Hankook Tire was the winner of the Red Dot Design Award 2020 and has been a market leader for 80 years. They are one of the largest manufacturers in the tire industry, and strive to produce comfortable and innovative all-season, all-terrain, UHP tires, and mud-terrain tires that deliver quality and performance.

The Hankook Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429) is a studdable winter tire that's designed for use on coupes, sedans, CUVs, and SUVs, and offers drivers excellent traction and handling performance on ice, slush, and snow. Additionally, the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification makes it an ideal tire to perform in severe snow conditions. But is the Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429) the right tire for you? Let’s take a look at this Hankook Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429) review.

Features and Benefits

If you are looking for a tire that is designed to be used in winter weather conditions with heavy ice, slush, and snow throughout the year or maybe extreme weather conditions you should opt for a winter tire because these tires have a deeper tread depth that allows a firm grip keeping your wheel closer to the road while driving on snow and ice. Additionally, these tires are engineered to perform in extreme temperatures during colder months, plus they are a bit more durable and better on wet roads than an all-season tire.

Let’s take a look at the Hankook Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429) tire review to help understand all its features and benefits at a glance:

• Enhanced traction: The Ice slit design technology and claw edges on both sides provide an outstanding grip and increased performance on snow, slush, ice, and wet road.
• Studdable: The Hankook Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429) can be pinned with TSMI #11 studs, where permitted, for extra traction in severe ice and snow.
• Improved tread wear: The ultra high tensile structure of the tire, along with a highly flexible bead, improves wear throughout the tire’s limited mileage warranty period.
• Optimized steering response: Improved snow handling performance and steering control is possible through the optimized groove angle of Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429).
• Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified: The Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429) has enhanced performance ability in severe snow conditions thanks to its Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification.

The wheel size ranges from 13-inch to 18-inch, making it an ideal choice for a wide range of vehicles on roads today, including compact cars, mid-size sedans, performance sedans, coupes, minivans, and crossovers.

Pros and Cons

You can consider the Hankook Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429) tire for superior traction on winter, wet slippery roads. But is this really what your vehicle needs? Before deciding to buy the tire or not, let’s first drill down a few factors that can help you decide whether or not the tire is right for you.

• Rubber compound allows for consistent performance in sub-freezing temperatures
• Excellent traction on wet and icy roads
• Longer tread life
• Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certified
• Better handling performance
• Can be pinned with studs, where permitted, to further enhance traction in severe winter weather conditions

While Hankook makes a good claim about Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429)’s performance, some shortcomings may divide opinions.

• The ride is firmer than its closest premium competitors
• Cannot be used when temperatures are consistently above 45 degrees Fahrenheit
• Tread noise is an issue on rough pavement and when studded
• Only available for passenger vehicles

SimpleTire’s view on Hankook Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429) tires

With a Hankook winter tire on the road, be ready to experience comfort, technology, and performance. The Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429) is made to deliver solid performance in ice, slush, snow, and lower temperatures to drivers of coupes, sedans, CUVs, and SUVs.

Additionally, the Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429)'s has claw edges and 3D sipe technology that is designed to increase traction, grip, and handling capabilities. Plus, the zigzag winter grooves drain snow and water from the tire to reduce the risk of hydroplaning, and the Winter i* Pike RS (W429) comes with an ultra high tensile steel belt that improves puncture resistance and durability delivering a longer tread life.

You will be completely satisfied with the performance this tire delivers in wet and winter road conditions but in case you are looking for a similar performing tire at a lower cost, without the stud option, you can consider Falken Eurowinter HS01 against this tire.

Vehicles Hankook Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429) is a good replacement tire for

Commonly used on passenger vehicles performance cars and crossovers, the Hankook Winter i* Pike RS2 (W429) can be a common replacement tire for vehicles such as AUDI A4, Audi Q7, BMW 3/4 Series, BMW X5, Lexus IS, Mercedes-Benz GLE, Porsche Cayenne, Porsche Macan, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S and more.