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Last updated 4/25/2024 - Originally published 4/25/2024
Written by SimpleTire
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For most drivers of sedans, coupes, crossovers, and SUVs, all-season tires present the best solution for year-round performance. Premium all-season tires are a great jack-of-all-trades option; they deliver a smooth, refined ride with low noise and stable road manners, they perform well in every kind of weather conditions other than heavy snow, and they offer long, even wear with a generous mileage warranty, and their handling, cornering, steering response, and braking performance are all predictable and composed.
Unsurprisingly, all-season tires have long been the best-selling category of tires on the market. And equally unsurprisingly, there is a huge range of all-season tires available at every price point and every degree of quality, value, and performance. Today we’re going to talk about the Ventus S1 Noble2 (H452) from Hankook and the Advan Sport A/S Plus from Yokohama.
When we do a head-to-head comparison like this, you’ll often see us refer to the tires’ SimpleScore numbers. If you aren’t familiar with it, SimpleScore is the system that the SimpleTire team devised to give an at-a-glance look at a tire’s performance in the categories of traction, handling, and longevity as well as an overall average SimpleScore for each tire. We look at the review information and data points involved, then distill that down into a numerical value. For the Hankook and the Yokohama, the SimpleScore numbers are as follows:
Of course as handy as the SimpleScore system is, it doesn’t give you the whole story. Let’s go ahead and zoom in for a closer look at the Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 (H452) and Yokohama Advan Sport A/S and see how these premium all-season tires stack up against each other.
The Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 (H452) is designed to deliver UHP levels of braking, cornering, steering response, and overall handling in an all-season tire for sedans, crossovers, and coupes. The Ventus S1 Noble2 (H452) starts with an advanced silica-rich tread compound designed for year-round performance (staying flexible for traction in winter weather) and long, even wear. Side filling tape and a rubber sheet between the belt layers aid in durability and stability, heading off separation at the tire’s belt edge.
Hankook’s design team developed a Triple Radius Profile that maintains a fat, wide contact patch for great weight dispersal, long even wear, and consistent cornering and braking performance, keeping the most rubber in contact with the road at all times. That contact patch gets a boost from Stiffness Control Contour Theory Technology (SCCTT), which is designed for even tension inside the tire’s structure to keep the carcass’s shape stable and constant even as the tire wears.
For year-round traction, the Ventus S1 Noble2 (H452) features 3-dimensional sipes for wet-weather performance and a system of circumferential, angled, and curved grooves that all work to evacuate water from the tire’s contact patch and resist hydroplaning on wet roads. A straight outside rib and a randomized tread pitch help to cancel certain frequencies and resonances, keeping road noise to a minimum. The Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 (H452) is covered by the manufacturer with a 50,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty.
Like the Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 (H452), the Yokohama Advan Sport A/S Plus is designed to provide a performance-oriented driving experience in an all-season tire for sedans, coupes, and crossovers. Yokohama designed the Advan Sport A/S Plus around a proprietary tread compound that’s rich with silica and specially blended compounds and polymers. The internal construction of the Advan Sport A/S Plus includes a polyester casing with two steel belts and a nylon cap ply, with Optimized Sidewall Construction that boosts handling and ride comfort by extending reinforcement farther up the sidewall.
At the shoulder, extra-large tread blocks enhance dry-road cornering, while 2-in-1 intermediate blocks give a boost to handling response and lateral stability. Year-round traction is thanks to a system of circumferential grooves, angled grooves, Z-Grooves, and wavy sipes that multiply surface area and grip with hundreds of biting edges to shear through snow and slush. Inboard serpentine grooves help complete the traction setup for snowy or slippery roads. The tread pitch of the Advan Sport A/S Plus is randomized with a 4-pitch variation that helps cancel road noise. Yokohama stands by the Advan Sport A/S Plus with a 55,000 mile warranty.
With SimpleScores of 8.7 for the Hankook and 8.8 for the Yokohama in the traction category, this one’s a tough call. Both tires are packed with features that help provide confident grip on wet or dry pavement, such as the 3D sipes and aqua hydro block system of the Hankook. The Yokohama, on the other hand, has a very well-designed network of Z-grooves, wavy sipes, and serpentine grooves that give it a slight edge in winter traction (note: neither tire has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service).
Although these tires compare well to each other and are closely matched in the traction category, our tip of the hat goes to:
ADVANTAGE: Yokohama Advan Sport A/S
With SimpleScores of 8.9 for the Hankook and 8.7 for the Yokohama when it comes to handling, this one’s a little more clear-cut. As a vehicle brakes or negotiates a turn, weight distribution shifts to the front, which is more of a problem since the engine’s weight is over the front wheels to start with. For sharp and responsive handling from any tire, the tread must stay rigid and resist the inertia and momentum of cornering.
The SCCT technology package, Triple Radius Profile, and reinforced shoulder of the Hankook are all designed to help counter that tendency. The grooves and sipes of this tire also aid in keeping the tread area planted firmly on the pavement with minimal deformation and “tread squirm.” Handling and steering response might not be up to the standards of an all-out performance tire with the Hankook, but it’s a tire that’s predictable, capable, and surefooted as the vehicle is being pushed to its limits, with easily controllable understeer. For handling, our pick is:
ADVANTAGE: Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 (H452)
Here’s an easier choice: the Yokohama tire comes in with a longevity SimpleScore of 9.1 vs a SimpleScore of 7.8 for the Hankook. Yokohama tires have a reputation for long, even wear and the Advan Sport A/S Plus is covered by a 55,000 mile warranty vs a 50,000 mile warranty for the Hankook. We’d say that’s thanks to a superior tread formulation and internal construction, which makes our decision:
ADVANTAGE: Yokohama Advan Sport A/S Plus
What kind of vehicle are you driving? If you’ve got a late-model sedan, coupe, or crossover and you need a tire that can deliver year-round performance with neutral handling properties, a comfortable ride, great road manners, and long, even wear, you can’t go wrong with either one of these tires. That said, if you live in a part of the country where you experience heavy snow and slush that might pile up and stay on the roads for days or weeks at a time, these might not be the tires for you. To be honest, most all-season tires aren’t capable of getting the job done in those conditions and you should probably consider winter tires for those months. However, as the jack-of-all-trades that we talked about up top, the Hankook and the Yokohama would both be great prospects.
The Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 (H452) and the Yokohama Advan Sport A/S Plus are both premium UHP all-season tires and both have their strengths and weaknesses. They compare well to each other when it comes to design, performance, and value. We’re impressed with the tread design and internal construction of the Hankook, which helps it deliver world-class handling. On the other hand, the Yokohama offers a longer warranty and a tread pattern that’s a bit more capable when it comes to winter traction (at least in light wintry conditions). With that all taken into account, our pick between the two tires would have to be the Yokohama Advan Sport A/S Plus.
Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.
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