Hankook Winter i*cept evo Review

JakeDBP

Well-Known Member
414
271
Erie, PA
Vehicle Model
Civic Si FB6
Body Style
Sedan
Reviews for these tires are very scarce, so I wanted to add some feedback and give my opinions. I'm new here to the site as well as to a Civic, and a front wheel drive car in general. I learned to drive in 2006 on two AWD cars and then proceeded to buy two Subarus since I got my license and now- needless to say, my Civic was not cutting it in the snow like my Subaru did, so on went the winter tires.

I have an interesting situation- I'm finishing my last semester of college in upstate NY in Rochester, which gets around 95-100 inches of snow on average per year but right now I live in Pittsburgh, PA where I'm originally from. After I graduate I'll most likely move out of upstate NY, and basically the roads are wet or dry without snow 95% of the time. Because of the two drastic differences in climate, Tire Rack recommended me two different tires: performance snows for the Pittsburgh climate and studless winter tires for Rochester's snowier climate. I ultimately decided on a "performance" snow tire because I drive infrequently at school but daily here in Pittsburgh. I started my search at Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct for reviews and narrowed down what I wanted. I used Consumer Reports too, and these Hankook i*cepts caught my eye since they were inexpensive and I loved the Hankook H727s I recently put on my Subaru Outback. After searching for them, I saw Pepboys had a buy 3 get one free sale- but there was a catch: you could only get the 4th free if you got them installed at Pepboys (something I wasn't really keen on doing) and bought the road-hazard package together. After pricing them and the comparable Continental ExtremeWinterContacts (my other choice) out at local dealers, I effectively would pay $1 more for Pepboys but it included Road Hazard. I had them put on just before New Years, the day after a 5-inch storm.

Boy, what a difference these make!! After putting them on, I went and played in the freshly-fallen snow and was very impressed. My driveway is a very steep hill, and I couldn't even move the day before on the flat part but after I put on the Hankooks, I easily went up and down with no problem. I drove through unpacked fresh snow with no problem, with overall much better traction when starting, turning, and (especially with Honda's sensitive ABS) stopping; snow traction is excellent, packed snow/slush is good but not like I would assume a Blizzak would be. Since the i*cepts are H-rated, they do very well on wet and dry, cold pavement too- much better than expected. These tires have a marked improvement in ride quality over the stock Continentals as the ride is less jouncy and more composed. Road noise may have increased, but only the slightest bit if at all. I drive my Civic now like I would drive it on my all-seasons during the other 3 seasons and these tires have not let me down yet. I highly recommend them to anyone who lives in a place where there isn't a ton of snow but sees snow-covered roads occasionally that get plowed within a day or so and wants more security in winter months and the peace of mind that their Civic will without a doubt get them there. I can't wait to go skiing and try them out in Rochester!
 
Love the review ...great to see other users having great results from winter tires.
 
Haha no way man im in Rochester too! I run dedicated snow tires in the winter as well. Despite the less than impressive amounts of snow the last couple winters, snow tires are essential because the rubber is designed to respond better in the cold temps. So even without snow, a good winter tire is still worth it.

Yeah we got like a foot of snow in one day last week. It was awesome! Snow tires make all the difference when that happens.
 
Nice!! Too bad I'm driving up on Saturday when it's supposed to be 62 in Roch... hopefully I won't ruin my tires in that 250mi drive -_-
 
Here's a little update for those looking for winter tires. Pittsburgh is getting slammed today with snow and driving here is much different than other places because it's usually a slushy snow and Pittsburgh is pretty hilly.
And yes, yinz' better be careful, the roads are slippy :banana whip2:

I put on the Hankooks for the season and they are doing well. Very good traction on cold roads still and today in the slush they did very well. I have a lot of control when steering and braking compared to my all seasons and they are hard to break loose. The one thing I still am not sure if it's the tires or me is I can easily spin the front tires if I give it too much gas or let out the clutch too quickly with ~2k rpms. They regain traction easily and keep me moving even when I'm spinning but that may be the downside to them. Otherwise, the ride on my car is exponentially better than with the stock Continentals- they're quiet and take bumps better, and my car doesn't bounce as much. They do tend to wander on highways but I'm still very pleased.

Mileage has decreased but that could be because I live in a hilly area of the city and I drive only city driving with longer warm-up times now too.
 
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