# 1st Hand Opinions: Hankook Kinergy GT (tires)



## NewBeatle (Dec 5, 2019)

Hi ...

I did a forum wide search on _*Hankook Kinergy*_ and found nothing, so apologies if this is redundant.

Please write below your opinions and experiences on the stock Kinergy GT tires which comes through on The Beetle SE (and perhaps other variants). 

How is it as a front end tire? 
Cornering? 
Slippage on acceleration? 
Braking? 
The sidewall can bear 51psi, so what inflations do you run with?​
If you've upgraded your tires, please write that experience here as well. 
What did you change to? 
Did you do it by choice? 
Or did you change tires because your originals passed their tread life?
Is there a consensus _best tire_ for The Beetle?​
{

_I'm coming from an AWD Juke! Nismo RS with 235/45R17s by General Tire, which I was very happy with. (I upgraded both the wheels and the tires). So I'm still adapting a little to not having that rear axle "_kick_" on hard turning.

_​}​
TIA.


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## NewBeatle (Dec 5, 2019)

_... echo ...
... echo ...
... echo ...​_​


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## Dan00Hawk (Jun 22, 2013)

How is it as a front end tire? I'm used to running summer performance tires, and winter tires. So this tire as an all-season just isn't very confidence inspiring *to me*. Size is the OEM 16" on my wife's last 3 Beetles.
Cornering? It is progressive up until it loses grip. It won't surprise you with going from all to nothing.
Slippage on acceleration? It's adequate at stock power levels in the dry. 
Braking? Haven't had to do any emergency braking. 
The sidewall can bear 51psi, so what inflations do you run with? For most every car I've owned, I've typically gone about 2-3 psi higher than what the door sticker calls for in order to sharpen up steering response and get a bit better fuel economy. I tweak that based on what I'm doing with the car, though (autocross, dragstrip, long highway trip, etc...). You shouldn't really follow the sidewall MAX pressure as that will typically result in a significantly overinflated tire that will wear out the center portion prematurely.
[

If you've upgraded your tires, please write that experience here as well. 
What did you change to? On our last Beetle, we upgraded to 18" with Kuhmo Ecsta 4xII All Seasons.
Did you do it by choice? Not really, they came on the used set of wheels that I bought from a local VW'er. They were adequate. Didn't do anything poorly. Never used them in the winter.
Or did you change tires because your originals passed their tread life? No, I kept the originals to put back on the car when we traded it in.
Is there a consensus _best tire_ for The Beetle? There really can't be, as everyone has different priorities when it comes to tires. I might value dry and wet grip over tire noise and tread life. But someone else might want better fuel economy and long life. I've been pretty happy with Generals as an aftermarket tire on a few vehicles in the past few years. Ranging from the all season RT 43 to the GMAX RS for summers and the General Arctic for winters. Good bang for the buck, typically a light weight tire which helps performance and fuel economy, and good overall grip for a competitive price. Others will certainly swear that Michelin has the best overall tires and justifies the corresponding high price.

I like to keep up on tires by reading Tire Rack and other tests, and determining what tires best suit my own needs and budget. Speaking with one of their consultants can help point you in the right direction if you're really not up for investing a bunch of time into research.


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## NewBeatle (Dec 5, 2019)

Dan00Hawk said:


> How is it as a front end tire? I'm used to running summer performance tires, and winter tires. So this tire as an all-season just isn't very confidence inspiring *to me*. Size is the OEM 16" on my wife's last 3 Beetles.
> Cornering? It is progressive up until it loses grip. It won't surprise you with going from all to nothing.
> Slippage on acceleration? It's adequate at stock power levels in the dry.
> Braking? Haven't had to do any emergency braking.
> ...



Thank you for your thorough response.

"Progressive" applied to cornering was very good. Overall you would rate *Kinergy's* as slightly overdone pasta at an office lunch: adequate to the task, but nothing to return to - true? I'm going to tune my Beetle in January. Any thoughts on a MAX grip A/S tire?

