Supercharged111

You can get 275 front and 295 rear for the Z06.

CPhelps

Thanks for the posts of your impressions. I've heard many positive thoughts on the V12s on this and other forums, but I have heard similar comments about soft sidewall and not so great cornering feel from other guys in my sports car club up here. I was considering the NT-05s for my mildly modified 'Vert, and after reading your review I'm still leaning toward that path. I don't drive stupid, but do like to autocross, and occasionally take the mountain back roads enthusiastically if conditions allow. To me having tires that can support the car's performance is important.

I agree for those that don't do anything too crazy, or daily drive and need something that will hold up well a long time the V12s are a great option. No disrespect meant to any who have and enjoy the V12s!

JETninja

You can't get larger then 255/17....just verified at Hankooks website. Finding decent tires in the 265/275 17" front for C5 Z06's is getting harder every day.

C5 targa

I just purchased a set of of Hancook V12’s from discount tires, December of 2012. I was running Nitto Invos 305/30/19 on my vette. I was trying to upgrade to Bridgestone pole position s-04 but the special order was unpredictable, so I decided to cough up the cash for some real tires and buy pilot super sports. The problem was all the tires DOT numbers were around 3years old. I didn’t want to pay full price for a tire with half its shelf life gone. So back to the V12’s.
My Invos were absolutely excellent for 25,000 miles with perfect wear, running them at 30 PSI. They had impeccable grip in the dry, with very firm sidewalls. The rubber never squealed but I could break them loose with ease off the line. The tires had a slight drone at 70 MPH and were hard on road bumps but had crisp precise lane changes. I had very high confidence in corners. Driving with the last thousand miles the performance degraded by about 50% which made me have to swap them out. The rears got twitchy and the fronts had pronounced Dive in and wandered in the grooves in the road. I do think in retrospect that it was caused more from the back tires wandering. I had a treadsep on the inside of the right rear so I wouldn’t go over 70 MPH. That brings me to the brand new hancookV12’s.
As soon as I left the tire shop, realizing that I needed to heat up the tires first, I punched it anyway and the vette drifted back and forth for about 5 car lengths with the tires squealing. I made it to the freeway on ramp and punched it and had the same results but worse. The tires started screaming as I hit second gear. I was very alarmed since my invos never made that noise. As I got up to speed on the freeway I switched lanes and it felt like the body was rolling as I tried switching lanes abruptly. I looked down at my tire sensors and they said I had 25 PSI left rear, 26 PSI right rear, 27 PSI both fronts. The car drove like the roll bars were disconnected and the tires were very low on air. Which they actually were. I couldn’t believe how horrible the car drove. I eventually added air to the usual 30 PSI. Handling improved to normal driving status.
The tires are still no comparison to the Nitto Invos. I can’t even believe, and I didn’t believe before I bought them, that Car and Driver could say they were rated number two to the invos rating of number eight on their list.
The good news about the Hancook is that they are very smooth, quiet, and comfortable. They take bumps so well its feels like you’re driving a Cadillac…you know, like a passenger car tire. They in no way inspire confidence in driving a corvette. I worry about over steer and crashing, unless I’m driving in the city or on the freeway, but no cornering.
My only beef about these tires, since they are the cheapest tire you can get in a 305/30/19, is that people keep saying they are better than invos! That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. Perhaps they work better in a premium passenger car like a Benz or Beemer or maybe G35,37. Hopefully these comments will help anyone deciding to buy these tires over invos. Car and Driver report is inexplicable...???

Supercharged111

I was replying to the guy asking about NT05s. They'll be my next tire for that reason.

JETninja

Ahh...Have the Nitto's myself up front. Not the best looking tire but works fine so far.

C5 targa

I agree 100%

jw2007corvette

glad to hear ,I just took off the gy run flats and put the hankooks on .so far I really like them .what do you run for tire pressure? thanks jw2007 corvette

Baetke

I also a interested in what pressure to run in these tires. See I have 36 I them now. Also Tire Rack must be running out. Date code on my front ones is 9/9, 5 years old already.

QCVette

I have had 2 sets of these. I run 30-31 psi cold in them.

You might want to recheck the date codes. They should be a 4 digit code. As popular as this tire is, I suspect they are nearly new not 5 years old. When I bought a set last year they were only a few months old.

Baetke

You were right. I looked at something that was not the date code. 04/13 On the front and 10/13 on back. Not as sharp as I once was. Thanks.

tak06

Love the V12's !

Yello95

30 hot ...so that would be about 27 cold in the summer and 28 or 29 in colder weather...just depends as long as they get to 30-31 hot...

chucks

Hankook has discontinued the old V 12 with a new design. i do not know what they changed but I have the new design and I really like them. The build on my 4 tires were no more the a month to 2 months old. Purchased from Tire Rack. Good looking sidewall,handling is great for my type of driving and they are very quiet.

norcalace

Tire Rack has been selling off the older V12s which were K110s. Hence the very low price. Great tires and nothing wrong with them. The new V12s have a K120 designation. They have a slightly redesigned tread pattern and new compound for better dry and wet traction. I bought my K120s from Tirecrazy.com in May. They had a special sale with free delivery and an $80 rebate. Great customer service and fast delivery. P.s., I am not a shill.

bjones7131

I just recieved mine a week ago, 446.00 shipped to my door one day shipping time from tire rack, they were or are on closeout. Stock C5 2001 origianl size 17/18 staggard. Just waiting on getting new wheels and TPM's before installing.

thisMSGgood4me

It pays to comparison shop (all prices below are for a set of 4 stock size shipped).

evo K110
Tire Rack $448
Tire Crazy $636

evo2 K120
Tire Rack $718
Tire Crazy $646

Obviously Tire Rack is trying to move out their stock of the older model Ventus V12's, but if you're wanting the newer model V12's, then Tire Crazy is the place to buy from.

Redline Rappe

I just had my $450 Hankooks delivered last week. Bought OE Wheels sensors for $170. Looks like a great deal for both. I will not miss the run flat Firestones on the car. That are hard and have lost their traction. Trying to decide who will be mounting them.

Ron Miller

Similar experience about 2/3 weeks ago, $453.00 for the Hankooks delivered, $159.95 for 4 new TPMS sensors, and $60 for mounting/balancing and installing the new sensors. Lemmesee, that comes to $672.95 for all four on the ground and running, not a bad price this day & age.

So far, I'm really liking these tires, left the runflats behind and have no regrets!

bjones7131

Where did u get tpm's, thanks?