My Hankook H727 tires arrived today - PICS

[stephen9666]

I ordered a set of Hankook H727 tires for my Sonata during the Black Friday sale at Discount Tire Direct. They were back ordered, so they didn't ship until December 8th.

They arrived today. They're made in Korea, just like Hankook told me via email. These tires are listed as coming from both China and Korea on the Tire Rack website. But I emailed Hankook and they said all the H727s for the USA market are made in Korea, not China.

They're fresh, too. DOT date code of 4411 (44th week of 2011)

They have pretty deep tread. I have a depth gauge and they have 11/32" of tread.

Now to deal with the $50 rebate. The rebate form says the receipt must indicate the method of payment. Mine just says "tendered $350." Hopefully they won't use that as an excuse and try to deny me. I'm ready to argue with DTD, Hankook and the rebate company, but hopefully I won't have to.

 

[Radman]

update after installation

 

[Lead Shoes]

Nice, I have a set of those on my civic, they have a deep tread and some great snow performance so far, very quiet, good warranty, and a good price.

 

[Bluestream]

Very nice

 

[mrsilv04]

"Made in Korea"

That brings back memories. The first set of tires that I bought that were made in Korea was a set of Trisun Radial 781's. That would have been in the late 80's.

 

[johnachak]

Just curious, since your location says USA, why are you so giddy about Korean tires? I ALWAYS look for made in USA no matter which brand. Believe me you have to look at the individual model tires too. The same manufacturer will have tires made in many different countries.

 

[johnachak]

I actually stopped using Wix filters since their filters for my application are made in Korea. The Delco and Pure 1's are made here so I use them.

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: johnachak
Just curious, since your location says USA, why are you so giddy about Korean tires? I ALWAYS look for made in USA no matter which brand. Believe me you have to look at the individual model tires too. The same manufacturer will have tires made in many different countries.


I'm not "giddy" about it. I'm a big USA made product proponent, but I specifically wanted this tire. All the ratings/reviews I've read showed this tire had the mix of winter handling/price/mileage warranty I wanted.

I try very hard to avoid Chinese products and I won't buy Chinese tires. If Hankook told me they were going to be made in China, I wouldn't have bought them.

Without getting into it too much, I'll just say that I don't mind buying Korean or Taiwanese products if the USA made options aren't what I want or are far more expensive. Korea and Taiwan are very, very different than China.

The issue came up because Tire Rack's website showed the possible country of origin as China or Korea, so I emailed Hankook to see what they said. Hankook told me all the H727 model tires for the US market are made in Korea. I was glad to see it on the tires when they arrived, rather than a big fat "made in China."

I should have known a simple thread with some pictures of tires would turn into a country of origin dispute...

Here's the email exchange:
Quote:
I'm considering buying a set of the Optimo H727 for my Hyundai Sonanta. I was wondering where these tires are made? I realize there may be more than one factory that makes them, but in what countries are the factory/factories located? I try to avoid made in China tires, and I want to make sure these aren't made in China before I buy them. I had a set of Hankook H418 tires in the past that I was satisfied with. Thanks, Stephen



Quote:
Hello Stephen,



The H727 is made in Korea.



Best regards,



Juan A. Britos

Assistant Manager

Technical & Service Team

Hankook Tire America

1450 Valley Road, Wayne, NJ 07087

(973) 406-3614

(973) 633-9980 fax


Quote:
Thank you for the response, but I have a follow up question.

On Tire Rack's website, they list the countries of origin as China and Korea. Is Tire Rack wrong, or are the tires made in both Korea and China?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Optimo+H727

Thanks again,
Stephen



Quote:
Hankook has factories in Korea, China, Hungary and Indonesia. For the American market the H727 comes from Korea.

 

[johnachak]

I understand the, "may not be what I want/need part but American made will almost always be more expensive. Look at property taxes alone. Well anyway, good luck and use them in good health.

