Has an ex motorcyclist, I couldnt agree more.
A friend of mine runs a tyre business in Leeds, and he swears that value for money Hankook tyres takes some beating.
Ford are one manufacturer using them as original spec which would make one think they must be half decent.
Channa
I feel the need to tell my tyre story(I dont think Ive told it here).
When I bought my motorhome in late 08 it had Michelin camping x on it but they were 10 yrs old, we didnt use it much the first few months but replaced the fronts in the following March because they were cracking slightly on the side walls, ready for a trip to France in April(a very expensive and stressful family wedding)
I took advise from a local tyre company recommended to me by a friend who runs a haulage company(they have contracts with many companies and supply tyres for many sizes of vehicles). I was told that Hankooks were a great medium priced tyre that he puts on many big vans and motorhomes. They conformed to all the weight criteria and as I knew very little about tyres or motorhomes I took his advice. As they were doing the tyre pressures I noticed the door pillar which said 72psi all round and pointed this out to them, I was told that they didnt think I needed it this high and they had set it to 60psi.
We took the van over to France with 5people aboard and it was terrifying to drive, we were being pulled all over the motorways when overtaken by buses or lorries. I was very upset when we got back because I thought we would have to sell my dream because I couldnt drive it. I come from a family of truck drivers and the size did not scare me but the handling did, I dont think anybody I told about it realised how bad it was they just kept telling me that I should expect 'some movement' because I was driving a high sided vehicle, I realise now what they meant but this was a lot more than 'some movement'.
I spent the next few months playing about with the tyre pressures and found that 72 was a good ride(if a little hard). The van then went in for a service in the autumn of 09 and the garage lowered the tyre pressures to 50psi. I was angry and confused by this and started to do some research into tyres and handling(a bit late I know but we had had a very stressful year with two family members seriously ill, one of them in France).
I didnt realise that the Hankook tyres were only rated to 60psi(the tyre fitters never told me even when I pointed out the door pillar(I know I should have checked)) so I had been driving around for half the year with dangerously over inflated tyres. As part of my tyre research I rang around many tyre companies ATS seemed to give the best advice and a couple of small local ones told me they had never inflated a tyre to 80psi and it sounded dangerous.
My original tyre company when I rang and told him my story was very upset he had given me bad advice, he wasnt aware that motorhomes needed such high pressure and even said he had had some problems with Hankooks de-laminating in the last year. He contacted Michelin for me, found out from them that among other things the Agilis has a reinforced sidewall specially to cope with the roll that can happen because of the high centre of gravity motorhomes have. He offered me a full refund even though I had done a couple of thousand miles on them, free fitting and valves on the Michelins I replaced with and he refused to fit them till we had been over a weighbridge and he talked to Michelin again.
The new tyres improved the handling so much I cant explain, it drives like my car there is no wobble, I am not continually correcting my steering and not terrified of being overtaken. It drives even better now that we have replaced both rear wheel bearings which it failed its MOT on(possibly worn out by running with under inflated tyres).
