Running Winter/Snow tires in relatively warmer temperature areas

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

cperez

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Posts
1,720
Reaction score
794
Location
Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Add my vote for the Nokian WRG3's. I have had them on for exactly 1 yr and do most of my driving in the DC area and on 1K-mile road trips. I've never paid any attention to the road noise of my tires and these are unremarkable in that area. I'm actually looking forward to some snow here so I can drive around in some slop on these tires again.
 

manoftaste

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Posts
618
Reaction score
194
Great to hear that, Colorover. What size wheels/tires are you running? Also would love some pix if possible. Look is kinda important to me to see how the wheel well fills up/looks overall with this ridiculous minimum of 19 inch rim size on LR4s. The only thing, and I mean the only thing I like about my current stock 255/55/19 contis is that their sidewalls bulge out a bit more than the other tire brands, making the whole tire/wheel combo looking a bit fatter :)
 

manoftaste

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Posts
618
Reaction score
194
Ha @ "...so I can drive around in some slop on these tires again."

Yes indeed, driving this heavy truck on slippery slopes with bad tires is not good. I think the stock Goodyears were also pretty bad in snow. I remember very well when I first got my brand new LR3 HSE with 19 inch wheels back in 2006, we had some snow storms in NY where I lived back then. With only a few hundred miles or so on the truck I had two real near mishaps that I could remember on two separate occasions, both on slippery slopes. First one was in a parking lot with some slight sloped area with icy surface where my truck' rear end simply started to slide sideways toward the fence and there was nothing I could do, then some lights went on/flashed on the dashboard and thank God the truck straightened itself out. Very, very scary moment.

Second time it happened on a steep road going up hill at night time. Wasn't crazy blizzard or anything like that, snow had fallen a while back and it was just mixture of fresh powder, maybe some slush and ice. Few seconds of spinning all four wheels and the brand new LR3 begins to slide backwards with its rear end moving slightly laterally to the curb side. I could see the car parked in a driveway to my right (in my passenger side' sideview mirror) getting closer and closer and there was nothing that I could do about it. Luckily, the truck stopped sliding as the rear right wheel hit the 4 or five inch tall curb which was hidden in snow, with only a few feet remaining between me and the car parked in the driveway.

Meanwhile, I could see an Audio A4 moving nicely up that hill with no issues at all :) I got out of the truck trying to plan out for making a U turn, etc. Some guys in the neighborhood had been watching me attempt and struggle up the road before I began to slide and stopped. They were like how could we help and were also puzzled that a Land Rover couldn't traverse what an Audi could do with ease, I remember them even saying something like that :)

I myself was perplexed a bit as back then I didn't know that an all season tire is really a compromise and downright dangerous on a heavy truck like an LR3. Those goodyears really sucked in snow but they were pretty good in rain/wet surfaces, but knowing everything that I know now, I attribute their being good in rain to the soft suspension setup of LR3.
 

cperez

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Posts
1,720
Reaction score
794
Location
Bethesda, Maryland, USA
I myself was perplexed a bit as back then I didn't know that an all season tire is really a compromise and downright dangerous on a heavy truck like an LR3.

I had a less potentially dangerous but equally embarrassing outing the first time I hit snow in my stock Conti's. I grabbed the keys and told my daughter to ride shotgun with me to tour the local neighborhood streets. At that time I had not had the LR4 for very long. We got to a long but not very steep incline and the Contis were useless. I actually came to a halt with various wheels spinning on the hill, before we slid off the crown of the road and I was able to quickly back it into a nearby driveway (well, I got mostly driveway and probably a fair amount of lawn if I'm being honest).

My daughter was not impressed and I muttered all the way home.

Not long after that I got the Nokians. To your point above, Nokian is careful to bill their tires as "all weather", not just "all season." Big difference as the WRG3s are specifically rated for severe winter conditions and have the mountain snowflake symbol. I'm happy with them. Oh, and the next time it snowed, you can bet that I went straight back to that hill and even tougher unplowed areas and had no problem.
 

LRwhat

Active Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2012
Posts
30
Reaction score
1
I have run the Cooper zeon LTZ and squeezed 42k out of them before they hit the wear marks. Yesterday I had a new set of Nokian WRG3's put on. We had a big snow storm last night requiring me to drive though 5+ inches of unpolwed snow this morning. These tires stick like glue. The Coopers were great tires but after 25-30K they were not safe in the snow, and about 30K they would slide like crazy in the rain. So far I am very happy with the Nokian's
 

manoftaste

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2006
Posts
618
Reaction score
194
Thanks everyone once again. Yes, I am increasingly leaning toward the WRG3. Would love to see some pix on the 19 inch wheels if possible, ideally different angles and closeups and wides :)

Also, Nokian' site has a dealership locator which I could use to find the nearest one to me (LA area), but if anyone in the area knows could recommend a place/contact that would be awesome, thanks.
 

cperez

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Posts
1,720
Reaction score
794
Location
Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Thanks everyone once again. Yes, I am increasingly leaning toward the WRG3. Would love to see some pix on the 19 inch wheels if possible, ideally different angles and closeups and wides :)

Also, Nokian' site has a dealership locator which I could use to find the nearest one to me (LA area), but if anyone in the area knows could recommend a place/contact that would be awesome, thanks.

My closest dealer was a couple of hours away and I briefly considered a road trip before deciding to order online. I recommend tiresbyweb.com based in Michigan. Ask for Pat Howley if you call. He took care of me on my original set and then rushed out a replacement when I had a highway blowout (struck debris, no fault of the tire) a few months later.

I have a few assorted photos featuring these tires on an Instagram account I set up just for my LR (@sinjinthelandy). Nokian Tyres liked a couple of them and asked me if they could use them in their social media feeds. Good luck!
 

LRwhat

Active Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2012
Posts
30
Reaction score
1
After plowing the driveway this morning I grabbed a few shots. I don't think it quite fits your criteria but its what I could do at the time! Second day of driving in fresh snow and covered roads! I bought them at Discount Tire and paid just under $1000 with certs. I say go for it, i'm glad i did!

20170105_094919.jpg


20170105_094942.jpg


20170105_094957.jpg


20170105_095012.jpg
 

LRwhat

Active Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2012
Posts
30
Reaction score
1
BTW, its not a flattering tire to look at but it sure does a good job!
 

colorover

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2010
Posts
213
Reaction score
33
Here are a few pics with 20s.

4c2a160cfc1df51820bf06a02938b886.jpg


21530eaf9371b287a29def1d24f0b5e7.jpg




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
36,259
Posts
218,004
Members
30,496
Latest member
washburn72
Top