Initial Impressions Review
Given
45%
while driving a
Hyundai i20
(195/55 R16)
on
for 1,000
miles
I had a mixed experience with these tires, in normal conditions they are average but when I require a bit more from them they completely fall apart, especially during emergency braking.
It lost traction 4 times at this point:
1 a few days after putting this tires on, I was going pretty fast (around 120km/h) and had to take an exit, I tried braking but it wasn’t enough so I increased the pressure on the pedal, at that moment I started sliding for like 4/5 seconds before I realised I wasn’t gonna make it and I was going towards the start of the guard rail, I immediately released the brake and went back on the main road. It was late at night, not that cold and it wasn’t raining, the road was a little wet though.
2 I was going at around 90km/h on a straight road, there was traffic on the other side and I saw at the last second a woman on a suv cutting me off, I immediately braked as hard as I could and I started sliding, luckily the woman saw me and left me enough space to pass. It was around lunch time, the road was dry, maybe a little dirty and it was pretty hot for the period, I think 7C° but I’m not completely sure.
3 I was going really fast and had to turn, I increasingly braked more until at around 70% of the brake pedal excursion it started sliding, at that point I had already figured out what to do and when it happens so I had all the time and space to let off the brake and gently press it again, I was already going much slower when I lost traction, the road was completely empty, straight and I could easily miss the turn and brake for longer is I needed to. It was late at night again, it was cold and the road was a little wet and dirty.
4 just yesterday I was going pretty fast keeping up with a Tiguan when two cars completely stopped in front of us because the first one had to turn and even though no one was coming from the other direction he waited a good 2 minutes, the Tiguan cut off the car that had to turn invading the other side of the road meanwhile I tried stopping behind the second car, I luckily had enough space to brake but at the last meter of braking, when I increased the pressure on the pedal to avoid hitting the car in front, I lost traction again but it didn’t matter much. It was early morning and there was some fog, so the road was wet and cold.
I really don’t notice and don’t care for the comfort and noise of the tires, if they can keep me on the road and safe it’s all that matters, I’d gladly trade more traction for more noise and a harder and more direct feeling of what’s the asphalt is like (I actually prefer a stiffer car, they turn better).
I used these tires for less than a 1000 miles so I can’t say anything about wear either.
What I can say is that they are obviously uncomparable to my summer tires, Michelin primacy 4, with those I could brake whenever and however much I wanted and the car felt like it was doing stoppies, planted to the ground, the only time they slided was in a tight curve at 80km/h when I run over a patch of dirt and i lost the rear end of the car.
