Hankook RW11 Winter Tires - Hankook in general?

[byez]

Planning on purchasing RW11's for winter but can't find any reviews. Anyone had any experience with either the RW11 or RW409. I believe the tread pattern is quite similar.

Specs

Something that caught my eye in there:
"Compared to exisiting product tires, the optimal contact area is expanded by as much as 8% thus reinforcing ice braking performance on snowy or icy roads."

Isn't a narrower tire better for winter?

 

[zoomzoomlx]

Usually in winter, you want as little rolling mass as possible to consider if you ever get stuck. Skinnier is better.

 

[Solo2driver]

I like Hankooks, I was a contract/factory racing driver for them for 2 years, not any more due to budget shortages but I would still use their products nonetheless. Availability was always the biggest issue, they only send so many Racing and Snow tires to the USA at one shipment in the year, so buy early if you can.

We even rallycrossed on the W409's, not bad in the dirt/mud, never ran them in the snow though.

+1 for a very underrated brand. They are now OEM tires on many brands, and have a much larger contingent of over-the-road trucking tires (that is where they are making their $$ these days, and from what I hear truckers like the tires and the price).

 

[rpn453]

One of my close friends was using studded RW07s (he just sold the Tribute they were used on) and I have three other close friends using studded W409s. They all like them. One of the W409 owners also ran the W404s for a few seasons prior to that. They were his first set of studded tires and he loved them as much as it is possible to love an inanimate object.

I'd certainly be willing to run Hankooks, though I'd avoid the "Made in China" winter Hankooks I saw at Canadian Tire the other day. I've never seen those ones on the website, so they might be a CT exclusive cheap tire.

 

[byez]

Are W409's good without studs?

 

[XCELERATIONRULES]

You do not need studs unless your planning 6 months at high altitudes.
The Ipike 409's are the best snow Tires I've ever owned.
Like driving with 4 wheel drive.
Wouldn't be without them.

 

[Audi Junkie]

The 409 are great and so are the 300s.