Problem with the hankook ipike is they can’t get them factory studded (at least that’s what the dealers tell me). The first set I had were really good, snow traction was amazing and the studs worked well for a while but I started losing studs because the shop installed them too long.
I went in to get a set of Nokian hakka’s and the tire shop talked me into cooper MS. They had perfectly installed studs, and the shop told me they were comparible with Nokian with similar soft rubber compound. the tires were meh on snow but the studs worked well for ice and studs still looked great after four seasons. Tires had a lot of tread left which makes sense because they are not a soft rubber after all. These are really an all terrain year round tire that is pinned for studs, nothing special at all.
next I tried hankook ipike again and they installed studs way too short, with zero protrusion above the tread. Turns out there are lots of different stud suppliers and the lengths are pretty variable for the same listed length. I made them take them back and swapped with factory studded Nokian hakkapelitta 9’s which have been exceptional in every way, except price.
I prefer studded winter tires due to the advantage they offer at/around 32 degrees which is what I see often, black ice when you aren’t aware the road is slippery. For colder climates or if the communists ban studded tires I would run studless winter tires like Blizzaks. I would avoid the common studded traction tires like the cooper that use a regular all season rubber compound.
