Hankook has been making tires for more than 80 years, and the South Korean company offers a wide range of tires for vehicles, from sedate electric models to brutal racing machines. The brand’s iON electric vehicle tires offer durability, comfort, and performance and enhance the vehicle’s driving range. Beyond lower rolling resistance, Hankook has engineered its EV tires to perform well in most situations, including in light snow and heavy rain.
The company works with approximately 50 vehicle manufacturers to engineer and produce tires for electric vehicles, giving them the experience and industry depth to deliver some of the best tires for range and performance. Hankook said its development process involves challenging testing that meets or exceeds new concept vehicles’ capabilities and noted that it works collaboratively with automakers to define performance and other benchmarks.
Hankook’s aftermarket tires follow the same standards, and the company’s development of those products is heavily informed by its work with vehicle manufacturers. That means that your vehicle gets a replacement tire with all of the technology and cutting-edge materials that automakers demand for new cars.
Electric vehicles can exert high torque and weight on tires, making them especially vulnerable to wear and damage. Hankook’s close involvement with OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) allows it to design tires that withstand those conditions and satisfy customers’ demands for comfort, efficiency, and longevity.
Hankook’s efforts with OEMs should give you confidence that your next new vehicle equipped with the brand’s products can perform as you expect. That said, the company’s experience with automakers makes it an excellent option for replacement tires, a process that all vehicle owners face at some point.
Vehicle manufacturers demand high quality and consistency in their OE tires, and Hankook’s experience in that system has made its replacement tires a compelling buy among several competitors. The company said that its OE tires meet the highest standards for performance, safety, and comfort and noted that its cooperation with OEMs leads to the application of the latest technologies and materials, resulting in a superior, longer-lasting tire.
The iON Evo AS is an excellent example of Hankook’s EV tire prowess. It offers a 50,000-mile warranty and a 30-day free trial, and the company promises a 25 percent longer tread life than competing tires provide. The iON also offers a 29-percent noise reduction, a 6.3-percent increase in battery range, and a 20-percent improvement in driving stability. The tire’s design copes with EVs’ instant torque, and its lightweight design helps improve range and rolling resistance.
Hankook said that EVs can wear tires up to 20 percent faster and more unevenly than gas vehicles, but the company’s Round Even Technology helps ensure uniform contact with the road. That prevents premature tire wear or uneven wear, which can make it necessary to replace tires more frequently. Since EVs don’t have a gas engine churning away under their hoods, road, wind, and tire noise can become more apparent. The Hankook Noise Proof Technology has sound-absorbing materials and a specialized tread pattern that can significantly reduce those sounds, cutting levels by up to 9 decibels inside the tire.
Low rolling-resistance tires can have stiff sidewalls that affect handling and braking performance, but Hankook’s Grip Boost technology optimizes sidewall stiffness with cornering rigidity and lateral rigidity to create a tire that meets both resistance and performance standards.
Do You Need Dedicated EV Tires?
It might seem easier to head to any tire shop to purchase any model that fits your vehicle, but a dedicated EV tire can match the vehicle’s torque and weight better. You may also be tempted to opt for a high-performance summer tire to take advantage of your EV’s immense acceleration. While the performance results could be impressive at first, you’ll quickly learn that softer performance tires wear much faster and can generate more noise than EV tires. Higher-performance tires may also zap your EV’s range, as the rubber compounds are designed for maximum grip instead of low rolling resistance.
One factor against a dedicated EV tire would be severe winter weather. If you live in a region that receives significant snowfall, ice, or other extreme conditions, a winter tire is a better choice. Their unique rubber compounds, tread patterns, and construction make them better optimized to grip snow, stop on ice, and keep your vehicle on the road.
How to Know When It’s Time to Replace Your Tires
Safety standards in the U.S. dictate that a tire must have a tread depth of at least 2/32 inches, so if your tires do not meet that standard, you’ll need to replace them. All DOT-approved new tires have wear indicators, sometimes called wear bars, which are small pieces of rubber in between the tire treads. When the wear bars are even with the tire’s treads, it’s time for a replacement. Another way to determine tire life is with the age-old penny test, which involves placing a penny with Lincoln’s head facing into the tire tread. If the top of his head disappears, your tires have at least 2/32 inches of tread left. If his hair is completely visible, your treads aren’t deep enough.
Of course, some tire issues can easily be identified with a quick visual inspection. Nails and other sharp objects can spell disaster for a tire, and it’s important to not ignore them. Gouges or other damage to the sidewall might not look that bad, but they can weaken the tire’s structure and make it more susceptible to a blowout.
Keep Hankook in mind when it’s time to replace your EV’s tires. You can rest assured that the tire you’re buying has been thoroughly tested, likely with your vehicle’s specific make and model, and that it meets the United States exceptionally strict road safety standards. Running a dedicated Hankook tire can also improve your vehicle’s driving range and reduce road noise, keeping you on the road longer and more relaxed while you’re there. Additionally, the brand’s long tread life standards mean that you’ll drive longer between tire replacements, helping save you money over the life of your vehicle.
