Nokian Winter Tires

[Josh775]

Hey everyone,

I am in the market for some winter tires and i've been hearing a lot about the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R. It seems to get stellar reviews online, and i guess they are pretty reasonable for the size i need which is 255/55R19 for my 09 Range Rover. It's pretty tough to find snow tires in that size...so its nice that a company finally took some initiative.

Anyway, i was just wondering if anyone had an experience with driving on the Nokians? Wasn't sure how they would hold up on a heavy Land Rover vehicle.

This is somewhat time-sensative because the "ChristmasJuly" coupon they have right now expires at the end of August and id like to take advantage of the $40 off per set and free shipping on all Nokians.

Thanks!

 

[whydahdvr]

My local tire guy strongly recommended Nokian tires, the WR2's I think. This was last December/January. He recommended them as the best all around tire for snow, wet weather, etc - which we get a lot of here in New England - and dry pavement. They weren't just a snow tire and are what I'm going to get when my current tires wear out. Got a buy 2 - get 2 free deal on Pirelli Scorpions at NTB that I couldn't pass up.
My tire guy said they used Nokian's on all of their trucks, SUV's, and heavy vehicles for in the snow and winter.

 

[bbyer]

Nokian's are good.

I do not know where you drive but here on the prairies of Western Canada, Nokian's are getting almost common. It is not too early to be buying winter tires, at least here anyway. The leaves are falling off the trees and frost is in the air. I purchased my new snow tires in June just to make certain I had them for when needed.

The Police are running them as well as the Post Office as far as fleets are concerned as they think they are for the most part pretty good value. I think the WR2 is what is going on, but that might be because they are I think cheaper than the Haks.

Stick with the stock size, particularily for winter as winter is enough of a problem.

 

[RangeRoving]

Nokians

Great advice guys, thanks.

I was curious about how the G2 held up in the really bad snow conditions. I called TiresByWeb.com (a pretty big retailer for Nokians here in the USA) and they seemed pretty knowledgeable about the difference between the WR-G2 and the Haks.

Essentially the WR-G2 is better in hydroplaning and slushplaning conditions, as well as being able to be driving all year round...probably good enough to handle up to a foot of snow. Whereas the Hakkapeliitta Lines are going to be better with snow, ice and general winter conditions.

So i guess it seems you sacrifice a bit of winter performance for all year round driving capability...which i don't mind.

Think i'm gonna go with the G2's, thanks for your input everyone!

 

[whydahdvr]

The WR-GR2's were the ones highly recommended to me and what I'm going to eventually go to when my current ones are shot.

 

[thorgal]

I am running WR G2's for third year now and can not speak highly enough of them. I also purchased them thru tiresbyweb .They are great on snow , but even better in slush.The great thing about them is , that you don,t have to change them for summer season, they are truly all weather tire (not to be mistaken with all season tire).
On the first day , after install.I noticed silence...o the highway, some people will say , that GW silent armor are quiet, but they not comparing to Nokians.
After running AT tires for a while , it was nice to hear nothing for a change.I am approaching third winter on them and , although, next year might be their last, since i am at 40.000 miles now , running them year around, I will definitely purchase from Nokian again, especially know with their upcoming new AT tire , that will be also rated with snowflake symbol.It is coming out in October i think.
Last winter should not be called a winter at all ..in NJ, but year before that, boy , we had a LOT of snow in 10/11 season and this tire got me thru unplowed roads as nothing I had ever before.Few storms with over 30 inches of snow , police cars stuck, fire trucks stuck, plows stuck on side of the road in ditches and yet I was able to have some fun , safe of course , driving all winter long.
One thing though, don,t go in mud with them, they get caked pretty bad and on gravel roads, stones seem to love this tire as well.

 

[PaulLR3]

We have run the Hakka R's the last 4 winters and I need to get new winter tires as well. The Hakka R's were very quiet, handled well (not squirmy in truck ruts) and amazing in deep snow. No issues driving in 3 feet of unplowed snow to get to a ski condo in Maine. However, they are scary in deep slush. Here in the Boston area it seems to rain before or after it snows. On one trip we had to crawl along since the road was covered in heavy slush and the Hakka R's constantly hydroplaned on it. I will probably go with WRG2's this time around. Slush is just more common around here than deep snow.

 

[Thomas1968]

I run the WRG2's on my 3 series BMW and so far they have been good. I just purchased my LR3 (had many other rovers and still a Series 2A) it came with Hanook Ventus AS (an all season tire) and time will tell if they are any good. Actually that time will come soon as I also live in the Western Prairie's and the leaves are going and the north winds blowing.

 

[RangeRoving]

All Season Vs. Dedicated Winter Tires

Thomas, i would be VERY cautious running the Hankook Ventus AS in the snow. I had that tire on an older LR3 that i used to own. We had a heavy dumping of snow and let me tell you...i was terrified driving on that tire. I swear a drag slick would have gotten more traction in wet snow. Needless to say i went out the very next day and purchased a set of dedicated snow tires. The difference between all-season and dedicated snow tires is like night and day in my opinion. When a tire tries to do everything, it does nothing well. Dedicated winters and summers are the way i'm going from now on!

 

[Thomas1968]

Thanks RangeRoving. I've already been scouting out some winter tires as well as I've always had good luck with dedicated ones. Last season was the only time I tried the Nokian tires on the 3 series even though I have dedicated winter tires for it as well. I wanted to see how they perform and they were ok. However, I've never had any Hanook tires so I appreciate the heads up.