Funny you should mention General -- I put them on my previous rocket ship and enjoyed both the ride, the grip and the quiet. I think they were GMAX A/S tires.

Thanks for the time you invested.
*Merry Christmas.*


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## Dan00Hawk (Jun 22, 2013)

NewBeatle said:


> Thank you for your thorough response.
> 
> "Progressive" applied to cornering was very good. Overall you would rate *Kinergy's* as slightly overdone pasta at an office lunch: adequate to the task, but nothing to return to - true? I'm going to tune my Beetle in January. Any thoughts on a MAX grip A/S tire?
> 
> ...


Yeah, the Kinergy's aren't anything I would select for my own vehicle. But since they came with the car, they are like mediocre free beer at a party: Since it's there, it'll be consumed. 

I like General due to them being owned by Continental and using similar compounds, but at a lower price. If budget isn't an object for an grippy A/S tire, I'd probably go with the Michelin Pilot A/S 3 +. Comparison Test: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=241

If I'm budget conscious, then the General GMAX AS -05, but snow traction isn't all that good if that's a concern. Comparison test: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=238

Personally, I do winter tires for a few months on cheap wheels as I don't really like the compromise that an All-Season represents for my area (Chicagoland).


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## NewBeatle (Dec 5, 2019)

Dan00Hawk said:


> Yeah, the Kinergy's aren't anything I would select for my own vehicle. But since they came with the car, they are like mediocre free beer at a party: Since it's there, it'll be consumed.
> 
> I like General due to them being owned by Continental and using similar compounds, but at a lower price. If budget isn't an object for an grippy A/S tire, I'd probably go with the Michelin Pilot A/S 3 +. Comparison Test: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=241
> 
> ...


Well, I'm bad: I have more than one car, one of which is a *Wrangler* (JK). So, unless a stealth storm swoops in unseen, my Beetle will never see snow beneath it. Given this, and your discussion above, it seems I should not be looking for an A/S tire after all. What's the other type, "touring"? I know "Summer" is out, as the compounds need 50 degree plus heat to be effective.

Good beer analogy.


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## NewBeatle (Dec 5, 2019)

*UPDATE:*

I was driving my Beetle yesterday. It had rained most of the morning, but it was about 1pm, so the road was not visibly wet. I turned from a Stop sign on to a street with a very slight grade. My car was past the turn and parallel to the road. I did not floorboard the gaspedal, but I gave it a little more push than usual. I felt something odd, I gave it a little more gas and verified that my front wheels were spinning. Wasn't from a deadstop, wasn't redlined - just a reasonable amount of "_let's zoom_". I can't recall when I've had a car lose it like that with such a moderate acceleration request. My previous low was a set of Cooper A/Ss. This goes below that. And with the engine over the drive wheels.

At the start of this thread I was going to run these tires for at least 5,000 miles, then see. Now I'm thinking I need to ditch them ASAP. And when I eventually tune up the *2.0T* (wake up, APR!), these tires won't be able to handled that added torque.​
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## Dan00Hawk (Jun 22, 2013)

I routinely use my summer tires here in Chicago until it starts getting below freezing. I've not had much issue at 35 and above. I just make sure I'm ready for the tire to perhaps have not quite as much grip as it would once warmed up. Since you can use the Wrangler for poor conditions and cold temps, I'd absolutely go with a summer (3 season) tire and not think twice about it. If you're still on the fence, then a high performance all-season will be the next best thing. A "touring" tire won't give you the dry grip you'll want for corners or acceleration once you are tuned.

There is a street near my house like you described, where after I turn onto it, it's a bit uphill. If it's the least bit damp, every front wheel drive car more powerful than a Prius that goes beyond half throttle loses traction. The combined weight transfer to the rear while accelerating uphill causes front wheel drive to lose more traction in those scenarios. Put a couple sumo wrestlers in the back, and it'd be even worse!