 

[johnachak]

As far as a country of origin dispute, isn't the whole premise of your thread the "made in Korea" aspect or did I miss something? I could be wrong. If so, sorry.

 

[troyh]

700 treadwear! Those ought to last forever.

I would not worry about Korean tires. Seems that Korea is the new Japan. (LG, Samsung have practically taken over Sony). I know not tires, but proves that they put out some quality stuff.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: johnachak
As far as a country of origin dispute, isn't the whole premise of your thread the "made in Korea" aspect or did I miss something? I could be wrong. If so, sorry.


I think his point was simply that Tire Rack lists country of origin as both China and Korea, and he's simply noting that if one is looking for a quality set of tires that is not Chinese-made, these are good candidates.

 

[Papa Bear]

DOT T7 shows that your tires were manufactured in Korea:

T7 HANKOOK TIRE MFG. CO., LTD.DAEJEON PLANT DAEDEOK-GU DAEJEON KOREA

 

[doitmyself]

Stephen,

I look forward to updates on your impressions of this tire and if they live up to their Tirerack rating of Number 1.

There are some discussions here of this tire, in particular it's supposed poor wet braking performance: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=152 which goes against the consumer reviews.

In shopping for tires of this value/cost recently, I also read complaints of many brands that didn't live up to their 80K mileage claims.

I hope you update us on this aspect many months/years from now.

NICE TIRES!

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666

Now to deal with the $50 rebate. The rebate form says the receipt must indicate the method of payment. Mine just says "tendered $350." Hopefully they won't use that as an excuse and try to deny me. I'm ready to argue with DTD, Hankook and the rebate company, but hopefully I won't have to.


I had no problem at all with the rebate-it was sent to me within a couple weeks of mailing it off.

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
There are some discussions here of this tire, in particular it's supposed poor wet braking performance


I've had mine on since late September and not had any issues driving in the rain or snow. But then I don't expect any tire to handle rain or snow as it would dry pavement and I adjust my driving habits according to the weather.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: johnachak
Just curious, since your location says USA, why are you so giddy about Korean tires? I ALWAYS look for made in USA no matter which brand.


Hey, it might have been something as simple as wanting Korean tires on his Korean car (Hyundai Sonata).

Nothing wrong with wanting Korean tires, if they are quality units, or if they meets the financial needs of the customer. In this case, they meet both.

BC.

 

[Bluestream]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
Originally Posted By: johnachak
Just curious, since your location says USA, why are you so giddy about Korean tires? I ALWAYS look for made in USA no matter which brand.


Hey, it might have been something as simple as wanting Korean tires on his Korean car (Hyundai Sonata).

Nothing wrong with wanting Korean tires, if they are quality units, or if they meets the financial needs of the customer. In this case, they meet both.

BC.


X2, buy what fits your needs...

 

[johnachak]

[/quote]

Hey, it might have been something as simple as wanting Korean tires on his Korean car (Hyundai Sonata).

Nothing wrong with wanting Korean tires, if they are quality units, or if they meets the financial needs of the customer. In this case, they meet both.
BC. [/quote]

I'm not condemning him I was just curious as to why he was so happy about Korean made tires. He answered me and I told him to use them in good health.

 

[Rand]

it is quite easy to come across as snarky and insinuating on a forum.

I think the whole idea wasnt so much wanting korean tires but NOT wanting chinese tires.

Your poor choice of words made it seem like you were starting another USA first threads and derailing his thread topic.

 

[oilmaven]

I just ordered a set of these for my sister's Buick Century. The Firestone 380's that the previous owner put on the car (obviously needed tires so they put those on it to sell)were pretty much shot (I wouldn't recommend them). I've had 2 sets of the H727's and my impression was they live up to the high ratings and hype. They're quiet, smooth riding and excellent in the snow (a big concern here). They also provide good tread wear (maybe not 100,000 miles but easily 60-70,000 if rotated properly). I think you'll be happy with them.