR, click through for HD. It is on summer tires though, a bit too cold for them.
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Old 11-11-2011, 10:50 AM   #9
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How do you feel these would compare to say a WS-60? Is that a fair comparison to ask of you or do you not have experience with blizzaks?
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Old 11-11-2011, 11:14 AM   #10
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Icept are more similar to LM-60 than WS-60.

Krzys
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Old 11-11-2011, 11:22 AM   #11
AaronCompNetSys
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krzyss View Post
Icept are more similar to LM-60 than WS-60. Krzys
Quote:
Originally Posted by scooby24 View Post
How do you feel these would compare to say a WS-60? Is that a fair comparison to ask of you or do you not have experience with blizzaks?
I have tried a couple blizzacks briefly. Both you mention are not similar to the Icept. Note the edge of the tread that are not smooth like a typical handling tire.

Not a handling tire: WS-60

Not a handling tire: LM-60

A handling tire: Winter 240 SnowSport

Of course handling on cold dry days may not be a requirement for your snow tires. I consider it a must since it doesn't snow every single day of the winter and I still enjoy my handling.
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Old 11-20-2011, 10:58 PM   #12
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Well based on your advice and review, I got the hankooks purchased and mounted and I couldn't be happier. The ride is very nice, but not too soft. If feels...muted...compared to the summers is the best way to describe it. More compliant, very little road noise, yet still quite grippy. They are also a great looking tire in 245/40. Still breaking them in so no real aggressive driving but so far, I'm quite pleased and glad I went with them over the WS or LM 60's.

edit: forgot to mention. One thing I immediately noticed was the lack of tread squirm I've experience with other newish winter tires like LM25's. On the highway the car would feel really jittery and wobbly driving in a straight line as it shifted around on the tread. This tire doesn't do that. Feels very solid for a winter tire.


Last edited by scooby24; 11-20-2011 at 11:11 PM.
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Old 11-21-2011, 12:47 AM   #13
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how much did those run you?
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Old 11-21-2011, 08:32 AM   #14
AaronCompNetSys
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scooby24 View Post
Well based on your advice and review, I got the hankooks purchased and mounted and I couldn't be happier.
Great, I'm glad it helped out. I just put mine back on and I'm always surprised at how different they are from the summer tires.

Your squirm point is a good example trait of a handling winter tire over a normal snow tire. Since writing this review my mother has switch to dedicated summer/winter sets and has a similar complaint.
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Old 11-21-2011, 09:20 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by svxninja View Post
how much did those run you?
I bought them locally from a friend at a cost that I agreed not to share, but online they were something like ~210 a tire from discount tire direct with free shipping.
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Old 11-21-2011, 01:16 PM   #16
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The i*cept EVO doesn't seem to get a lot of attention. I found only one test of it online, from the German magazine Auto Bild:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article...-Tyre-Test.htm

"Positive: Impressive handling qualities on snow, good steering precision and short braking distances on dry roads.
Negative: Slightly longer braking distances on wet roads and a high rolling resistance."

In Europe Hankook has introduced a new winter performance tire, the Winter I*cept RS, with a directional tread pattern.

http://global.hankooktire.com/compme...lue=0&KeyWord=
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Old 11-21-2011, 01:29 PM   #17
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They are a relatively new tire which might be why they don't get a lot of attention. They also aren't in Tire Rack's lineup, which would certainly get them more attention.
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Old 11-30-2011, 06:59 PM   #18
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I found this review because I was at a local shop and a gentleman with a Legacy is going to have these mounted on his 18's. I am really between these and the Dunlop Wintersport M3's. For my "summer" set up, I actually drive more of an all season the Continental ExtremeContact DW's. The review and feedback of the different conditions has been very helpful in aiding my decision, but still have the Dunlops on my brain.

Has anyone been able to compare the Dunlop Wintersport M3's and these? I found the Hankook's on Discount Tire in my stock sizing 215/45/17 and in stock.
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Old 11-30-2011, 07:01 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BoostinChick View Post
I found this review because I was at a local shop and a gentleman with a Legacy is going to have these mounted on his 18's. I am really between these and the Dunlop Wintersport M3's. For my "summer" set up, I actually drive more of an all season the Continental ExtremeContact DW's. The review and feedback of the different conditions has been very helpful in aiding my decision, but still have the Dunlops on my brain.

Has anyone been able to compare the Dunlop Wintersport M3's and these? I found the Hankook's on Discount Tire in my stock sizing 215/45/17 and in stock.
I would say between those two, it's 6 in one hand half dozen in the other. Go with whichever is cheaper.
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Old 11-30-2011, 07:52 PM   #20
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So you are saying they are that similar? The Hankooks are cheaper and come in stock sizing. With the Dunlops, I would have to either go with 205 or 225.
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Old 11-30-2011, 07:55 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BoostinChick View Post
So you are saying they are that similar? The Hankooks are cheaper and come in stock sizing. With the Dunlops, I would have to either go with 205 or 225.
Yeah, wintersport 3D's are overall a great tire and seems to be one of the better handling winter tires. I haven't tried them, but if the sizing isn't right, I'd definitely go for the Hankooks. I don't see the wintersports being enough of an improvement to justify either added cost or non-optimal sizing.
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Old 11-30-2011, 08:05 PM   #22
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Cool, thanks for the feedback!
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Old 12-03-2011, 07:01 PM   #23
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Just got a set of these today. They'll go on the car tomorrow.
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Old 12-03-2011, 08:44 PM   #24
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Got to try in the rain. My experience reflects the op. It's clear straight line acceleration and braking is good but cornering grip is certainly less. They do not let go unpredictably however...they slowly start to lose grip and you can quickly regain traction through throttle or steering input.
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Old 01-10-2012, 01:15 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scooby24 View Post
They do not let go unpredictably however...they slowly start to lose grip and you can quickly regain traction through throttle or steering input.
I guess that I should also have stated that I can be extremely aggressive when I'm by myself on a back road, and my opinions are at cornering speeds almost no one else drives at around here.
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