winter tires: a rant and opinion request

J

jjagain

New member
I'm starting to look for winter tires. I've narrowed my choices town to these three (in order of preference)



Nokian Hakka 1's (studless.. studded tires are illegal here)



Nokian NRW



Toyo Observe G-02 plus



my rant: why are these things so @*)$&)@*$ expensive... the hakka 1's were quoted to me @ $860 canadian installed and balanced + tax (15% tax here). the NRW's were a similar price while the toyos were about $200 cheaper, but they weren't mounted and balanced.



Am I really going to notice a big difference between a big name winter tire and a cheaper generic winter tire? Anyone have opinions on winter tires?



Thanks
 
I have Dunlop Winter sport M2's for my jetta. They tire handle well for a winter tire and ride quality (comfort) is good. The M2 are good in snow, slush, wet road conditions and ok on ice. Tires are quite, for a winter tire, on dry roads and have very little hum. I drove about 3500-4000 miles on the tires between Mid November to April. I will buy another set of M2 if still made when my current set wears out.



I am comparing the M2's to a set of Blizzaks, not sure of the exact model car, mounted in a mustang. I found the blizzak to have a negative effect on handling and ride quality of the car. I could readily tell the car had a soft compound tire. The blizzaks grip well in the snow and leaving imo something to be desired in the other conditions. The tires are loud, soft. I will check for the model number these are about 3-4yrs old and have 20k-25k miles. Maybe the newer blizzaks are better.



Good winter tires are well worth the price, if you live or travel in area with snow and other winter conditions. I think this includes you Zilla.



The Hakkas and Dunlops are recommend by many on the vwvortex and audiworld forums. I bought the M2's because of availability and the recommendations on various message boards.



Check out the current issue of Consumer reports, tire rack some of the message boards.



Eric
 
I've checked a lot of the review boards, but nobody seems to have a review of nokians out there. plus, from my experience, everyone always loves the stuff they buy and nobody wants to admit that they made a poopy purchase :)



Nokian owners are like a cult. they'll go out of their way to find them and praise them, but they're impossible to find :) tire rack, 1010tires and tire trends don't carry nokains.



Thanks for the info
 
Is this your only car or do you have a winter beater or truck you can drive if the weather gets really bad?

If not then I wouldn't compromise on the tires - regardless if winter, summer, or performance etc..

It's the only thing between you and the road - what's $200.00 worth to you in safety or increased insurance deductible?

Eric's advice to look at Tirerack and Consumer Reports is good advice.

Toyos and Nokian are not quite in the mass market and thus may cost more due to low volume.

Blizzaks are great tire but wear fast unless your streets are snow covered all the time.

Calgary gets frequent melts but with a number of very poor driving days so a Michelin Alpin tire is probably a better choice here.

I just got some Michelin LTX M/S for our F150 and they cost $860.00 for a TOP RATED all season so those prices you quoted are quite high by comparison. Shop around a little more if you are dead set on the ones you mentioned.
 
zilla said:
Nokian owners are like a cult. they'll go out of their way to find them and praise them, but they're impossible to find :) tire rack, 1010tires and tire trends don't carry nokains.
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LOL!! I found that out too when I was browsing winter tires. Just like the deciphles of some other hard to get product around here.... :D
 
unfortunately, I have the same car for year-round driving.



One thing I've learned (the hard way) is that skimping on rubber is not worth it. I bought some cheapo bf goodrich radial T/A tires when i fist got my rims. they were HORRIBLE. i quickly sold them and took the loss and got some "real" z-rated summer tires the following season and the difference is incredible and i do believe that those tires did save my *** on a number of occaisions.



I don't mine shelling out on winter tires for the simple fact that those are the 4 patches between you and the road. It's just that the prices are insane sometimes.



I did some more shopping around and was able to track down some hakka 1's in the size that I want for about $600 canadian + install and balancing.



The weather that we get around here consists of snow and ice. the main roads are usually cleared and dry within 2 days of a major snowfall while the side roads stay covered with ice.



Do hakka 1's wear well? I've noticed that winter tires usually don't have a treadwear rating like summer and all season tires.
 
I just bought Hakkapeliitta 1 snow tires today. I looked them up on the BrickBoard (Volvo owners) and elsewhere, and it seemed that they and Gislaven were the best winter tires for our snow conditions. On going arguments about which were better. I went with price.



