Brand guide

Hankook Winter Tires in Ottawa

Hankook is where a lot of Ottawa drivers land when they want a proper severe-snow-rated winter tire without premium-brand pricing. The line is broader than most people realise — there is a studless commuter tire, an EV-specific one, and an all-weather.

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HankookBrand guide

Is there a rebate on this tire right now?

We run the manufacturer programs on these tires as they open, and they change through the season. Current amounts and dates are always on our specials page.

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At a glance

Winter line	Winter i*cept
Current studless generation	Winter i*cept iZ3 and iZ3 X
EV-specific	iON icept and iON icept SUV
All-weather	Kinergy 4S2
Severe snow rated	Yes, across the winter line
Also marked	M+S
Treadwear warranty	About 80,000 km on the current winter products
Also builds	Laufenn — same manufacturer, value line

Where Hankook sits

Hankook is a South Korean manufacturer that has spent the last decade moving steadily up-market, and its winter products are the clearest example. The Winter i*cept line is a genuine severe-snow-rated family, not a rebadged all-season, and it typically prices below the equivalent Michelin, Pirelli or Bridgestone.

One fact worth knowing before you compare quotes: Hankook also builds Laufenn. If you are cross-shopping the two, you are cross-shopping two lines from the same manufacturer at two price points, not two rival companies.

The current studless generation is the Winter i*cept iZ3, with the iZ3 X covering SUV and crossover fitments. The older iZ2 W616 is still available in some sizes. Where the line gets genuinely interesting for Ottawa is the iON i*cept — a winter tire specified for electric vehicles, at a price well below the European EV-specific winter tires.

Which Hankook, for which driver

The models that show up most often in our bay. All of the winter products carry the three-peak mountain snowflake.

Model	Type	Best for
Winter i*cept iZ3	Studless winter	The mainstream choice — cars and small crossovers, city and highway commuting
Winter i*cept iZ3 X	Studless winter	The same technology in SUV and crossover fitments
Winter i*cept iZ2 W616	Studless winter	The previous generation, still made in some sizes — worth asking about if yours is one
iON i*cept	Studless winter, EV specific	Electric cars — lower rolling resistance for range, structure for battery weight
iON i*cept SUV	Studless winter, EV specific	Electric crossovers and SUVs
Kinergy 4S2	All-weather	One set all year, if you have nowhere to store a second set

What is in the current Winter i*cept

Hankook’s published design features for the iZ3 generation, and what each is for.

New i*cept winter compound

The compound is the foundation of any winter tire — it has to stay pliable well below freezing, where an all-season compound stiffens and stops conforming to the road. This is what earns the three-peak mountain snowflake rating, and it is why a winter tire beats an all-season below about 7 °C even on bare pavement.

Angled sharp-edge ice grip slits

Fine cuts angled across the tread blocks. Each one is an additional edge to bite into ice texture. Angling them means they present an edge whether you are braking, accelerating or turning, rather than working in only one direction.

3D serrated winter sipes

Serrated three-dimensional sipes interlock when the tread block is loaded. That keeps the block from squirming under braking — heavily siped blocks are otherwise floppy — while still opening up as biting edges on snow.

V-shaped pattern with wide lateral grooves

A directional V sweeps slush and water outward from the centre of the contact patch as the tire turns. Slush, not deep snow, is the everyday hazard on an Ottawa arterial in February. Wide outer shoulder blocks spread ground pressure and increase the contact area for cornering.

Cross-section comparison of an unsiped tread block and a siped winter tread block, showing how each sipe creates two extra biting edges, and how a full-depth 3D sipe keeps those edges present as the tread wears down while a shallow moulded sipe disappears. — Sipes and slits are how a studless tire grips ice. The iZ3 uses angled slits plus 3D serrated sipes that interlock under braking load.

Side-by-side illustration of the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol and the M plus S sidewall marking, explaining that the snowflake indicates the tire passed a standardised snow traction test while M plus S describes tread pattern geometry with no test behind it. — Hankook’s winter products carry both markings. The snowflake is the one that means a test was passed.

Sizes, fitment and how we quote

We do not warehouse tires. We order in from our Ottawa distributors — usually the same or the next business day — and you get a full installed quote before we order anything. That quote includes mounting, balancing, valve stems or TPMS service kits, and old-tire disposal, so the number you see is the number you pay.

Bring the vehicle, or read the size off the placard in the driver’s door jamb, and we will confirm it against what your vehicle should be running. If your size is not made in this line we will tell you that rather than substituting something else quietly. More on what we do with the tires once they arrive is on our tire services page.

Every number on the sidewall, decoded. The placard in your door jamb is the authority — not what happens to be on the car now.

