Experience with Nokian winter tires?
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Consumer reports (out of 17):
Hakkapelliita 5 rates #3. They have better snow traction, hydroplaning and rolling resistance and are studable.
Hakkapelliita R rates #5. They have better noise and ride comfort.
Michelin X-Ice XI 2 is rated #1, followed by General Altimax Arctic.
Hakkapelliita 5 rates #3. They have better snow traction, hydroplaning and rolling resistance and are studable.
Hakkapelliita R rates #5. They have better noise and ride comfort.
Michelin X-Ice XI 2 is rated #1, followed by General Altimax Arctic.
Hi
I am living in Norway, and we are seeing Nokia as a quality tire. I have not used this tire, but general speaking Nokia have good grip on snow and ice. It seems like this is a studded tire. If running stud less on snow I usually recommend a tire that don’t have the provision for studs. Tire that can be studded have harder “buttons” to give better fix for the studs and therefore less grip on snow and ice without the studs. In the winter I personally use a stud less soft snow tire from Yokohama on my impala clone (15”). It is a very good tire on snow and ice, the problem is when it gets hot in the whether in the spring, then it is very tempting to be a bit too hard on the throttle. Then this kind of tires won’t last long.
255/55/17 is a big tire on snowy and slushy roads. It has a tendency to float around. Isn’t it a smaller size that you can use on your rims in the winter? It would give you a better grip.
I am living in Norway, and we are seeing Nokia as a quality tire. I have not used this tire, but general speaking Nokia have good grip on snow and ice. It seems like this is a studded tire. If running stud less on snow I usually recommend a tire that don’t have the provision for studs. Tire that can be studded have harder “buttons” to give better fix for the studs and therefore less grip on snow and ice without the studs. In the winter I personally use a stud less soft snow tire from Yokohama on my impala clone (15”). It is a very good tire on snow and ice, the problem is when it gets hot in the whether in the spring, then it is very tempting to be a bit too hard on the throttle. Then this kind of tires won’t last long.
255/55/17 is a big tire on snowy and slushy roads. It has a tendency to float around. Isn’t it a smaller size that you can use on your rims in the winter? It would give you a better grip.
Here's one 'nay' vote for the Winterforce. In fact, I prefer everything else I've had to those. I prefer many all-season tires to those. They wander, they're hard, they're loud, and they're slippery when it's wet out (I nearly spun out - twice - on the same off ramp in the wet). I've driven several different vehicles that had them in several different sizes and my impression has always been the same. If you drive a set of those back-to-back with a set of Blizzaks, Arctic Alpines, etc. the difference is clear. There's a reason they're cheap and it's not because they're a bargain. /rant 
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Here's one 'nay' vote for the Winterforce. In fact, I prefer everything else I've had to those. I prefer many all-season tires to those. They wander, they're hard, they're loud, and they're slippery when it's wet out (I nearly spun out - twice - on the same off ramp in the wet). I've driven several different vehicles that had them in several different sizes and my impression has always been the same. If you drive a set of those back-to-back with a set of Blizzaks, Arctic Alpines, etc. the difference is clear. There's a reason they're cheap and it's not because they're a bargain. /rant
I stuck with the 235/70/15s( unstudded). To me that's plenty skinny enough. You run into wander and handling problems when you go to high sidewalls when people use 225/75/15s or something.
THe only loud tires I've ever experienced are off road mudd tires. I've driven various vehicles over the years, and have yet to figure out how people find tires to be loud? Do you drive around with no air on, no radio, windows rolled up, the quietest exhaust in the world and a piece of tube sticking out under the fenderwell by the tire so you can hear them? Yes you'll hear a distinctive sound from the tires, but they're not loud.
Did you install them on all four corners? They're hardly hard either. soft enough to launch the car on dry pavement and get traction
I never spun out with winterforce tires, unless I was doing donuts. I drove the car in my signature two winters with them (once with two in the back, and once with on all fours), and never had an issue. It was better when they were on all fours as the rears wanted to always push the fronts around corners. I believed the gentlemen who I sold them to is on here, and he had a wagon, and IIRC he loved them. I ran with two sand bags in the back.I know a friend who drove them for 35,000 miles because that's all he had on his car, and he never had an issue even in the summer.
Sounds like you need some driving lessons
Obviously the Blizzaks would probably serve better for handling, but who takes corners and expects summer performance out of their car in white winters...
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Agreed. I have run Blizzaks on all 4 corners for 4 years on my cars, but last year I had to go with the Winterforce because Blizzaks were not made in a tire size that I could use.Here's one 'nay' vote for the Winterforce. In fact, I prefer everything else I've had to those. I prefer many all-season tires to those. They wander, they're hard, they're loud, and they're slippery when it's wet out (I nearly spun out - twice - on the same off ramp in the wet). I've driven several different vehicles that had them in several different sizes and my impression has always been the same. If you drive a set of those back-to-back with a set of Blizzaks, Arctic Alpines, etc. the difference is clear. There's a reason they're cheap and it's not because they're a bargain. /rant
We didn't even have as much snow as usual, but I really didn't like the Winterforce tires, traction was only marginally better than all-seasons, and didn't ride very well. I felt like I through my money away on the Firestones. The Winterforce tires are noisy a constant hum, they sound like mud tires because the tread pattern is a mud tire type pattern.Back to the original question: I have driven a mini van and Infinity g35 that had Nokians, and really liked them as well as the Blizzaks. I've heard nothing but good thing about the Nokians.
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Answer: People that run Blizzaks.cwm1
This is getting away from the OP's question, but suffice it to say that after running many different snows on all four corners on many different vehicles for the last 17 winters here in upstate NY, I find the Firestone Winterforce to be far and away the worst of the bunch. Take it for what it's worth cwm1
Back on topic, the Nokians are nice (much nicer than the Firestone Winterforce, BTW ).
Back on topic, the Nokians are nice (much nicer than the Firestone Winterforce, BTW
).
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Lol those must be the ones that I've always seen in the ditch
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a tire made from snow...out of all people u shud have known that
LOL
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Agreed 100%. Great tires!
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Have used Winterforce on several different cars for...sheesh, probably 15 years. Had fantastic results with them. Had them on the front only of a Sentra SE-R and they pulled that car through everything. Rears only on my Caprices and pushed through everything, I was always super impressed. Put them on my wife's BMW 740i all the way around and that thing was unstoppable. Using them on my Caprice wagon all around...couldn't kick the back end out even when I tried.
Sean
Sean
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