Tires Hankook or SUMITOMO

I have a set of 205's from sumitomo on my 17x9" rear. They stretched nicely, ride good and were cheap as dirt.

I have Hankook IPike w203 (couple of years older model) and don't have a single complaint (very happy).

On my MK VI R I run Hanhook Icept Evo's in the winter, they are a "snow" tire winter rated and all but they are also geared towards high performance. I feel very confident in conrnrs and such when its dry unlike some snow tires that are mush and don't handle well. In a car like the R it would be a shae to use a tire that doesn't allow the car to handle well when roads are dry or just slightly wet. the Icepts are a great snow tire. I have had zero issues wit their performance on snowy surfaces especially with the AWD you can basically go WOT from a stop in the snow and have no traction issues.

I am running 17x8 +45 Neuspeed RSe05 with 245/40R17 Hankook RS-3's with no problems

I get lucky out of the blue one day and luck into a set of virtually free new take off Hankooks from another new Jetta. I ditch the Contis and put on the Hankooks. HOLY COW. Drives like the car should have from day one.

I guess that's the end of my third set of Sumi HTR Z IIIs... I really like those tires for the price. And until that little scare... I ever had a clue the back tires were 1/2 slicks even in the rain.

The Ventus V12 EVO K110 is Hankook's Max Performance Summer tire developed for the drivers of sports cars, sporty coupes, and high performance vehicles. A PROVEN street-tire known to deliver superb control and braking.

The Ventus V12 EVO K110 is Hankook's Max Performance Summer tire developed for the drivers of sports cars, sporty coupes, and high performance vehicles. A PROVEN street-tire known to deliver superb control and braking.

I had Kumho and Hankooks. The Kumho, while being the superior dry tire (grip, feel), was terrifying in the rain. The really good think about Hankooks is that they grip well, are predictable, and ride really, really well (had 'em on 245/35/19s and rode way better than my winter set (235/50/17s). But as OP and many others have said, the sidewalls are waaaay too soft. Yeah, you can pump up the pressure by a couple PSI, but by doing that you're reducing the longevity of the tire (wears out center way more quickly).

I 100% disagree with the Hankook Ventus Line. A directional summer tire? Absolutely pointless. AND a semi-slick? It doesn't make sense. They have water diversion channels. As the front of the water channel encounters the water, it shoots out the side in such a way that the tire is allowed to keep maximum efficiency. But what's the point of that on a summer tire? Hankook has taken a hit in their R&D department, their rep who brought us the RS-3 about 2 months ago said that they used the same radial belt design, while only changing the dynamics of the road encounter.