Hankook Optimo H725A Tires

turboboost1

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2010
Location
NH
TDI
None, Did the buyback
P205/55R16 Hankook Optimo H725A came on my new Jetta. I do not drive agressively, but when I am at a stop sign and make a right hand turn, if I don't accelerate VERY easily, the tires will spin.

Has anybody else noticed mediocre to poor handling with this particular tire?
I had these on my Jetta. Drove them for 30,000 miles and they never got better.. Very poor tire.. I replace them with Michelin Primacy MXV4's and these tires are awesome. Great wet traction and stick like glue when dry. They are also the quietest tire I've ever had. Try them, you won't be disappointed.
 

bibendum

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2012
Location
va
TDI
2009 jetta tdi
H725a's were on my jetta when I bought it used, I hate them. They're far too noisy.
 

krissbell

Member
Joined
May 23, 2013
Location
Lake Zurich, IL
TDI
2013 Jetta TDI w/Premium
Replaced Hankook Optimo H725A with Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus-

I have a 2013 Jetta TDi w/Premium 6 spd. I loved everything about the car except the tires. Hankooks are so terrible in wet weather and so prone to hydroplaning for my style of driving. I decided to hold on to them for at least 30K miles. However when I was taking a left turn after a rain storm, the car totally under-steered and was sliding out of control for a few seconds. Traction control nor ABS didn't even light up since this was a slide as opposed to a slip. . Hankooks are terrible mostly in the phase where tIhere is slight oil on the tarmac and you are prone to hydroplaning. IMHO, these tires should be taken off this car. I was alone and was calm. However I cannot think of a scenario where I had my toddler had lost control, not worth the savings.

To cut to the chase, @ 9800 miles, I changed these horrible tires for Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus. The difference is night and day. Vehicle handling, traction, cornering and evferything related to the vehicle is so refined that I feel like I am driving a different vehicle. I have had my share of BMW, Civic Sis and so on with tires changed often. But in no other car does tires make a difference, as in the jetta tdi. Discount tire paid me 60 X4= 240 for the old tire trade-in and it wasn't a bad deal. Try it and you will not regret the 400 odd you spend after trading in the tires. I think it is a safety issue as well and hence the long post.
 
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detroitmike

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
Location
Take a guess.
TDI
2013 Passat DSG
Good choice krisbell.

Its a damn shame VW would allow those dangerous tires to be installed on their vehicles. They should be embarrassed.

I guess Hankooks still suck rhino ****.

Never again for me.
 

TDIx2

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
Saginaw Mi ~ looking out for deer and dangerous pe
TDI
2014 Jetta
Good choice krisbell.

Its a damn shame VW would allow those dangerous tires to be installed on their vehicles. They should be embarrassed.

I guess Hankooks still suck rhino ****.

Never again for me.
57k on my hankooks and still going. Wet road traction is not that great or as good as I would like. Going with primacy tire when these wear out.
 
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krissbell

Member
Joined
May 23, 2013
Location
Lake Zurich, IL
TDI
2013 Jetta TDI w/Premium
500 mile update on Pirelli Cinturato P7 AS plus

With the change over to Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus from Hankook, I do have around 7-8% overall drop in fuel economy(39 vs 42 in suburbs, not much difference in highway). With the change in tires, cornering and handling limits for TDI are much higher . So not sure if the driving style is the culprit.

Also want to note that Hankook makes better tires which are tuned for performance, but Optimo H725A is not.
 

DieselMann99

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2013
Location
Westchester County NY
TDI
2013 Jetta TDI w/ Premium, DSG (Buyback Nov 2018); 2013 Jetta TDI (bought Dec 2018); also, bought a CPO 2017 Passat TSI (Nov 2018)
Discount tire paid me 60 X4= 240 for the old tire trade-in
I didn't know they do that. Does TireRack do that too?

Now that I know that, I may trade in my Hankook's too. I have the same opinion of them that you do, plus, they're very noisy.

I haven't been overly impressed with the cornering of the Jetta -- decent amount of body roll, etc. Tires almost always make a big difference in a car's handling and feel, but you're saying especially on this car.
 

k1xv

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2009
Location
southern Vermont
TDI
09 TDI sedan, sold back 12/16. Present cars 2013 BMW X5 diesel, 2015 Corvette convertible
I didn't know they do that. Does TireRack do that too?

