Hankook tyres vs Conti N1 & my wallet
Discussion
I need 2 rear tyres for my 944 Turbo, choices are:
Conti N1 Porsche approved at £130 inc vat fitted
Hankook K102 for £65 plus fitting from a cleint who's doing me a good deal.
Whilst I'm always keen to cut costs, but do want soemthingthat works well in all conditions, how good are these Hankooks ? I know they sponsor the 924 Championship but has anyone out there used them?
Many thanks
Conti N1 Porsche approved at £130 inc vat fitted
Hankook K102 for £65 plus fitting from a cleint who's doing me a good deal.
Whilst I'm always keen to cut costs, but do want soemthingthat works well in all conditions, how good are these Hankooks ? I know they sponsor the 924 Championship but has anyone out there used them?
Many thanks
Do not worry about matching brands front and rear on a 944, the natural balance and near perfect weight distrubution of your car means it is nowhere near as important as with a 911.
I haven't heard anything about Hankook, but my own personal choice of budget tyre is the Kumho Ecsta 712 approx £80 fitted to the rear in 245 size. I currently have these on the rear and Pirellis on the front. They are perfect on the road and I've 'played' quite happily round the Nurburgring and wet track days with this setup.
I haven't heard anything about Hankook, but my own personal choice of budget tyre is the Kumho Ecsta 712 approx £80 fitted to the rear in 245 size. I currently have these on the rear and Pirellis on the front. They are perfect on the road and I've 'played' quite happily round the Nurburgring and wet track days with this setup.
diver944 said:
Do not worry about matching brands front and rear on a 944, the natural balance and near perfect weight distrubution of your car means it is nowhere near as important as with a 911.
I'm not sure I agree with that. The 944 is a performance car and all performance cars need matching tyres all round as a grneral rule of thumb. If you did have a spin and crash on non-matching tyres, you would always be left wondering, "was it my tyres?"
Just my £0.02.
We all have our own views on tyres and it is a very subjective thing. One mans 'stickiest rubber in the world' is another mans 'pile of pants' 
, it's all down to the different ways we drive, or how we feel the car behaving underneath us.
Personally, all I know is that I have done 106,000 miles in my 944s on road, track, rain, sun or snow and there has been very little time when the fronts match the rears (mainly because of updated brands but also because of special offers). I do like to have matching tyres all round if I can but with rears wearing out three times as quick as fronts it don't happen often.
Here's a scenario:
Someone wears out their rears after three years driving and replaces them with the same brand. He now has brand new 8mm tread tyres on the rear and three year old tyres with 4mm on the front. Will the grip levels still match?
p/s I reserve the right to change my opinion if my next post comes from upside down in a ditch
, it's all down to the different ways we drive, or how we feel the car behaving underneath us. Personally, all I know is that I have done 106,000 miles in my 944s on road, track, rain, sun or snow and there has been very little time when the fronts match the rears (mainly because of updated brands but also because of special offers). I do like to have matching tyres all round if I can but with rears wearing out three times as quick as fronts it don't happen often.
Here's a scenario:
Someone wears out their rears after three years driving and replaces them with the same brand. He now has brand new 8mm tread tyres on the rear and three year old tyres with 4mm on the front. Will the grip levels still match?
p/s I reserve the right to change my opinion if my next post comes from upside down in a ditch
What size tyres are we talking here?
225/50R16's ?
or
255/40R17's ?
Continental***
Summer tyres SportContact
225/50 ZR16 ZR mit Felgenrippe, N1 With mytyres.co.uk only £ 84.60
Continental***
Summer tyres SportContact 2
255/40 ZR17 ZR mit Felgenrippe, N2 With mytyres.co.uk only £ 122.90
>> Edited by Bananaman on Thursday 10th March 15:35
225/50R16's ?
or
255/40R17's ?
Continental***
Summer tyres SportContact
225/50 ZR16 ZR mit Felgenrippe, N1 With mytyres.co.uk only £ 84.60
Continental***
Summer tyres SportContact 2
255/40 ZR17 ZR mit Felgenrippe, N2 With mytyres.co.uk only £ 122.90
>> Edited by Bananaman on Thursday 10th March 15:35
I wouldn’t be restricted to N rated tyres anyway.
I tend to agree with the thoughts that tyres don’t really have to match. Saying that I don’t like them not matching and have just replaced all my tyres with Toyo T1-Rs all round. £80 fronts £95 for rear 225/245 and the fronts still had 5mm left on them!!!
I can see absolutely no safety reason why different tyres front rear or no N rated tyres would come into pplay (but it might make a good excuse) And under no circumstances could/would an insurance company be able to say anything about not using an N rated tyre.
Tyre technology moves on and the N rating does not for our size of tyres.
The Toyos are just out in the R rating and as such should be pretty good, wet and dry.
The contis have been around for 15 years now and as such are probably due for retirement.
Think of them as the Methuselah of the tyre world.
Just my 3p worth
D
I tend to agree with the thoughts that tyres don’t really have to match. Saying that I don’t like them not matching and have just replaced all my tyres with Toyo T1-Rs all round. £80 fronts £95 for rear 225/245 and the fronts still had 5mm left on them!!!
I can see absolutely no safety reason why different tyres front rear or no N rated tyres would come into pplay (but it might make a good excuse) And under no circumstances could/would an insurance company be able to say anything about not using an N rated tyre.
Tyre technology moves on and the N rating does not for our size of tyres.
