I needed a winter tire for what is almost sure to be a relatively mild winter. My summer tires are nearly bald, and the temperature is dropping. I live in Victoria, BC which has a very similar climate to the PNW... It's often described as "Seattle, with half the rain."

We get snow some years, but sometimes no snow at all, or just one or two days with a few inches. People still talk about The Blizzard of '97 in hushed tones. It will often not fall below 5-7*C, and there will be days above 10*.

However I do have a 20KM drive to work, and I need to feel safe in slush, and on cold, wet, and icy roads. For the last few winters I've had Falken Espia EPZ. I used them out of town in deep snow and they were phenomenal, but in the rain, or the dry, they were squirrely, felt like jell-o, and generally unpleasant. They no longer fit on my lowered car, so I decided to give these Hankooks a shot.

I'll be having them mounted today, and I'll update this thread with my impressions as I get them scrubbed in and exposed to different conditions. I got them delivered from DiscountTireDirect for just over $600 in 205/50R16.

Is anyone out there using them?

 

Well, looks like there isn't a lot of interest!

In any case, I've had the time to scrub them in a bit and drive in a few different conditions.

Over 10*C dry grip is alright but not great. Wet grip is pretty decent, car felt solid in the rain even on a winding road disregarding the speed limit.

It's below freezing now, and they stop great on both dry and frosty/slippery roads. They feel grippy and the turn in is much better than my old winters. Someone darted out of a parking lot and I nearly t-boned them at 60KM/h. I had to hammer on the brakes and I was able to stop in time. On my last set of winters or my bald s.drives it would have definitely been a different story.

If we get any snow I'll report back, but so far I'd say this is a pretty great winter tire for those of us on the west coast/in a milder climate.