Review on Hankook Tire Winter i*Pike RS2 W429 215/50 R17 95T by Mateusz Roczon ᠌

Size 205/60 R16. I considered three options in this price segment: Nordman 7, NordFrost200 and Winter i * Pike RS2. As a result, by the method of exceptions, I settled on the latter. It bribed that in the tests of well-known auto publications, Winter i * Pike RS2 performed almost on an equal footing with Nokian and Conti. Just in ContiIceContact 2, the second car is shod, so I can compare. The first thing that caught my eye was the density of the studding and the shape of the spike tip in the form of a five-pointed star. I mentally tuned in advance to the rustle of “nails”, but the tires turned out to be surprisingly quiet. I also immediately noted an increase in driving comfort in comparison with summer wheels - any kind of irregularities became less noticeable. Great paddling in deep snow. During this snowy winter, I never got stuck, although it often happened to park in snowdrifts. When driving on snow, I don’t notice any difference with Conti in terms of grip and car behavior. I can say the same about forcing snow porridge, including rebuilding through its lanes. On ice, it’s the same - I don’t catch the difference with Conti. The toe meets expectations based on the number of studs and their intricate shape. There are no difficulties with handling, drifting / skidding is smooth and predictable. On dry pavement, the feeling is about the same as from the past generations of Hakkapelites. Conti outperforms Nokian and Hankook here. The Winter i*Pike RS2 floats a little earlier under heavy braking. But lateral buildup and roll are practically absent due to the optimal rigidity of the sidewall. On wet pavement, the difference with ContiIceContact 2 is more noticeable. Hankook gives up noticeably earlier, resisting active taxiing in every possible way. In case of emergency braking, it is better to have a sufficient reserve of distance. If you do not “turn off your head”, then driving on a wet road does not cause any discomfort. In general, for a Scandinavian-type rubber designed for a harsh winter, the behavior on asphalt is very good. Loss of spikes per season - 0, mileage - 4,000 km. Pleased with the purchase.