Let’s just face it. Looking for, and then finding, a set of tires is far from the easiest thing you can do in the shopping realm. You routinely find yourself on the hunt, burdened by dozens and dozens of companies you may have never heard of. Laufenn, potentially, is one of those, so today, we are going to review them in a bid to provide you with much more information on them.
Laufenn Company Background & Information
Despite the fact that Laufenn doesn’t sound like much of a player in the game, it actually has ties to a huge company that is in a good spot in the market. That company is one you will know of, and it is called Hankook tires. Launched in late 2014, Laufenn is an off shoot of Hankook tires, designed to be a brand that is all about keeping things relatively simple while still providing drivers with a sense of both style and performance at the same time.
Hankook is a South Korean company, but they have been operating a massive plant in Indonesia, of which was built for the price of over a $1 billion, to produce them. There are some brands out there that will woo you over with their looks, but that isn’t always going to cut it for you. By the same token, just having performance is not going to do it for everyone, so having a blend of each is extremely nice to see. As a result of their work in conjunction with Hankook tires, one of the world’s largest and quickest expanding tire companies, Laufenn has been able to stay ahead of the curve pretty much the entire time they have been up and running.
They constantly have done this by out selling projected targets. They have become such a success in such a short time that they have already expanded into the Latin American and European markets, in addition to, of course, the American market. Hankook is truly a global brand with a global vision and global revenues, so it only makes sense that they have done this, even if it’s in a short amount of time. One thing you do have to appreciate is that Laufenn does it with just five ‘models’ of tires, keeping the ‘skews’ down so that customers can much, much more accurately tell the differences between one product to the next.
Laufenn Tire Cost and Pricing
One of the main reasons why Laufenn is operating is due to the fact that labor is much cheaper in Indonesia. Compared to the ‘parent’ company Hankook, Laufenn, it also must be said, is offering a simpler, less chaotic type of tire. These two things add up to save you some money, as they both will drastically drive down the cost of your set of tires. Anytime you see cheaper labor, you should also see a price that goes down as a result.
The same can be said of the craftsmanship as well. These may not be awful tires, but they certainly aren’t going to have the same level of detail put into them as Hankook, for example. So, those two things help to lower the price, which could be a major bonus to folks out there looking for a solid set of tires without breaking the bank.
Laufenn Warranty
As part of its program, all tires bought from Laufenn are guaranteed and come with a warranty attached. This warranty offers you some confidence and gives you some back up in the event that something does go wrong. Finding the specific information has been a bit tough for us to do, so if you want to know the nuts and bolts for yourself, then you should either ask a dealer or contact the brand directly. We must say that you have to register them and keep them rotated for the warranty to stay in effect, so there is that to think about and do!
Tire Options
You might look at Laufenn offerings and be a little bit disappointed to see that they only have five models or so. Overall, they do not have a ton of options, seemingly, but we find beauty in this. It can help reduce the costs you pay for the tires, and it also means that they can commit more time and effort to making the ones they do make better than before, rather than always coming up with something new.
Even though they have ‘just’ five models, you get a little bit of everything covered to them. Everyone will be happy with the choices you have available, or should be. There is a choice for tires that just run on the regular old road. If you are someone that drives a nice, normal style and you don’t face a ton of varied challenges from one day to the next, then this simple option is probably the best choice for you. However, if you want a bit more performance, then there is also going to be that option, too.
The same can be said if you live in a wintry environment. You also can go with that if the cold, harsh weather is just too much for your car’s normal tires to take. In terms of finding Laufenn tires, it’s not all that tough to do in most cases. Sure, they do not have a ton of models, but they can be found, or at least ordered at most places. If you can’t or don’t want to do it this way, you can always shop online, where you are just about assured of finding them.
Laufenn Technologies and Features
Whenever you see a brand name in the world of tires that you don’t recognize, the vast majority of the time it is going to coincide with the fact that they have very little technology or features to them. That’s because they are either looking to keep costs down as low as possible in order to compete, or it is due to the fact that they just don’t do any Research & Development.
With Laufenn, however, mainly due to its link with Hankook, which cannot be overlooked, you get the opposite. Maybe you haven’t heard of them, and that’s OK, but that does not mean they don’t rise to the challenge by delivering you an excellent tire due to technology. They put in a lot of R&D work, contrary to other lesser known brands, and that in turn contributes to how well the tires are going to perform. Whenever you combine this with a small line of models, it ratchets up the quality and performance, as it does not require you to spread your work too thin.
With the small number of models available, they have been able to steadily increase their quality, working on them as they go and improving them year after year. This could not have been done without the help of Hankook, and it helps show that they are constantly pushing the envelope and will not stand by to just be a set of tires that look nice but have little to no ‘bite’ to them. We do see some obvious differences between Laufenn and Hankook, but that is to be expected. Still yet, they do a much better job that other ‘unheard’ of companies out there that you have to hunt and search for high and low to get a glimpse at.
Laufenn Tire Durability
We have said it a few times here, but we’ll say it again now. Laufenn may be a part of the Hankook ‘family,’ but they are still not quite Hankook tires. As such, and due to their more simplistic, no frills approach when compared to the bigger parent company, you can’t expect them to hold up quite as well. This is not to say that Laufenn tires are garbage or anything, but it just means they don’t have the same tire durability as Hankook will have.
But due to their partnership with them, you can expect them to have a leg up on many of the other budget options on the market. That means you should certainly be getting value for your buck, as you get a decent tire with good durability to it for relatively little. Even if they don’t last forever, you can’t complain if you save and get some life from them!
Summary & Final Conclusion
At first glance, it might appear to you that Laufenn tires are just another small, unknown brand looking to take out a slice of the pie of the tire market. While they are trying to do that, they aren’t just another brand with nothing to offer. By using Hankook’s resources, they are able to bring quality tires for the road that don’t cost you a fortune.
On top of that, they also look nice and have performed quite admirably. They don’t change the world or anything, but they also are not sitting still waiting on others to do the work for them. And for that, you have to tip your cap and respect them and their work!
Laufenn Tire Models
- S Fit
- S Fit AS
- G Fit AS
- X Fit HT
- X Fit AT
- I Fit Ice