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## NewBeatle (Dec 5, 2019)

Dan00Hawk said:


> _I routinely use my summer tires here in Chicago until it starts getting below freezing. I've not had much issue at 35 and above. I just make sure I'm ready for the tire to perhaps have not quite as much grip as it would once warmed up. Since you can use the Wrangler for poor conditions and cold temps, I'd absolutely go with a summer (3 season) tire and not think twice about it. If you're still on the fence, then a high performance all-season will be the next best thing. A "touring" tire won't give you the dry grip you'll want for corners or acceleration once you are tuned.
> 
> There is a street near my house like you described, where after I turn onto it, it's a bit uphill. If it's the least bit damp, every front wheel drive car more powerful than a Prius that goes beyond half throttle loses traction. The combined weight transfer to the rear while accelerating uphill causes front wheel drive to lose more traction in those scenarios. Put a couple sumo wrestlers in the back, and it'd be even worse! _


Yes, now that you describe the weight back behavior, I feel a little stupid not seeing that for myself. Thanks for the description.

Sources describe summer tires below 50 degrees to be like driving with ice rims. How bad are they before they warm up? What is the warm up period? A mile - 10?

My previous rocketship was AWD, and I am a bit worried how the Beetle will stay on the road once it is tuned to ~300 ft/lbs torque. On the other hand, the most tune-able Juke - the NISMO FWD, stick shift - was not AWD and everyone thought it was the best flyer going. I do miss AWD though, even after driving my Beetle for a little over a month. Once you feel the dynamic AWD activate going around a turn (like the turn of an off ramp) and feel the back end literally kick around the corner, it's a hard security to give up.

So summer tires are good in dry and wet, but not cold and snow - right?

Thanks for visiting.


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## Dan00Hawk (Jun 22, 2013)

I felt pretty comfortable on summers if the temps were over 40 degrees, and that they didn't have any less grip over any other tire compounds. They started to have noticeably less grip between 32 and 40 degrees if you were driving beyond 7/10s around corners or accelerating aggressively. Not enough that you had to worry about flying off the road if driving normally, but you wanted to be prepared for the car to act more like it was on damp pavement, for example. Just a seat of the pants thing that you needed to mentally exercise an extra degree of caution... I wouldn't spend time trying to actively warm up the tires like you see racers do with burnouts or side to side motions, as cold air temps and cold pavement can't really be overcome in regular street driving whereas driving hard on a track you'd be able to keep the tires warm.


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## NewBeatle (Dec 5, 2019)

Dan00Hawk said:


> _I felt pretty comfortable on summers if the temps were over 40 degrees, and that they didn't have any less grip over any other tire compounds. They started to have noticeably less grip between 32 and 40 degrees if you were driving beyond 7/10s around corners or accelerating aggressively. Not enough that you had to worry about flying off the road if driving normally, but you wanted to be prepared for the car to act more like it was on damp pavement, for example. Just a seat of the pants thing that you needed to mentally exercise an extra degree of caution... I wouldn't spend time trying to actively warm up the tires like you see racers do with burnouts or side to side motions, as cold air temps and cold pavement can't really be overcome in regular street driving whereas driving hard on a track you'd be able to keep the tires warm._


Thanks for your input.
Over on the tire size thread I outline my choices.


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## NewBeatle (Dec 5, 2019)

.


Go ... *--> Here!* ... to read about my tire upgrade experience.
​
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Almost three months to the day, but today I sold my second pair of _*Kinergy GT*_ tires. They were bought by a very nice man who got them for his son who he just picked up a 2017 Dune (mustard metallic) Beetle for with 9,000 miles on it. He bought these in advance, as a bargain, for when the Beetle chews up the FWD tires. Life is mysterious. He didn't strike me as a very wealthy man, and in fact he drives to and back from work in a Camry with 153,000 miles on it. But there he is, buying his son a car, and then back up (in advance) tires. America!

