Tire: Optimo H426
Category: Grand Touring All-Season
UTQG (treadwear): 380 A A / 440 A A / 640 B A
The Optimo H426 tire is one of the grand touring tires manufactured by Hankook. It is oftentimes found used as the Original Equipment (OE) tire on new cars in the marketplace, especially sedans. It was designed to be an all around tire, and provide traction in all four seasons including snow. In terms of engineering, there really isn't too much to note for this tire. It is pretty standard in terms of it's tread compound and internal structure.
I have to say, it doesn't seem like Hankook spent a lot of time on this tire. Usually we can find one or two redeeming things about the tires we review, but in this case...drivers overall have almost all negative comments about the Optimo H426. The only exception here would be that they do have a decent tread life. Most drivers seem to get around 75,000 miles out of a set, which for the money is a great value. However, I'll note that these tires are not known for their traction abilities at all. Drivers note that light snow driving becomes very hazardous and rain makes for quick hydroplaning. You'll also notice that this tires have a tendency to get pretty loud on the highway as they age. Overall I rank this tire in the bottom five for the performance category. They might be a good "value" in terms of price paid per mile, but I don't think it's worth the reduction in safety.