I paid Cdn $643.86 for four tires. That includes balancing and installation, tire recuperation tax, $22 for storage of the summer tires, and GST & QST. I special ordered them and they arrived in one day. I got them at Canada Tire (not Canadian Tire). There might be one in Ottawa. If not, it might be worth a trip to Montreal. Their phone number is: 514-731-7811. I really like that place. They are very helpful and knowledgeable.
 
Taxlady said:
I just bought Hakkapeliitta 1 snow tires today. I looked them up on the BrickBoard (Volvo owners) and elsewhere, and it seemed that they and Gislaven were the best winter tires for our snow conditions. On going arguments about which were better. I went with price.



I paid Cdn $643.86 for four tires. That includes balancing and installation, tire recuperation tax, $22 for storage of the summer tires, and GST & QST. I special ordered them and they arrived in one day. I got them at Canada Tire (not Canadian Tire). There might be one in Ottawa. If not, it might be worth a trip to Montreal. Their phone number is: 514-731-7811. I really like that place. They are very helpful and knowledgeable.
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I am very curious about alternates to the Bridgestone Blizzak. Not that I thnk it's a bad tire, but I am wondering what's out there for my Maxima. The problem is the tire size of my Maxima (225/50/17). The only winter tires I can buy from Tire Rack are the Blizzak and the Dunlops.



My needs are snow and ice traction (Some side streets in Chicago can be unplowed) but they have to be durable enough to deal with the resultant potholes due to the massive amount of salt that the Illinois Department of Transportation and Chicago's Streets and Sanitation likes to lay down.
 
I just ordered my hakka 1's. I'll be dropping the steelies off to get installed and mounted on monday. $149 canadian per tire.



amazingly, the best price i found was at my dealership :shocked



I almost can't wait for the snow to fall so i can try these puppies out :)
 
PrinzII said:
I am very curious about alternates to the Bridgestone Blizzak. Not that I thnk it's a bad tire, but I am wondering what's out there for my Maxima. The problem is the tire size of my Maxima (225/50/17). The only winter tires I can buy from Tire Rack are the Blizzak and the Dunlops.



My needs are snow and ice traction (Some side streets in Chicago can be unplowed) but they have to be durable enough to deal with the resultant potholes due to the massive amount of salt that the Illinois Department of Transportation and Chicago's Streets and Sanitation likes to lay down.
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I just checked the Nokian site (they make the Hakkapeliittas) and they don't make your tire size.:(
 
zilla said:
I just ordered my hakka 1's. I'll be dropping the steelies off to get installed and mounted on monday. $149 canadian per tire.



amazingly, the best price i found was at my dealership :shocked



I almost can't wait for the snow to fall so i can try these puppies out :)
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Me too! But, since we both will have snow tires on, it won't snow here 'til December. ;)
 
zilla said:
have you considered going to a narrower tire (maybe 215 or 205) for the winter?
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I had thought about getting a set of 16" GXE or '97-'99 SE rims and running a set of 215/55/16 tires for winter.
 
Another few thoughts on winter tires. Consumer reports has a review either this month or last. They pointed out the following:



You need to decide what speed rating you are interested in. Specifically, Q rated tires are safe up to 100mph and H rated up to 130 mph. While this may seem like an inconsequential difference, my take on their data is that the H rated tires are better not only for dry handling but also in snow etc. (? just better constructed tires). Price is also significantly different in these categories ($80 for Q, $130 for H). The most common Blizzaks (didn't rate well) as well as Michelin arctic alpins (rated well but not as good as the H's) are both Q rated. Top H rated tires include a set of Goodyears (don't remember the exact name), Dunlop winter XP (? correct name) and a pair of Pirelli's. All of the top H-rated tires outperfomed the Q's in nearly every category.



Initially, I was going to buy Artic Alpins but have now decided to spend the extra money and look for either of the 3 H-rated tires noted above. Good luck.
 
PrinzII said:
I had thought about getting a set of 16" GXE or '97-'99 SE rims and running a set of 215/55/16 tires for winter.
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This is exactly what I'd do. But I'd run an even narrower tire, like a 205.



Or if you'd prefer, I have a sweet set of 16" TSW chrome 5 spoke wheels I could sell ya............:D
 
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