Hankook ATM

Nothing too new in this post, just wanted to share some new tire experiences. I know I appreciated people posting when I was researching new tires.

Got Hankook ATM RF10's installed last week. I went with stock P245/75/16; debated 265/75/16 but didn't want to give the dealership pricks any reason not to honor warranty work if I need it.

Initial on-road impressions: Overall, very good tire that handles well. Road noise so far is only a **** hair louder than stock Dunlops. They definitely feel different than those tires, which had 34,000 miles when replaced. It is obvious that it's a heavier tire right off the bat (not a bad thing). They also do not seem to pull straight quite as hard. I wouldn't say that they "wander" at all, just that they don't pull the steering to center as forcefully as the factory tires. The tire shop put them at 37 psi. Doing the chalk test, I found they looked good down to 33 in front, but I put them back up to 36 as they felt a little too squishy for me when that low. After 500 miles they seemed a touch out of balance; when the shop initially put them on one tire looked a little wierd (it had one gigantic weight and another tiny one nearly on the other side of the wheel). When I took them back they re-balanced all four and now things seem smooth again so far, so I am thinking it was a case of break-in or improper balancing to begin with. Three now have tiny weights, and one has none at all. Gas mileage with the Dunlops was 23-24 mpg aired a couple pounds higher than the recommended 30 front/30 rear of the door sticker. First tank with the Hankook's came out to 22.8. Time will tell how this will fare but initially these don't seem to be affecting gas mileage significantly.

Initial off-road impressions: I haven't done any wheeling yet, but I can say for sure that the tires grab significantly better than the stock Dunlops (no big suprise). Sometimes I used to have to get a running start or put the truck in 4X4 just to get out of my mudway (driveway). The Hankooks barely spin in the shallow mud, which is actually saying something since it's redneck slick-as-dogshit clay. Anyway, no real testing so far but I think they'll be fine when asked to do anything an AT would be expected to do.

Looks: I feel like kind of a schmuck commenting on looks because I'm in my mid-thirties and think that this shouldn't matter to me. What can I say, it does. The tires look positively like truck tires should, in my opinion. I don't feel like a DB that buys a 4X4 but never really needs it and is fine with the stock highway tires anymore. The sidewall design is probably the best and most rugged looking for this class of tire that I've seen. Yes, my pics suck, I am aware that they do. I don't know why the tires seem to have magically shrunk in the pictures; they look a lot better in person.

 

Keep us posted on these tires...I need some new tires and I saw them on the discount tire co. website.

 

Love my Hankooks...10k on mine and they look brand new.

 

ive got these on my taco. around 20k miles on them and still looking great!

 

Approaching 25k on mine and they still look great and have a lot of tread but are getting louder. Just noticed their hum about 3 months ago on the road. I've had one puncture straight through a tread lug that I got patched for $17 at a Goodyear shop.

My only real compaint is the sidewall flex. I keep them pumped up to between 36 and 38 PSI or they flex so much that they look flat. 265/75R16 P series.

 

Which shop did the mounting and balancing? The red dot (denoting the lightest end of the tire) should be lined up with the valve stem. The shop did the exact opposite, probably contributing to the amount of weights needed.

My tire as an example:

 

Sorry to drag this up from the basement, but I just bought ATMs today to replace my Generals (45k out of them). Great deal at a local shop (plus mail in rebate), though they required 18 7-gram weights to balance one of them. They are LT 265 75 r16 on a 2001 dblcab prerunner. They seemed smooth on less noisy than the generals on the way home (freeway). Load rating E though, not sure I needed that.

Regards