Seems I could use a better pair of tires in the rear to handle wet weather. Front tires are Hankook Optimo H724s, which seem to handle the gig. The no-namers in the back-- not so much. What would be a really good pair to handle the torque and not get slippery in the rain? Based in Seattle here, so 'wet' is a thing.
Hankook tires are a very low grade tire, and end up becoming too hard and slick in wet weather. They'll last a long time, but the ride quality will suffer, they'll become hazardous in wet weather, and they're not a true (round) tire, which causes shaking on the highway. They can not be balanced out, either. In addition, and for safety, always replace all 4 tires at the same time. Being that tires are not something I cheap out on, I can only recommend the Vredestein, AVON, or Michelin tires. They're the safest, most true (round), don't become hard, and all offer long life. (provided the alignment is spot on)
Thanks very much for that, I did notice the ride is not terribly smooth. And not doing well in wet is not acceptable either. I just got the car, so you've got me convinced to make the swap. Is there a particular size of Avon or Michelin tire you recommend?
Not sure if you can get these in US, but in Ireland, which Seattle would share the rain with ;) I'm driving my daily cars on 2nd gen Goodyear Vector 4Season or Michelin CrossClimate.
My 450 drives on Dunlop Sport BluResponse, which also have great wet grip properties. But they're a summer-only tyre.
Neither is available in 14", only 15" upwards with best size choice in the 16" range.