sauceman

I've opted this year to try out the Nokian WRs. During previous years I have been driving around on Michelin Pilot Alpins. So much good had been said about the Nokians that I had to see what it was all about.

The Michelins are rated as being winter tires. I'd say they are winter tires trying to act like all-seasons. The opposite is true for the Nokians: They are all-seasons acting like winter tires.

I have had the occasion pretty early to see most all of the general weather patterns one expects to see during a winter, so I'd like to report an appreciation and comparison on both brands who are, in my opinion, very much in competition together.

Compromise

The name of the game when buying both of these tires is compromise. They are not hardcore performers in extreme conditions. However, they will prove an awesome choice for those who live in mild winter climates, and I would say that the Nokian has the edge over the Michelin in certain aspects, whereas the Michelin almost never does over the Nokian, despite it being rated as a true winter tire.

In such an area where winters are generally mild (yes, even in Quebec, we have a micro-climate in the Valley of Richelieu where precipitation is generally lower), it is nice to have a tire that will hold itself upright on dry pavement, because that is the kind of road we deal with most of the time. It would be great to have an all-weather tire, BUT one never knows more than 2 days ahead when the sky falls on their head. So the Nokian WR and/or Michelin Pilot Alpin come to mind as good candidates for this type of climate.

On the other hand, when the weather goes to extreme, you must be prepared to work harder than say, if you had a true ice or snow or slush tire.

Comparison:

Dry pavement: Both the WR and Pilot Alpin are at ease, and both will let you forget (almost) that you are drining with winter shoes. The Nokian is better at this though, because it is quieter, and, as an easter egg, it is actually less hard on fuel economy than the Pilot Alpin (or even the OEMs for that matter).

Wet pavement: Bring it! Both can take on tons of it.

Icy surface: Here the Nokian suffers. It's hard rubber compound isn't the best suited for the ice. It would be advised to lower the tire pressure to around 25PSI. As for the Michelin, it gets even worst. The grooves do nothing, and you have the sudden unpleasant feeling that you got scammed with the "winter" rating on the tire. If only they were studded..

Light snow over icy base: It can and does get worst.

Slush: Back in both tires' ideal field of operation. Both tires have directionnal grooves, and they both have excellent stability and traction in slush. I would have to say though, that once the Michelins have worn halfway down, they really shouldn't be used anytime else than during summer, kind of like the Blizzaks. I don't know for the Nokians for now, as I haven't really started to melt into them just yet.

Deep snow: This is where the Nokian really edges out the Michelin. The Michelin leaves you wondering how it actually earned it's winter tire rating, but the Nokian clearly is a lot more a ease. Traction is good, lateral grip is equally as good, and braking capacity is excellent. Never, at any moment did my tires feel short yesterday driving in 12"+ of snow. For this alone, I'm not looking back at my Michelins.

Cold weather: At -10°C, it is said that an all-weather tire's rubber becomes as hard as a frozen puck. Well, in this sense, you can't chase away the all-weather nature out of the Nokian. This week we had -20°c weather, and traction on dry pavement was significantly reduced, to the point where I almost thought I should heat my tires before taking curves. This is clearly a weakness of the Nokian, along with ice. For this reason alone I will seriously consider trying another brand next year. As for the Michelins, they fared better, but only slightly. They too were pretty slippery when very cold.

Conclusions: The Nokian WRs are a step ahead of the Michelin Pilot Alpins. It is pretty ironic, come to think about it that an all-weather tire owns a dedicated winter tire. Either the Nokian is really exceptionnal, or the Michelin is completely overrated. I'd say both are true.

However, you can't chase away completely the all-weather nature out of the Nokian, and this is the reason why the Nokian WR still needs to be used with caution.

Next year, I think I'll have my eyes set on the Hakka 2 studded, please.

curls

Are you referring to the Pilot Alpin PA2, or the Michelin Arctic Alpin?

And GREAT review. I kinda always suspected, but never knew first or second-hand, that there would be a compromise to the all-weather Nokian WR at the expense of the extreme cold or extreme winter conditions (sheer ice, etc...).

So far, very happy with my Arctic Alpin's. Almost gave me whiplash when stopping on ice the other day - I wasn't expecting them to stop THAT well and was quite amazed what they could do. Deep snow, well, not their greatest strength but definately better than many tires.

iTimmy

Good review

sauceman

Thanks guys. I was comparing with the Pilot Alpin 1, not Arctic Alpins. The difference between the Pilot Alpin 1 and 2 would probably be minimal.

yuhoo22

how much did the nokian run you? I've been trying to find them in NYC and hardly anyone carries them.

Hey sauce, would you say its better to have a winter/summer setup or just go with all weather?

sauceman

Definitely winter/summer setup. Only reason I bought the WRs was because I was told they were better than most winters. In a sense, it's true, they're better than the Pilots, but they're still insufficient IMO.

