FYI: 235/45/18 Hankook Ventus S1 AS Soundabsorber vs standard

I wanted not only a full size spare, but the ability to try and shred tires without concern of blowing money. So instead of just buying one extra wheel and tire, I bought two refurbed wheels on eBay, two used tires on eBay, and two TPMS from AliExpress. I finally mounted them up. I knew that one of the tires was not a SoundAbsorber, but when looking to buy to shred, I didn’t think that was a concern.

Quickly I noticed that the SoundAbsorber has foam on the inside. Mine was ripped out where a plug/patch was installed in the tire. I can see how bits of foam coins also get in the way of a standard plug sealing one of these tires.

After mounting the tires, I noticed two additional differences. The SoundAbsorber version also have a web pattern between the tread blocks. Not sure if this helps deaden the sound or not. More concerning is the fact that the SoundAbsorber appear to be a bit wider so the sidewalls are very vertical whereas the non-sound-absorber version seem a bit stretched. I might not have noticed this, but when dropping the back side of the wheel on the ground, the wheel hit the ground. The tire didn’t protect it. That’s not the case with the SoundAbsorber version. I wondered if maybe it was just thicker bead protection, but it really looks like the non-sound-absorber version are just a bit narrower.

This has me a bit more concerned about using this non-sound-absorber wheel with my brand new car. It’s probably better than any donut spare but might not be something I want to rotate in with the other tires just for the sake of rotation.

Anyway, this difference was more than I expected. I may keep my eyes peeled for another discounted sound-absorber tire.

 

[gotoma8]

Thanks for the detailed pictures and notes on the differences of the two tires. I am surprised about the webbing on one and not the other on the tread, but would be concern about that. I personally wouldn't put the one with part of the foam ripped off as it would change the balance of the tire, however, they would mitigate that with the wheel weights when mounting. So, I would be concerned with either one as a spare.

 

[DrChaos]

I think the Soundabsorber one is a particular Tesla-specific model. It comes standard on the new Model 3 with 18" replacing Michelin MXM4 at long last.

Not surprised there are other differences as well.

None of the other Ventus S1 AS tires (according to Hankook website) has foam. For EVs their replacement tire is the iON EVO AS.

You can also see the hatching in the grooves in the lower tire (I presume the Tesla tire with foam), which is a sound altering feature taken from the iON EVO AS. My guess is that the Tesla specific Ventus S1 is a hybrid between the iON EVO and their standard tire, and likely cheaper to Tesla than an iON.

It also has a lower tread depth to start (increased efficiency at cost for buyer) than the iON.

 

[Foxsbiscuits]

I emailed Hankook asking about getting their Ions on my 19s, I got this reply which seems relevant to this thread -

Hankook tyre are already an OE supplier for the Tesla Model 3, in tyre size 235/40R19 XL 96W.

This tyre has sound absorber material applied to lessen the noise, and although when purchasing the label would say that the tyre is a Ventus S1 Evo 3, on the sidewall of the tyre it states iON Evo.

This tyre was the precursor for iON Evo ev tyre development, and Tesla agreed with having iON Evo as the sidewall name.

For this reason, Hankook do not produce this tyre size in the iON Evo pattern.

 

[DrChaos]

I emailed Hankook asking about getting their Ions on my 19s, I got this reply which seems relevant to this thread -

And that seems to say that it's a somewhat lower technology tire, but Tesla wants the iON branding.

https://www.hankooktire.com/us/en/tire/ventus/s1evo3ev.html

note, a summer tire and not obviously available in 235/40R19 according to USA Hankook website.

The Ventus S1 AS is yet another one with a distinct pattern, and all season.

And neither of those two are advertised as having the optimized curing of the iON, which may be the biggest technical innovation but likely requires a significant factory investment.