What this means for an Ottawa driver

The Hankook conversation in our bay is almost always a value conversation, and it is usually a sound one. A second vehicle, a kid’s first car, a lease you are handing back in eighteen months — these are cases where spending premium money on a winter set you will not keep makes no sense, and where the alternative people actually reach for is running all-seasons through the winter. A snowflake-rated Hankook is a very large safety improvement over that, at a price that makes the decision easy.

The insurance arithmetic is worth doing out loud. Every Ontario auto insurer has been required since 2016 to offer a winter tire discount, generally in the 2–5% range, and it is not applied automatically — you have to tell your broker. Over the four or five seasons a set of winter tires lasts, that discount covers a meaningful share of a value-brand set.

Ask your broker to apply the winter tire discount. It runs roughly 2–5% and it is not automatic.
Quebec requires winter tires from December 1 to March 15 — relevant if you cross to Gatineau or have a second vehicle plated there.
If you are cross-shopping Hankook against Laufenn, note that Hankook builds both. It is a two-tier lineup from one manufacturer.
The iON i*cept is genuinely worth a look for EV owners in Ottawa — cold-weather range loss is already a January fact of life here, and a high-rolling-resistance winter tire makes it worse.

What installation includes here

Mounting and balancing

Every tire is balanced on the machine, not eyeballed. An unbalanced wheel shows up as a vibration at a specific speed and chews the tire unevenly.

Valve stems or TPMS kits

Rubber valve stems get replaced with the tire. TPMS sensors get new service kits — the seals and collars are consumables, not permanent parts.

Torqued to specification

Wheels go on with a torque wrench to your vehicle’s spec, not an impact gun. Over-torquing warps rotors; under-torquing loses wheels.

Pressures set properly

Set to the placard, or to the load if you tow. Cold-weather pressure drops are why the light comes on the first cold morning.

Old tire disposal

Included in the quote. Ontario tire stewardship fees are part of the number we give you, not a surprise at the counter.

Seasonal storage

Ask us — if you have nowhere to keep a second set, we can talk about what storage looks like.

Hankook — questions we actually get asked

Straight answers, from the counter at Beech Street.

They are a legitimate severe-snow-rated winter tire. The three-peak mountain snowflake is a standardised test result, not a marketing badge, and every product in the Winter i*cept line carries it. Against a premium tire you will generally give up a little in outright ice braking and in how well the tire holds up in its fourth and fifth seasons. Against running all-seasons through an Ottawa winter, it is not close — buy the Hankook.

Same generation and same technology; the iZ3 X covers SUV and crossover fitments while the iZ3 covers passenger cars. Which one you need is decided by your size and your vehicle, not by preference. Give us the size off your door jamb and we will tell you which applies.

Laufenn is made by Hankook, positioned as the value line. It is not a rebadge — the products are different designs — but it is the same manufacturer and the same quality systems. If your budget is tight, a Laufenn i FIT ICE is a real winter tire from a real manufacturer, which is not something you can say about every inexpensive tire on the market.

It is specified for electric vehicles: lower rolling resistance to protect range, and structure to handle the additional weight of a battery pack and the instant torque an electric motor delivers. In an Ottawa winter, where an EV is already losing range to cold and cabin heating, the rolling-resistance difference is not a rounding error.

Yes — that is what an all-weather tire is for. It carries the snowflake so it is winter-legal and winter-capable, and it is built to survive a summer. The trade-off is the usual one: a dedicated winter tire is better in January and a dedicated summer tire is better in July. If you have nowhere to store a second set, it is a sensible choice.

We do not warehouse tires. We order in from our Ottawa distributors, usually the same or the next business day, and we quote the full installed price — mounting, balancing, valve stems or TPMS service kits and old-tire disposal — before anything is ordered.

What Ottawa Customers Say About Our Service

4.9/5 from 293 reviews

"I dropped my car off at Franco Garage around 11:15am (no appointment, they took me right away) and by 12:30pm they had already ordered my car battery AND installed it! The cost was amazing. They only charged me for the battery itself (under $200) and $15 for labour. Everywhere else I called prior to Franco Garage was quoting between $250-$432 for the battery alone and a high labour cost, not to mention long wait times. I will definitely bring my car back to Franco Garage!! What an incredible experience. The service was extremely fast and the guys working were honest, reliable and really personable!"

Natasha Ferrill

2 months ago

"Noticed I had a deflating tire and a 6AM trip to Montreal the next day. The guys were already fully booked for the day, but still squeezed me in for a quick fix. I didnt even have to wait anywere, they were done in under 15 minites. Both mechanics were very polite and even offered to walk i to the ahop and showed me exactly what was causing the leak in the tire. They knew I was in a rush, but still charged me a fair price. I couldn't be happier, they actually made my day :)"

Yehor Sanko