Now that I know that, I may trade in my Hankook's too.
Discount Tire has actual tire stores in many states, including Illinois. In the northeast US, its only mail order. I doubt you could trade in tires to them from your New York location via UPS or FEDEX.
 

T100TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2012
Location
Des Moines, IA
TDI
2012 Jetta TDI 6MT
I didn't realize that Discount Tire bought tires. Or I may have sold mine since they have moved into the Kansas City market.

My Hankooks are finally kicking the bucket just in time for my new winter set to be delivered from Tirerack. I got 45k miles out of my set. They weren't great but they weren't terrible tires either.


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TDIx2

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
Saginaw Mi ~ looking out for deer and dangerous pe
TDI
2014 Jetta
You're in Des Moines . . . how were they in the snow? Or did you use winter tires?
They are okay in the snow. Not the greatest and baddest tire out there. Not going to be as good as snow tires. At 57,000+ miles I'm not going to take my tires through another winter. Also with the higher mileage on the Hancook they've started to get up quite noisy.
 

T100TDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2012
Location
Des Moines, IA
TDI
2012 Jetta TDI 6MT
I only had them for one winter season and they were almost brand new. On mostly plowed streets they were decent. Ice could be iffy. But I never had any extremely terrifying movements with the Hankooks. But I tend to drive conservatively in the winter. I'd never had a winter tire set up until this year. I'm assuming they'll be much better.


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DieselMann99

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2013
Location
Westchester County NY
TDI
2013 Jetta TDI w/ Premium, DSG (Buyback Nov 2018); 2013 Jetta TDI (bought Dec 2018); also, bought a CPO 2017 Passat TSI (Nov 2018)
I only had them for one winter season and they were almost brand new. On mostly plowed streets they were decent. Ice could be iffy.
Ever had to climb a snowy hill with them? Lots of A/S tires are ok on level ground, the hills separate the men from the boys.
 

redbarron55

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Location
Navarre, FL.
TDI
2012 Touareg TDI Executive
Ran the Hankooks for 80,000 miles. Worked OK for me. I found recently that the turbo actuator may have been causing that holeshot on starting and spinning the tires.
I recently had to chanve the VNT actuator and the harshness and too great acceleration was gone and the car drove much smoother with good power when you wanted it.
I then ran a set of Nokian eNtyres for 90,000 miles and was pretty happy, but with tread still on the tire they began to separate and make noise.
I now have a few thousand miles on a set of Michelin Defenders and I am very well pleased with them. Probably the best tires I have had. Especially nice with the smoother starting now.
 

TDIx2

Veteran Member
Joined
May 11, 2003
Location
Saginaw Mi ~ looking out for deer and dangerous pe
TDI
2014 Jetta
500 mile update on Pirelli Cinturato P7 AS plus

With the change over to Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus from Hankook, I do have around 7-8% overall drop in fuel economy(39 vs 42 in suburbs, not much difference in highway). With the change in tires, cornering and handling limits for TDI are much higher . So not sure if the driving style is the culprit.

Also want to note that Hankook makes better tires which are tuned for performance, but Optimo H725A is not.
Curious on the miliage, has it improved and what pressure are you running at. I also read someone was not too happy with the p7 was less coverage "narrow" on the side of the tire leaving the rim sticking out past the tire. Further saying up against a curb scenario the rim would get scuffed easily if the car got too close. I went on tire rack and this p7 is rated better then the primacy in every category. So I'm comparing the two and would like to hear more about the p7 tire.
 

krissbell

Member
Joined
May 23, 2013
Location
Lake Zurich, IL
TDI
2013 Jetta TDI w/Premium
sorry. have been off forums for a longtime. But answer is no for your question regarding curb rashes. I parallel park a lot in the city and am yet to scrape.I run tires at 33 psi and now its winter here in Chicago and hence I get high 30s(36 to 37) in harsh winter conditions. But these tires are awesome in snow for all season tires. I dont think I would have been happy with the Hankooks especially with precious cargo such as my toddler.. I did compare it with Primacy. But they are not the same value..IMO
Hope it helps.
 
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