And, as an act of contrition, I will confess a slight pang of guilt selling these tires. Yes, they are almost brand new (~500 miles). Yes, I kept them for 3 months on wood and away from concrete. Yes I cleaned them up and TireFoam'd them. Though my current lineup (Yokohama Advan Sport A/S on the front) 










​.

... (Yokohama lineup) is more expensive, they give such a more sure footed ride, that I do feel the Kinergy GTs are ... well, they leave room for improvement. But they are almost new, made by a good company, and totally fit the son's car. So he seemed happy, and I'll trust in that. 

I spent a good 10 minutes encouraging him to look for a 2012-13 Beetle with a (non-Budack) 2.0T and use it to replace his Camry. He said he's driven his son's car and really likes it. It was like it never occurred to him to get a car that he liked. As we talked, he warmed up to the idea. Told him about APR and how they are ready to go for both his son's car and his 2012 if he gets one. I wish him well.

*Conclusion*: the 4 tires which caused me to start this thread are now gone.
Good luck with yours.

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[HR][/HR]
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_
You can bet these guys aren't driving on *Kinergy GTs*._
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## NewBeatle (Dec 5, 2019)

It was Tuesday ... truckie Tuesday ... and I was driving my '99 Ranger for his weekly health outing ...











.

Mine is a lot like that, though it's white, with a nice flame orange "Sport" script decal on the back fenders ... but that's the shape and feel. 4.0L V6, high torque limited slip rear diff - less than 3,100 pounds - ridiculously fast. So, anyway, I'm driving and I pull up at a stop light, and I look over ... it's a sedan, a Hyundai ... their flagship Sonata ... and looking up from road I read ... yup ... "*Kinergy GT*". I'm not sure what this confirms, but I thought it significant.​


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## codered94ram (Feb 7, 2020)

I found the kinergy GT Tires that came with my 18 to be lack luster. Torwards the end of the life of the tires I thought they were junk. They were comfortable up until 30k miles. They wore down quick for me. 38k miles and they were at 2/32 left. Of course I say that when it was more than likely how I drove and my lack of rotation. I was happy to get them off. Discount tire had a set of sentury tires for $49 a piece and they have a slight wobble at 88 mph. The kinergy GT’s are decent tires in comparison to those sentury tires. I maybe have 2 years until I get a new set. The kinergy GT I remember feeling that they didn’t hook to the pavement like I wanted. Don’t know if it’s because the narrow wheel but, even in rain if you didn’t ease on the pedal the tires would spin and the TC would kick in. Maybe one day I’ll be satisfied 😂


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## NewBeatle (Dec 5, 2019)

codered94ram said:


> I found the kinergy GT Tires that came with my 18 to be lack luster. Torwards the end of the life of the tires I thought they were junk. They were comfortable up until 30k miles. They wore down quick for me. 38k miles and they were at 2/32 left. Of course I say that when it was more than likely how I drove and my lack of rotation. I was happy to get them off. Discount tire had a set of sentury tires for $49 a piece and they have a slight wobble at 88 mph. The kinergy GT’s are decent tires in comparison to those sentury tires. I maybe have 2 years until I get a new set. The kinergy GT I remember feeling that they didn’t hook to the pavement like I wanted. Don’t know if it’s because the narrow wheel but, even in rain if you didn’t ease on the pedal the tires would spin and the TC would kick in. Maybe one day I’ll be satisfied 😂



It sounds as if you are a "spirited" driver. In my view, getting 38K out of any tire that you would actually want, on a front wheel drive car zooming around is a good outcome. They make tires with harder rubber, but the ride suffers, as does the traction. But your "_if you didn't ease on the pedal the tires would spin_" perfectly describes my experience with the Kinergy GT, and is why I am glad I got rid of them and joyous that I was able to sell them.

Thanks for responding.
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