Hankook Ventus
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 347
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From: Virginia Beach
i just bought a pair for the rear and getting them put on this weekend. i agree about the price and cant wait to see how they feel on the road.
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Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 28,698
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From: Mooresville, NC
I love the Ventus V12's! At first they felt horrible when breaking them in. After 500 miles or so feel awesome! Put a couple thousand on them now I think and love them!! Best bang for the buck tires for sure!
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,268
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From: San Diego
with chetly(& not because he owns a LBP), play around with the tire pressures some by 2 psi increments. I had toyo r1r's and loved how stiff the sidewalls were. Switched to star specs and noticed the sidewalls to be softer. Played around with the tire pressures and found that the star specs like 3psi more for similar sidewall responsiveness.Every tire is different, u must find the sweet spot on your own.
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Joined: Dec 2005
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Originally Posted by BelowRadar' timestamp='1299780066' post='20350229
Have you had much more time on them to notice any difference since your last post? I am strongly considering buying these tires today, and your review is the only one that concerns me. Of course the nice ride sounds good, but I would like that more confident feel - especially since I am doing the dragon next month. Could you elaborate on what you mean by the "loose, isolated feel" ? Does this mean steering is less responsive and you don't feel the road as much in the steering wheel? Thanks! 
I would say you are not feeling a soft sidewall. You are actually feeling a full tread depth tire with a release compound on the tread. The release compound will wear away in about 300 miles and be a stickier tire at that point. The sidewall of the tire is not going to change.
I now have 500 miles on these tires. Still have a vague soft delayed feel at turn in. Very unsettling under hard braking and quick transitions. At this point I wish I had stayed with the kumhos ecsta spt tires I had before the Hankooks.
I will reserve final judgement until I have another five hundred miles on the Hankooks. Jim at tire rack says what I feel is a full tread depth and a releasing compound on the tires..... I will take his word on this and give the Hankooks another 500 miles.
If there is not a dramatic change in the feel of the Hankooks they will be replaced!
Not happy in the least bit so far!
If I can remember correctly, I think it took me close to 1000 miles before it went away. Could be a little less.
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 211
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I have had these tires for about 500 miles now and they have only started to feel right the last couple of days. I agree they definitely have plenty of ultimate grip, but do feel quite loose during initial turn in. Coming from 16" S02s to 17" V12s, I can say that the bridgestones felt more confidence inspiring on turn in, despite the taller sidewall.
Having said that, after a little tweaking of pressures thay actually feel quite nice now. At first I tried 35 psi up front to firm things up a little, but found this gave me a tiny amount of understeer. This was reduced to 34psi and it feels much better now. Rears at 32psi. This feels pretty nice to me, while still retaining the nice compliant nature of these tires.
Of course these pressures might not suit your driving style or your local road conditions, but I would definitely recommend adjusting them if you're not happy with the current setup. 1psi either way made a big difference to mine...
Having said that, after a little tweaking of pressures thay actually feel quite nice now. At first I tried 35 psi up front to firm things up a little, but found this gave me a tiny amount of understeer. This was reduced to 34psi and it feels much better now. Rears at 32psi. This feels pretty nice to me, while still retaining the nice compliant nature of these tires.
Of course these pressures might not suit your driving style or your local road conditions, but I would definitely recommend adjusting them if you're not happy with the current setup. 1psi either way made a big difference to mine...
