Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 Review

Last Updated on October 1, 2021 by Stephen Tillman

Looking at the selection of ultra-high-performance tires in the market you will see that there is not a lot of choices, and even then not all of them deliver the promised performance. So I took the matter into my own hands and decided to test a tire that promisees the best performance for high-performance and premium vehicles, the Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2. These are ultra-high performance all-season tires that promise to deliver you excellent traction and grip all year long, which we will see.

Main Features Of The Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2

Target Audience

The company states that these tires are premium ultra-high performance tires that are designed and manufactured specifically for sports car drivers that look into a more comfortable driving experience. This sounds pretty confusing, why should I get a high-performance tire if I put comfort first, and considering the price of these tires, things get even more confusing. So that is the biggest reason I want to see what these tires are all about.

Specs and Features

Looking at the spec sheet and feature list of these tires you would expect that they are pretty interesting and promising, but we will see if it is just tech jargon or if it has something substantial behind it during testing. First, we should look into them though. Let’s start with the optimized warranty of these tires since they come with a 50,000-mile treadwear warranty and road hazard warranty. For some ultra-high performance tires that number is just enough to say the very least. These tires come in different sizes as well as fitting rims from 16 to 20 inches in diameter which should be enough for most cars.

Let’s start by talking about the molecular compound of these tires since they have a special and high-performance hybrid silica tread compound that as we have seen in different applications it has delivered better traction in the wet pavement and it has also kept the fuel consumption at bay. This is weird because this is an ultra-high performance tire, for high performance and premium cars. The shoulders and tread design of these tires are specifically molded to deliver better traction and grip cornering which should be adequate for the purpose. Also, the center rib will enhance the steering response of this tire, but we will see about that.

There are four circumferential grooves and the special homegrown Aqua Hydro Block technology added here to increase the performance of these tires in wet asphalt, both the braking distance and reduced hydroplaning risk, a feature that I praise and am a fan of. While manufacturing these tires the manufacturer has used the special 3D vibration analysis technology, which has created a more specialized profile for the mold of these tires.  It also has two steel belts which are nylon reinforced for better stability and durability. The polyester cord body is added for comfort and the bead fillers are hard enough to deliver better handling. This might look like a nice mix of features, but I am not very confident about all of this.

First Impression

These tires look pretty good when you look at them, solid all-around beautiful with thinner sidewall, a proper set of performance tires, at least the look of them.

Installing them on the BMW M Coupe which I think will allow us to test them exceptional, but then again, I don’t know what these will offer exactly, or even what should they. The first spin around the block felt like I was on a set of touring tires with a bit more bite to them, further testing should reveal its true qualities.

Testing

After a month of driving with these tires and putting 12,000 miles on them, I feel pretty confident to deliver a full analysis of them.  Let’s start with the first thing, these tires wear out pretty quickly, I didn’t expect that when combined with all that it offers. At least they wear pretty evenly, which is a plus. However, I can say one thing driving with these on the highway is a joy, super comfortable and no noise at all, even when pushing them to their limits. High-speed stability was also its stronger suit, no wiggling or feeling of discomfort, definitely top-notch at that.

As with any high-performance tire, I decided to take them on the track to see what these are made of, and I can say that I am disappointed. Well, they deliver some good cornering stability and nice traction, even when I pushed them aggressively, but I was always looking for more. Like my first impression, a good pair of touring tires with a bit more bite to them. They weren’t as aggressive as I thought they would be, and that is something you expect from tires that are branded as ultra-high-performance. Nice on the road, but not for the track by any means.

In the wet, it is pretty good unsurprisingly all the features packed there paid off excellently. It delivered nice traction and grip on rainy days as a proper all-season tire should. They resisted hydroplaning pretty well too, and I think that they deliver plenty of confidence in driving on rainy days. In winter testing these tires were as well as every all-season tire, good but nothing to be proud of.

Verdict

I have to say that these are not bad tires by any means, they are pretty good, but I think they lack character and identity. Are these high-performance tires? No. Are these touring tires? No. Are these the best tires for a car like Honda Pilot? Maybe.

The company tried to deliver the best of both worlds for owners of sports cars and high-performance cars, but it hasn’t done a pretty good job. With some refinements, these tires would be exceptional, but they lack prominence.

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Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2

6.3

Quality

7.0/10

Durability

5.0/10

Value

7.0/10

Pros

  • Comfortable ride through all the speed range
  • Exceptional traction and grip on wet asphalt

Cons

  • Poor tread life

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