Bondo

My 2009 XLT came with Hankook Dynapros on it. I had never heard of the Hankook tire brand before and soon learned they were made in China. I got such a good deal on my 2009 XLT I couldn't let Chinese tires stop me. Besides, my Chinese Norinco and Polytechs are some of the best Kalashnikov rifles made.

Then it rained. I have had several occasions where the Hankook tires scared me due to loss of traction on wet, rain soaked pavement. I had always had Michelin tires on my previous 1996, 1998 and 2006 model F150's and had never had loss of traction on wet pavement like I have been experienceing with the Hankook tires.

One thing I experienced with the Hankooks was when passing a tractor trailor rig in the fast lane on a rain soaked freeway, as I passed the big rig the bow wake of air would force my truck to the side a little bit (which is nothing new) but I would have to overcorrect my steering back toward the big rig and I could feel I was in a somewhat controlled hydroplane skidding of the front two Hankook tires until I got out of the bow wake of the Diesel. Not a good feeling. I also lost traction and slipped well laterally getting onto the freeway via an access ramp I had taken 100's of times in my old F150's with Michelin tires in rainy conditions and at the same speed I was used to taking the curves at

I had to slow my driving and really be aware with the Hankook's on wet roads. But no more. The Hankook's are gone and I have a new set of Michelins on my 2009 F150 XLT now.

I have read others have had great luck with the Hankook brand of tire. I did not. I will keep my Chinese Ak-47's but no more Chinese tires for me. I will only have Michelin tires, from now on, between the road and my excellent 2009 Ford F-150.

Bondo

NorCal-09

Just for the record, Hankook Tire Co. H.Q. is in Seoul, South Korea. They are not a Chinese company.

They do have a manufacturing plant in the PRC (as well as some other countries) just as many US companies have manufacturing plants in the PRC.

....Hankook Tires is South Korea's largest radial tire manufacturer for cars, trucks, and buses; customers include Audi, Daihatsu, Ford, General Motors, Renault, Volkswagen, and Volvo. Established in 1941, Hankook also makes inner tubes and sells tires to the international automotive aftermarket. Hankook has four regional headquarters, five worldwide research and development centers, and a global sales network which spans over 180 countries. The company began producing tires at its newest manufacturing plant in Hungary in 2007. Michelin owns about 10% of Hankook....

This company makes a wide range of tires with numerous tread designs. They are rated as a very good tire by many users.

Like any brand, superior wet weather performance depends on the tread design, just as good off road, and/or good snow performance does. Some tires work well in the rain and some do not, regardless of the brand.

miztigerszou52

Sorry about your tires, my dad seems to have pretty good luck out of his. He puts them on his '94 F-150 farm truck and they do pretty well. Agreed on the Michelins though, they are unbeatable.

Daveh370

My 2010 Screw came with Michelin tires, and this is my first experience with them. My 2002 Scab came with Goodyear, which performed about as well as your Hankook's in rain and snow.

I have always preferred BF Goodwrich Radial All Terrain KO's and have run them on my last three rigs. As soon as my wallet and I recover from buying the '10, I will be looking into swapping out the Michelins.

Bondo

Thanks NorCal for setting me straight on where the Hankook tire brand is made. I should have done more research than just seeing the MADE IN CHINA stamp on the Hankooks on my truck. For that matter, my Michelins are stamped MADE IN USA, and they are French owned. Having been in manufacturing for the last 30years, I like to see things made in the USA.

We do all agree on one thing, the pickup truck we drive, and it is made in America, owned by Americans! Of course I am partial having worked in Ford Design Studio. I wish Alan Mulally would consider running for President!

Bondo

Daveh370

Bondo,

How did your prior set of Michelin's fair in the snow? I'm probably going to have to hold on to the set on my rig for at least this winter, and was wondering what to expect.

With the Goodyear's that were on my '02, I could not get out of my driveway if there was any accumulation of snow; hopefully the Michelin's do better.

NorCal-09

Hey, it's easy to make an assumption like that as many Asian names sound similar to us westerners.

I had just recently read a profile on this company and therefore I was aware of the information.

Actually, Han Kook is a Korean word 한국 (hanguk), which means Korea.

I am glad you enjoy your new F150 as much as I do mine !!

Bondo

The Michelins faired pretty good on snow. However, down here in Arkansas, we are lucky to get even one measurable snow fall per year. Accordingly, no one down here knows how to drive on snow, much less ice and we get more ice storms than snow these days.

wde3477

Another consideration besides tread pattern is the composition.

A 'harder' rubber, meant for longer life, may tend to be more 'slippery' in wet conditions.

Rule-of-thumb I've heard is that the treadwear number on the sidewall relates to about 200 miles for each point, so a 400 treadwear tire should yield about 80,000 miles under typical conditions. I figure tread life is a combination of initial tread depth and rubber 'hardness'.

Turkey

Every tire company makes their cheap models, their OEM models and then their good models.

Vehicle manufacturers ask for specific requirements which is the
ability to perform somewhat adequately in all weather conditions PLUS must meet certain low noise standards and provide the "feeling" of a comfortable ride. The cheapest bidder is then chosen and the tire is mass produced. My crappy Wrangler SRA's are an example. I can't say Goodyear sucks just because these particular tires do. Just a matter of finding the right tire to suit your needs and usually the OEM ones don't.