The WRs I believe cost me in the areas of 800$ taxes, installation incuded. Canadian moolah.

SPARKIE

My WR's cost me $153.00 each plus taxes installed . (OK TIRE- Brampton)

ryanhook

It was a toss-up between the WR and the Pilot Alpin PA2 for me this year and I opted for the Michelin strictly due to some reviews of the 2 tires head-to-head in some German and Swedish auto mags rating the Michelin better.

I've decided I'm going to try the Nokians next time because I too have found that the Pilots aren't really all that great in the cold. It was -5 to -6 Celcius here today and I found my tires spinning (and the VSA working overtime) to accelerate from a stop on cold, mostly dry pavement.

In the snow last week, they fared better than all-seasons, but not a lot... maybe I need some deep snow to really see how these tires perform. This is my first time owning winter tires, and so far, I'm not too impressed... but then again, I did realize that the tires I was looking at were a compromise for the mostly dry winters we have here in southern Ontario.

We'll see how the rest of the winter goes...

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

I got my nokians at long island dealers, if you check nokiantyres.com they have listings by towns.

I got my for about $179 each.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/hl/nokian.htm
Here is an article that describes what nokian wr fails in dry pavement, it is weak in percision on turns due to the huge grooves used for snow traction. It does however do exceptionally well in snow and out does many snow tires.

I also noticed when i got them put on, The tires will never screech but it does feel less firm than stock tires.

dom

Nice review sauce.

But are you really planning on buying new winter tires every year?

iTimmy

You have to remember how many miles a year he drives. With that in mind, he probably is purchasing a set of snow tires a year.

sauceman

Yeah, I don`t have much of a choice. The guys all tell me I should be able to do two seasons, even considering my mileage, but seeing how they`re good, but a little short in some coditions, maybe with half the tread gone I`d be wishing I just went on to the next set of tires. I could probably resell them to a local second hand tire dealer anyway.

I have to say, I`m pretty impressed with the handing, even on wet roads. They seem sort of imprecise as mentionned above, but when you demand more of them, they seem to just hang on forever.

I tried them on a loop when changing from one highway to another, and I was constantly accellerating to a point where I was wondering if they were not actually getting better grip than my OEM... without a hint of a squeal, of course.

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

Today in NY (long island) I took the nokian wr into major puddles and down pour, great handling and control and then for fun in an empty parking lot I wanted to see how it grips, it surprised me how well it caught the road even if it was wet.

I also noticed i never get and squeal. However sometimes when a fast start it does take a bit of a second to catch firm grip heh. Stocks always made a squeal and others would think im trying to race hah...

I am happy with these tires, being that i will suffer alot of snow up in buffalo.( UB for college)

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

bump for people on great tires i'm actually rethinking on buying a 2nd set.

After 3 seasons of snow in buffalo,ny i think they did well.

dthondatune

"2004 Acura TSX 6MT SSM/Ebony #134, 305,000km
15.342 @ 92.45mph (08/07/04)
Best gas mileage ever: 364km with 20L = 51.4mpg (CDA)/226miles with 5.28gals = 42.8mpg (US) "

Taken from your sig...
How the heck did you achieve 42+ mpg from the TSX?
Tell me your secrets!!!

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

So far the new set of tires been really great in the crazy snow/ice/slush/rain.

I was able to keep grip while others had to fight the frozen slush steering them into curbs and ditches.

HyperMunda

What set are you refering to? I am very interested since I get about the same weather as Buffalo (I am in Toronto).
Could you please post the exact tire you ended up getting?

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

Nokain wr not sure the size i think 215/17/50 basically stock.

They last pretty darn well for 3 years of driving. No to mention i have 90k on the car, and switch between summer tires.. so no to shabby.

SPARKIE

I had WR's on my TSX for 2 1/2 winters and decided to ditch them with half treadlife left due to noise and poor snow/slush handling. Bought new Pilot ALPIN PA2s about a month ago and they have been a huge improvement over the WR's in all conditions including dry handling. Wayyyyy better than the WR's on all counts IMO.

lcrazyaznl

iTrader: (1)

nice man how much were the pilot alpin pa2s compared to nokain wr?

SPARKIE

They were $150 CAN per tire plus inst. and taxes. I may be selling them complete with Honda aluminum rims in about a month after I put the summer tires back on as my TSX lease will be up in the fall so I might as well sell the winter set. Will post in the black market when the time comes.

Ronin317

I've been running Honda 16" Steelies with Dunlop WinterSport 3D's for 2 Winters on my TSX, and I love them. They're slightly noisier than the stock MXMs, but that's the only con to them. They handle great, ride pretty good (Pittsburgh is Pothole Heaven apparently...), and they're priced quite well...