Nokian WRG3 or Bridgestone Dueler h/l Alenza plus

[Elinders]

Sorry I know there are lots of tire threads and I've read them but this is specific.
I emailed our shop and asked them to put some Nokian WRG3's on our LR4.
I picked it up after hours and noticed they put Bridgestone Duelers on instead. I just contacted the owner and he is looking at his confirmed order for the Nokians so is contacting their warehouse rep to see what happened. He thinks they might have been out of stock of the Nokians and just sent these.
He said he can absolutely get the Nokians and switch them out for me, or we can keep the Bridgestones. The owner is great and feels bad for the mixup, I'm not upset but want to get the best tires for our family.

But I'm curious if anyone feels strongly against the Duelers for northeast weather and snow. We want an all weather/season tire that won't burn up in the summer but will perform in the winter.
I did a search on here and see plenty of people have both tires and seem happy with them. I see the bridgestones have a much longer warranty than the Nokians.

As a side note; we are coming from the stock Contis and my wife was sliding around on about seven snowflakes so either option would be a serious upgrade.

 

[PaulLR3]

If snow traction is one of your priorities, get the Nokians. For what these tires cost, no need to settle for the Bridgestones.

 

[catman]

When we picked up my wife's 08 RR it had brand new Dueler Alenza plus tires. She had me take them off within 2 weeks because she did not like them (she was used to Grabber AT2's on our LR3). She opted for a set of Duratracs and loves them - she feels more confident in bad weather with them on.

My opinion on great reviews for some of these tires is that many people do not know what a better tire feels like. I can't tell you how many people treat tires like wiper blades, "just give me the cheapest ones that are reputable and will last a long time". Some reviewers will simply rate a tire based on how long it lasts, hence all the marketing about warranties from tire manufacturers.

Also, bad conditions on the road are not a daily event and the average person does not purposely adventure out when it is icy, snowing heavily, or raining cats and dogs. In everyday driving the differences between tires can be subtle, but as you drive harder, or faster, or in worse conditions, or even off-road, the differences will become discernable.

I think that anytime it rains hard or snows you are going to be thinking about this and wish you had those Nokians on, so I would absolutely have them swap them out for what you ordered.

 

[Elinders]

Thank you both for confirming my decision. I told him over the weekend that we will wait for the Nokians to be back in stock and would like him to put them on for us.
We have a cabin in the Adirondack mountains and go up there quite a bit in the winter and don't want to be nervous about seeing a snow storm in the forecast, that's why we go up there!

 

[bbyer]

I regard the Bridgestone Dueler Alenza H/L as a summer tyre. I put a set of 19" on about four years ago and as summer tyres, are very happy with them and would purchase them again.

For winter, I have 18" Pirelli Ice & Snow 235 65 R18XL, 110H, a narrower tyre than the 19" 255 55 R19 111V XL Duelers. These I regard as an ice tyre, rather than pure snow tyre. They seem to work for me as my goal is to stay on the road, not go off road.

 

[Elinders]

Nice, those look good. Since I wanted to get away from an all season/summer tire, the Bridgestones were not the ones for me.
We have put 500 miles on the Nokians and I love them. I want to deal with just one set of tires and I think they are the perfect blend. Going up north in a couple weeks and hoping for lots of snow!
Thank you all for your help.