winter tires recommended?

[thorgal]

I apologize that I offended you in some way, bashing Michelins for starters.it was not a review but my personal opinion , that we all allow to have.Our forum member ask specifically about a winter tires and i just presented my 0.2 cents on the subject.Unless i am mislead ,Michelines are NOT one of them and certainly not cheap, either.You might have a good mileage out of them on different vehicles,good for you ,but some was not that lucky,read reviews on tire rack for yourself.Guy needs a advise, not an arguing between ourselves.I know some people that were happy with GY wranglers although WE( read:this forum members) share a completely different opinion on this particular tire.No longer than two months a go I sold my set of them that I had on my 19 rims, to a guy, who wanted them , with no problems, for his wife's Lexus.So, back to the topic,i personally run two sets of tires,18 for wheelin' and 19 for the rest of 360 days out of the year,after all, not every one of this forum members wheels ******** for the entire year, whether you accept it or not.all I know that you can't have a one set of rubber suitable for all possible conditions out there.

 

[Houm_WA]

thorgal...I was not offended. Like I said, I respect your opinion. I was merely posting my own opionion as well so that the original poster could get a broad perspective. Individual results vary...

I also use different tires for wheelin' mounted on 18s.

 

[toddjb122]

... Second mentioned company designs tires specifically for Countries with four changing seasons,divided by two groups :summer and winter with some targeting all seasons,called ALL WEATHER tires.There is a big difference in performance, between all season and all weather rubber....

Thanks for the opinion and the discussion that followed.
Yes, I hated my original GYs, but have been very happy with my Synchrones.

Was wondering how the Nokians would improve further on things.

You did confuse me a bit in your reply as you started off by saying the Nokian focuses specially on producing tires for specific seasons, and then you pointed out that their winter tire could work for us as an all season tire. Why is that? Why wouldn't I buy a Nokian all season tire instead of a winter tire. Guess the confusion is on "all season" vs. "all weather."

Just wondering if it'll wear different. I want a nice tread, but I also live in Maryland and our winters are rather mild. Most of my driving is on hot roads in the summer. Am I going to wear down a cold weather tire which may be softer if I'm driving it 80% of the time in non-winter conditions?

Anyway, good stuff. I suspect the wear rating is directly related to the hardness of the rubber. Soft tires grip good, but wear quickly. Hard tires last long, but may not grip as well....which they probably make up for in tread design. I've heard the Pirelli tires for our truck are nice, but wear quickly. The Michelins last longer. You seem to think the Nokains will last longer still!

 

[thorgal]

Did not mean to cause any confusion.Since you (Maryland) and I ( NJ) both live in moderate climate, by definition, we don't really need true winter tire to survive that season.That is why I pointed out a all weather tire(do not confuse it with all season)as an logical option for mild winters.As for a real winter tire , again, suitable for parts of united States,Central Europe,England to name a few,would be a Pirelli scorpion ice and snow.This tire does not do well in severe winter conditions , in countries such as Norway,Finland,Russia ,Canada, when very low temperatures prevail for more than 7 months a year.Members from these countries suggested a truly winter oriented tire with very soft compound , such as Nokian as well as Vredestein winter rubber that may pay off in Minnesota,Maine ,Montana , where this particular season is way severe than ours.Although Pirelli ice and snow are a winter oriented tires, they turned out to be to hard for most of the Northern Countries.I compare all season tires to skies called mid fats.They both suppose to serve variable conditions,but usually perform poorly or mediocre at most, in every aspect,being beat by many season or specific terrain oriented products,in this case tires and skies.All i know that when first snow hits NJ roads , most SUV s end up in ditches and medians.Bad driving?maybe.To much cockiness end false sense of security and confidence?could be but this also could mean bad all terrain tires.

 

[Houm_WA]

It's probably ALL of those things. People's biggest mistake is simply going too fast...and often it's the people in SUVs because of the false sense of security or cockiness. The tires play a part, too. When I think "All terrain tire" I think of BFGs or Cooper Zeons or General Grabbers or Toyo Open Country ATs. It would be interesting to use one of the winter tires you list above such as the Vredestein or the Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow. I've never run a true winter tire. It doesn't snow enough in Seattle to warrant it. Last year I threw my Coopers on. This year those are gone and it will have to be my GY MT/Rs. Once the Michelins are toast it would be tempting to get a winter tire to run but I'm afraid those would get chewed up in no time on the pavement.

...and my wife would **** me if I bought a THIRD set of tires just to run in the winter!

 

[mustbeaudi]

You did confuse me a bit in your reply as you started off by saying the Nokian focuses specially on producing tires for specific seasons, and then you pointed out that their winter tire could work for us as an all season tire. Why is that? Why wouldn't I buy a Nokian all season tire instead of a winter tire. Guess the confusion is on "all season" vs. "all weather."

Just wondering if it'll wear different. I want a nice tread, but I also live in Maryland and our winters are rather mild. Most of my driving is on hot roads in the summer. Am I going to wear down a cold weather tire which may be softer if I'm driving it 80% of the time in non-winter conditions?

Nokian is unusual in that the WRG2 SUV tire is for FOUR seasons with the Severe Service Mountain Symbol certifying fitness for winter use (my emphasis with caps, here). Like other tire companies, Nokian also makes a summer-only tire and a winter-only tire that fit many vehicles, including LR3. The difference with the WR is that it serves for winter as well as others that are winter-only and carry the symbol, but the compound used for the tread also works well in and survives the heat of summer performance driving. This is not true of traditional compound winter-only tires that remain pliable well below the 45*F defining mark where summer-only tires start turning into hockey pucks, but that also wear very fast and perform poorly on dry/hot roads.

See the current issue of Car & Driver for a comparison test of 2 all season and 2 winter Michelin tires to appreciate the tradeoffs in design and performance of general and specialized tires. [Don't extrapolate that one Michelin does X so another does, too, or that these tests apply to Nokians - other than by relative example and for the fact that the WR line differs by straddling a line.]

Not the SUV version, but WR G2 tested high in recent Consumer Reports comparison of performance tires with above average snow performance for that class, but they did not test against other winter models (used Hakkapelittas for that class, it's the Nokian winter-only tire).

 

[bgsntth]

Nice post audi. Clear, concise and ACCURATE.

I like the fact that someone besides myself reads CR and Car & Driver, and juxtaposes two very different "camps of thought". Perhaps Grassroots Motorsports too?

 

[toddjb122]

Nokian is unusual in that the WRG2 SUV tire is for FOUR seasons with the Severe Service Mountain Symbol certifying fitness for winter use (my emphasis with caps, here). Like other tire companies, Nokian also makes a summer-only tire and a winter-only tire that fit many vehicles, including LR3. The difference with the WR is that it serves for winter as well as others that are winter-only and carry the symbol, but the compound used for the tread also works well in and survives the heat of summer performance driving. This is not true of traditional compound winter-only tires...

Thanks. That clears it up.

I like the look of the tread and it sounds like the reviews are good.

I'll keep my eye out for user reviews here for when I'm due for a set!

 

[Houm_WA]

...from what I can tell the WRG2 are not available in the 255/55R19 size.

 

[gtc]

...from what I can tell the WRG2 are not available in the 255/55R19 size.

Houm - for what it's worth they were apparently available last year (according to a local tire guy ) - there was a 6 week wait for me to order some, and I wound up with Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snows as I didn't want to wait any longer on the crappy GY rubber. Since I never actually ordered it's possible that the guy was wrong, but I specifically remember asking for both the stock 18" & 19" sizes or anything else that would fit in 18"/19"...