Hankook Tyres Blow-Out

[john_5040735]

Hi folks - just returned from a week in the Cotswolds staying at Broadway CC site - superb site! However I experienced a tyre blow both on the outward and return journeys - thankfully the RAC Arrival service was superb. The RAC guy seemed to think that the tyres had blown due to being stood for lengthy periods on storage - even though I move the van every 6/7 weeks. The tyres in question were Hankook 8 ply van tyres. I am sure other forum users have reported issues with this make of tyre. Is this the case and what were the issues?

John

 

[rayc]

John, this has come up previously in this section of the forum: see 1 April 2005 'Tyres' and 19 March 2005 'Hankook tyres'. There is another one that I posted in but can't find it.

They are 13 inch commercial tyres 185R -13C which on my van with MTPLM are set to 54 psi. The concensus on 'my' discussion seemed to be that keeping the tyres at this high pressure may have been causing the problem and it should be lowered if the actual weight was lower.

My 2000 van had Goodyears on when it was new. When I replaced them at 5 years Hankook's were the only ones I could get. I had no troubles last year ( the first with them) despite towing in very hot weather in France. I towed 200 miles last weekend also with no problems. I have toyed with the idea of changing the wheels for 14 inch as good tyres are easy to get and I have adequate cLearance at the wheel arch.

 

[rayc]

John, this has come up previously in this section of the forum: see 1 April 2005 'Tyres' and 19 March 2005 'Hankook tyres'. There is another one that I posted in but can't find it.

They are 13 inch commercial tyres 185R -13C which on my van with MTPLM are set to 54 psi. The concensus on 'my' discussion seemed to be that keeping the tyres at this high pressure may have been causing the problem and it should be lowered if the actual weight was lower.

My 2000 van had Goodyears on when it was new. When I replaced them at 5 years Hankook's were the only ones I could get. I had no troubles last year ( the first with them) despite towing in very hot weather in France. I towed 200 miles last weekend also with no problems. I have toyed with the idea of changing the wheels for 14 inch as good tyres are easy to get and I have adequate cLearance at the wheel arch.

Meant to say MTPLM of my van is 1350kg.

 

[MONKEY1]

John,

I hope you and your family are OK after your incident.

You pose an interesting question. Is there a higher rate of "incident" with this particular make? I guess we must start with the fundamentals assuming the van is loaded correctly and the tyre pressure is as a manual states then all should be OK the questions that follow are.

How old are the tyres,??? Are they subject to UV rays or chemicals advancing breakdown of the casing? If you can answer those. Then does one particular make suffer more than others? There is one side to the story that Hankook does supply tyres in some hard to get sizes as correctly stated so the chances of incidences are high because of the market share.

However I don't fully accept that story because in fleet management circles (Car based) there have been rumours of a higher incidence of failure - either blow-out with out any foreign objects being present or where the tread pattern has left the casing.

Now it could be all subjective and people notice things for different reasons but one thing I do notice is that they're not a choice to fitted to most HGV trailers anymore the consensus in my world is to look at more of a premium tyre.

Regards Monkeys H

 

[john_5040735]

Hi folks - thanks for info/advice to date. The tyres in question where 8 ply tyres (165R13 94N) with a max cold psi of 65. Avondale - make of van - recommend 65 psi!! The tyres are therefore constantly at maximum pressure. Actually i usually travel with a psi of 60/62 which I did last week. Also the fact that they do stand in storage on the tyres as a condition of my storage site is that the van remains "moveable in emergencies" (hence alarm and hitch lock as opposed to whell lock!).

Looking at the tyre after blowout there is some evidence of tread pattern leaving the casing - as you suggest Monkey. I am now arranging for the new tyre to be a Federal - as fitted last saturday following first blow out! RAC man said these are made by Goodyear and are of reasonable quality. Also this rating of tyre is very difficult to source - I am told.

As for the incident itself we are both fine. The second blow out also resulted in damage to Reich motor mover - it took all the "grip material" away as it was obviously close to the tyre when it blew. What amazes me is that the van remained very stable during and after both blowouts, and we did not have Tyrons fitted - maybe the alko stabilizer worked in our failure.

Beware of Hankook!!

John

 

[Ron2]

Hi John

I have had two sets of Hankook tyres in less than two seasons, first set delamanated second set had bulges on the sides. I contacted Hankook because there was apparently a recall [but they say that was not the case ,Uh] they went about explaining the process of tyre making and the heat involved to get the finished product, for the second set of tyres they told me it was my fault because, for the tyres to bulge it has to be UNDER INFLATED and OVER LOADED I said that this was not the case, they went on to say that they would have the tyres back and check them if they were at fault then they would replace them other wise nothing so I had a different make fitted the other thing to watch is the tyre date as the first set on mine was almost out of date in other words do not buy from a caravan dealer go to a reputable tyre dealer. My opinion is to stay away from Hankook. One other item Hankook told me to fit a bigger tyre, mine are 165R14 they told me to fit the 175R14 size but this is not possible because there is not enough free space in the wheelarch box but it was a good thought.

Ron

 

[cris_408518]

Just a note re tyres, we use a small independent supplier that a large numer of businesses use.

We use them for cars and trailer tyres and Caravan.

We have good results with Nokian (Finland) tyres for price and durability as well as good road holding.

Better wear than some of the well known manufacturers and a fraction of the cost!

 

[rayc]

Just a note re tyres, we use a small independent supplier that a large numer of businesses use.

We use them for cars and trailer tyres and Caravan.

We have good results with Nokian (Finland) tyres for price and durability as well as good road holding.

Better wear than some of the well known manufacturers and a fraction of the cost!

cris, the problem is that there are very few manufacturers who now make 13 inch 8 ply commercial tyres with the 94N load / speed rating. This is a becoming a big problem with vans that weigh 1300kg + that have 13 inch wheels. They are not available on the continent.

I was tempted to fit 14 inch wheels, as tyres are plentiful of the correct rating, but the wheels / hubs on 13 inch are 4 bolts whilst 14 inch are 5.

 

[cris_408518]

We've had Falken from our suppliers as well on vans. USA tyre I think and available in 13" size, check rating though, but they are commercial van tyres. Just worth nothing maybe!

And if it goes wrong in the USA, they get sued ;-)

 

[cris_408518]

We've had Falken from our suppliers as well on vans. USA tyre I think and available in 13" size, check rating though, but they are commercial van tyres. Just worth nothing maybe!

And if it goes wrong in the USA, they get sued ;-)

"noting maybe"

 

[Bazz1]

John have you had the opportunity to have them assessed for the damage/cause. Some years ago I had a tyre delaminate on our old van' Dunlop came back with a report on the tyre and possible cause, age/pressure etc, what do Hankook say?? Bazz.

 

[clivea]

Hi,

The Cravan Club recommend that when one tyre blows there is an increased risk of the other one going prematurely due to it taking an increased load. Don't know how relevant this might be to any problems, but Hanook do seem to be susceptible to early failure. I change my tyres at 5 years and twice a year I give them a good soaking with Armorall. In store they are rotated every 6 weeks and they normally have covers on when not touring. I have a set of winter wheels but need to drill them fora 45 hole wheel at 14 inch as they are an old 13 inch set.

It's hard work this caravanning lark!

 

[RogerL]

Hankook tyres do seem to crop up regularly in reports of blow-outs, even compared to other C-rated 8-ply brands used on caravans, but it's impossible to know whether these "statistics" are accurate.

In case they are accurate, I restricted my choice of recent 8-ply replacements to Kumho or Falken, choosing the Kumho on availability and price.