Hankook Tire is a South Korean tire manufacturer that rolls out tires for passenger cars, CUVs, SUVs, light trucks, electric, and commercial vehicles. The Seoul-based tire maker is a frequent sponsor of car racing competitions and various sports worldwide. Among the world’s largest manufacturers, Hankook offers tires in various categories such as all-weather, all-season, all-terrain, winter, UHP, and more. The entire tire line is acknowledged for its durability, performance, and longevity.
Designed for touring sports cars and luxury sedans, the Hankook Optimo (H418) is an all-season, touring tire that offers improved stability, steering response, handling, and low rolling resistance thanks to the solid central ribs and advanced rubber compound. For optimum grip and traction, it features a wide contact area with a strategic block arrangement for even driving pressure distribution. A tough internal structure ensures the tread wears evenly and the tire gets long-lasting durability. The Optimo (H418) is preferred by OEMs, which underlines the fact that it’s a reliable all-season tire.
Let’s have a look at its characteristics in this Hankook Optimo (H418) tire review. Keep reading.
Features and Benefits
All-season tires are engineered to offer excellent grip and traction in dry, wet, and light snow. They last long and provide great handling and stability with year-round performance. The Hankook tire, too, promises to offer most of these traits.
- Year-round traction: Wide circumferential grooves and slanting grooves help in the quick removal of water from the surface to avoid the risk of hydroplaning. Interlocking shoulder ribs allow for improved flexibility to enhance wet traction. Deep sipes and lateral grooves work together for solid grip and traction on dry and wet roads. The symmetric tread design not only results in improved traction but, also, resists uneven wear.
- Reduced noise levels: An optimized tread pattern comes with variable pitch phase shift, which limits sound waves from entering the cabin so you get a quiet and comfortable driving experience. Meanwhile, the driving vibrations are controlled by the nylon cap construction and flat footprint.
- Increased durability: The continuous tread block pattern ensures optimal surface contact allowing equal pressure distribution and limiting uneven wear. The strong sidewall design and reinforced construction ensure there is no uniformity in the shape in times of sudden braking or while encountering a large pothole.
Pros and Cons
Besides the advantages, the Hankook tire has its share of negatives too. Let’s have a look at its pros and cons before summing up the Hankook Optimo (H418) review.
Pros
- Circumferential grooves to resist hydroplaning
- Solid shoulder design for improved wearability and confident cornering
- Continuous center rib for improved steering response
- Symmetric tread pattern with dense sipes for enhanced grip and traction
Cons
- It doesn’t come with any limited manufacturer tread life warranty
- It cannot be driven in areas where the temperatures are consistently below 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Some drivers have reported issues with road noise
SimpleTire’s view on Hankook Optimo (H418) tires
In a nutshell, the Optimo (H418) (starts around $130) is an excellent option for someone looking for a reliable all-season tire that offers good traction, grip, stability, handling, and longevity. The absence of a warranty could be a deal breaker though.
It competes with the likes of General Altimax RT45 (starts around $99), Falken Sincera SN250 A/S (starts around $80), and Firestone All Season (starts around $108).
Vehicles the Hankook Optimo (H418) is an OEM tire for
The Optimo (H418) is an OE-preferred tire for the 2006 Chevrolet Aveo LS.
Vehicles the Hankook Optimo (H418) is a good replacement tire for
The Hankook tire can be considered as a good replacement tire option for vehicles like Dodge Journey, Hyundai Santa Fe, Jeep Cherokee, Lincoln Town Car, Toyota Highlander, Volvo XC90, and more.