The Toyos are just out in the R rating and as such should be pretty good, wet and dry.
The contis have been around for 15 years now and as such are probably due for retirement.
Think of them as the Methuselah of the tyre world.
Just my 3p worth
D 
bob944 said:
Wise words from diver944.
Highly amused by jonnny s posting. Yes the 944 is a performance car that due to its sensible design is more inclined to go in a straight line!! unlike some I note on this same page!
Delighted to tickle your bits.
I'm sticking with my view that tyres need to be the same at each corner as a rule of thumb.
I've always followed the 'same brand is best' rule. Not sure the following offers much proof but here goes. A client of mine who knows I love my cars complained his Lexus 200 was handling oddly. It seemed very twitchy at the back. I told him to check the shocks - they were fine. He asked me to have a look.
He was right the traction contol was flickering away at alarmingly low speeds.
He had 3 Bridgestones but the drivers side rear was something else - a Conti I think as he had recnelty had a puncutre and had stopped at a kwik fit or similar for a repair. I suggesteedd he switch this type for the spare. We did and the traction control stayed quiet. May not have been the tyre, but it seemed a bit of a coincidence, though I accept its hardly scientific proof
He was right the traction contol was flickering away at alarmingly low speeds.
He had 3 Bridgestones but the drivers side rear was something else - a Conti I think as he had recnelty had a puncutre and had stopped at a kwik fit or similar for a repair. I suggesteedd he switch this type for the spare. We did and the traction control stayed quiet. May not have been the tyre, but it seemed a bit of a coincidence, though I accept its hardly scientific proof
Looking at tests on these tyres the Hankook K104's come out better than the K102's which score similar to the Conti's
Hankook K104's
Hankook K102's
Conti's
Hankook K104's
Hankook K102's
Conti's
In an ideal world I agree.
I also think that its well worth driving within the limit for your own particular car/tyres set up and knowing where that limit is. I'm not a track day enthusiast but I can see the point of finding the limit as you demonstrated with open space around you, rather than on the public road! I wonder what expression you would you have been wearing had there been a hedge, ditch etc in your path?!
I also think that its well worth driving within the limit for your own particular car/tyres set up and knowing where that limit is. I'm not a track day enthusiast but I can see the point of finding the limit as you demonstrated with open space around you, rather than on the public road! I wonder what expression you would you have been wearing had there been a hedge, ditch etc in your path?!
Definatley a BAD idea to mix tyres on the same axel?????????????????????????????????
James s said:
I've always followed the 'same brand is best' rule. Not sure the following offers much proof but here goes. A client of mine who knows I love my cars complained his Lexus 200 was handling oddly. It seemed very twitchy at the back. I told him to check the shocks - they were fine. He asked me to have a look.
He was right the traction contol was flickering away at alarmingly low speeds.
He had 3 Bridgestones but the drivers side rear was something else - a Conti I think as he had recnelty had a puncutre and had stopped at a kwik fit or similar for a repair. I suggesteedd he switch this type for the spare. We did and the traction control stayed quiet. May not have been the tyre, but it seemed a bit of a coincidence, though I accept its hardly scientific proof
johnny senna said:
Delighted to tickle your bits.
I'm sticking with my view that tyres need to be the same at each corner as a rule of thumb.
No doubt that's a safe rule of thumb, but surely on both 911s and 944s the tyres are different front-to-rear anyway? Even if you choose the same brand / age, the fronts will have a different width and profile, and thus will perform differently.
If you can guarantee that the tyre manufacturer has tested the particular front-rear combination on your car, and found it performs as to Porsche's spec (N?) then perfect: however new Contis on front and old Contis on rear may be just as mismatched as two different (quality) brands???? Just guessing here - this is particularly pertinent when people replace tyres and increase the width on either front or back...
Of course, different tyres on the same axle are to be avoided, virtually everyone's got experience of how this doesn't work...
I have continentals all round on my Boxster, however I have N2's on the front and N1's on the rear, I have discovered this week that this is the equivalent of having different tyres/brands front to rear, I've not had any problems so far! My rears are up for replacement next week (after a day at Snetterton) and I am very likely going to go to either Michelin or Perreli's. Then the fronts will follow when they need replacing.
bob944 said:
In an ideal world I agree.
I also think that its well worth driving within the limit for your own particular car/tyres set up and knowing where that limit is. I'm not a track day enthusiast but I can see the point of finding the limit as you demonstrated with open space around you, rather than on the public road! I wonder what expression you would you have been wearing had there been a hedge, ditch etc in your path?!
I'm not quite sure what you are saying here, Bob.
Obviously on the road I drive well within the limits of the car and my own skill. I do this with the same type of tyre at each corner. Seems sensible in a 348 BHP 911.
On the track one can push the envelope more safely. Obviously it is important to respect the other track drivers, but swift track driving means that the odd spin is inevitable. In a 911, it is perhaps more inevitable than in other cars, but I don't care about that.
Clearly if my car ever ends up in a ditch, the expression I wear will not be one of a grinning simpleton.
diver944 said:
my own personal choice of budget tyre is the Kumho Ecsta 712 approx £80 fitted to the rear in 245 size.
I also rate the Kumho's on the 944. I got mine from mytyres.co.uk for £65 each for 255/40/17 and got a local tyre depot to fit them for cash.
They come highly recommended by Calum Lockie of Goldtrack who runs them on his 968CS.
>> Edited by Buster44 on Thursday 10th March 21:24
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff