Hankook Ion I*cept experiences?

[tigerbalm]

In which case most likely it was not very cold, as these central european compounds essentially turn to complete glass at -10C and there is no grip on tarmac. Not suitable for the nordic.

Often much lower.

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/taycan-“race”-to-tromsø-–-winter-2025.24006/post-369188

I'm not saying that they are better than nordic tyres in the arctic. I am saying they are remarkably good for our occasional use there while also working very well at > 200 km/h on the Germany autobahn getting there in winter.

Some commentary at the time of our last trip:

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/taycan-“race”-to-tromsø-–-winter-2025.24006/post-371889

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[prj]

I'm not saying that they are better than nordic tyres in the arctic. I am saying they are remarkably good

I will correct you here. They suck less than summer tyres.
There is a reason that tyres have different temperature ranges.

There is no problem using nordic tyres on the Autobahn either, just the tyre wear is higher because of the softer compound.

On loose snow there is not much difference, the biggest difference comes on ice. Also, after you have been driving for a while and the tyres have heated up then they perform better, but the problem is specifically before that moment happens.

There is a reason no sane person uses Central European tyres in the Nordic.
Is it possible to drive with them? Of course. Is it in any way optimal or recommended? Certainly not.

What I am saying here is common knowledge in the nordics, and for everyone who lives in this climate, it's odd to even have this discussion.

You keep linking those photos of snowy roads, as if they are something special - maybe they are for you, I've been driving in this type of climate for 20 years every winter.

 

[cityhpper]

Both the Scorpion and the PZero winter tyres are "Central European" type - they are of course not Scandinavian/Nordic type of winter tyres. Have a look at the Pirelli website and you will see they have the same classification regards winter usage.

That does not make them dangerous to use in proper winter conditions, as you seem to belive. So you already had a couple of people in this tread explaining that they indeed work fine, even in the high north and the southern mountains of Norway.

Not sure why you are so cathegorical on this subject? Select the tyres you want, no one is forcing you to drive anything else than Nokian Hakka or Continental Viking Contact - it is you choice. Doesn't mean that other choices of winter tyres are dangerous or completely useless in proper winter conditions.

30 years of winter driving, 5 of them behing the wheel of 50 ton trucks. And yes, been driving in Estonia in winter as well. Not particulary challenging.

 

[prj]

That does not make them dangerous to use in proper winter conditions, as you seem to belive.

It's interesting that people here buy a car for 100k and then don't run proper tyres on it.
Yes, I would argue it is dangerous to use tyres with hard compound in very cold weather.

Your braking distance on ice can easily be 50% or higher than a proper nordic tyre. The colder the temperature and the slippier the rode, the worse it is, and that is when the tyre choice also matters the most.

In fact, here is your own motor.no website absolutely blasting the Continental TS870, which is a similar tyre to the ones mentioned above:
https://www.motor.no/tester/motors-...vinterdekk-continental-ts870-piggfritt/208120

Yes, 50 years ago everyone drove on shit tyres even in the winter. That's still not a reason to choose an inferior tyre for your conditions.

If you live in a mild climate where it does not get (much) below freezing in winter, then that's what the central european tyres are made for.

no one is forcing you to drive anything else than Nokian Hakka or Continental Viking Contact

You are very narrow sighted, if you think that is the only thing out there.

For studless winter tyres you can choose apart from Continental VikingContact and Nokian Hakkapeliita also:
Michelin X-Ice
Pirelli Ice Friction
Goodyear Ultragrip Ice
Which all perform very similar to the VC and Hakka tyres. The new I*Cept isn't bad either and it is cheaper than the wrong tyres while having much better grip on ice.

There is really not any excuse buying the wrong tyres for a 100k+ car.

 

[cityhpper]

Sorry but I have a hard time understanding your logics here.
First, you stated the following for a NF0-approved winter tyre used by @tigerbalm on his different journeys through the Nordics in winter time:

" I think you are mixing something up. There is no grip at all even with a southern European "winter" tyre in the nordics, never mind a UHP tyre like the PZero, with which you get wheelhop already when it's below 10C outside until you warm it up. "

Then onto:
" This is a "central european" tyre, with which the grip very quickly degrades in sub zero conditions, as the compound is way too hard for cold weather. "

If this was the case, how do you explain the many forum members using European winter tyres both for the Nordics and for the Alps? And doing just fine?

Then you reccomended the OP, who seems to be located in Belgium, to get the Hakka 5 winter tyres. That is a very good tyre, but not for the Belgium winters which is mostly wet asphalt and high-speed driving on motorways. In fact, Hakka 5 would be pretty far down the list of tyres I would use in Belgium...

From there, you go to the following:
"It's interesting that people here buy a car for 100k and then don't run proper tyres on it.
Yes, I would argue it is dangerous to use tyres with hard compound in very cold weather"

and

"There is really not any excuse buying the wrong tyres for a 100k+ car".

Is it me that use the wrong tyres? Or @tigerbalm ? Or both? Or anyone on the forum that choose something else than the tyres you have chosen?

Note also that as temperatures get lower, it usually does not get slippier. You will very often have better grip on snow covered roads in -15 C, than in -5 C. Worst conditions are around 0 C, often involving ice with a thin membrane of water on top. Studded tyres are the "right tyres", in such cases.

Drop me a PM if you are in Norway this winter, and I will happily let you drive my car even if it has the wrong tyres. I think that could be a usefull experience for you

 

[prj]

Sorry but I have a hard time understanding your logics here.
First, you stated the following for a NF0-approved winter tyre used by @tigerbalm on his different journeys through the Nordics in winter time:

The comment was precisely because he stated "Pirelli PZero NF0", not "Pirelli PZero Winter NF0". Pay attention to what was written.
He then clarified it was PZero Winter.

Then you reccomended the OP, who seems to be located in Belgium, to get the Hakka 5 winter tyres. That is a very good tyre, but not for the Belgium winters which is mostly wet asphalt and high-speed driving on motorways. In fact, Hakka 5 would be pretty far down the list of tyres I would use in Belgium...

You don't know where OP is located. OP asked about a Nordic winter tire, I told him what works well.
If he wants to drive it in Belgium then both the Icept and the Hakka are the wrong tyre for that, but this was not clarified.

Is it me that use the wrong tyres? Or @tigerbalm ? Or both? Or anyone on the forum that choose something else than the tyres you have chosen?

Both of you use/used the wrong tyres for Nordic weather.

Note also that as temperatures get lower, it usually does not get slippier. You will very often have better grip on snow covered roads in -15 C, than in -5 C. Worst conditions are around 0 C, often involving ice with a thin membrane of water on top. Studded tyres are the "right tyres", in such cases.

And here is where you are completely wrong. With the wrong compound tyre it does get much more slippery in cold weather.
That's what you clearly don't know, and think that the only difference is the tread. It's not.
The nordic rated winter tyres remain fairly soft even at very cold temperatures at the expense of having much faster wear at warmer temperatures. This is especially critical when setting off before the tyre can warm up.
It is the main difference between a Nordic and a Central European tyre. The second difference is tread layout aimed more towards snow vs towards wet roads.

Drop me a PM if you are in Norway this winter, and I will happily let you drive my car even if it has the wrong tyres. I think that could be a usefull experience for you

I don't need to drive your car when I have many years of ice track driving experience, and due to over ten years in engine calibration I have driven thousands of cars also in winter. I have driven every combination you can and can't imagine, at every stage of tyre wear you can and can't imagine.

Regardless, you can drive your car on summer tyres in winter if you want, it does not make it correct.

I have driven also the Taycan on PZero Winters and that was a complete disaster the moment the conditions were challenging. Does it mean I will put it in a ditch? Of course not.
In case of the dealer that was just what the demo came with, but it's really dumb to put the wrong tyres on a performance car. Might as well drive a VW Golf, because the amount of grip will be about the same if not worse... Have to be stupid to knowingly fit wrong tyres on a car in a climate where for 4-5 months the only limitation on performance is tyre grip.

 

[frietzak]

@prj you might be confused with an other thread maybe because I didn't ask about a nordic tyre and it will be mostly wet weather. Snow performance is not that relevant for me.

 

[prj]

@prj you might be confused with an other thread maybe because I didn't ask about a nordic tyre and it will be mostly wet weather. Snow performance is not that relevant for me.

I*CEPT is generally Nordic winter Tyre.
If they make the same one for central Europe then sorry, my bad.

If you are driving in Belgium then from that list the Michelin should work well, also the Pirelli Scorpion or the Pzero Winter that were already mentioned.

 

[frietzak]

I*CEPT is generally Nordic winter Tyre.
If they make the same one for central Europe then sorry, my bad.

If you are driving in Belgium then from that list the Michelin should work well, also the Pirelli Scorpion or the Pzero Winter that were already mentioned.

Not sure if the ion i*cept is also seen as a true nordic tyre because it gets compared with the Michelin Pilot Alpin and Goodyear ultragrip performance by hankook.

 

[prj]

Not sure if the ion i*cept is also seen as a true nordic tyre because it gets compared with the Michelin Pilot Alpin and Goodyear ultragrip performance by hankook.

Seems the Ion version is indeed central European.
The non-ion is Nordic.

Pretty bad naming on the tyre. Other tyre makers generally change the name depending on whether it's a central European or Nordic model. For example for Michelin the Nordic version is X-ICE and the central European one is Alpin.

Anyway for central Europe look mostly at hydroplaning resistance and to be honest any winter tyre from a decent brand will be fine, since the conditions aren't very demanding.

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