I know another boring thread about an exhausted subject. I could not find the answer on the site so here I am.
I run P265/70R/16 currently I have Nokian HT SUV for my summer and use the Nokian Hakka 5 SUV NON-Studded for winter. They now only make this tire studded I am told. I'm not loving the winters last year. If I have it in 4WD and the VSAC button locked it works pretty good. Maybe I am just use to VW front wheel drives which ripped with Hakka's. For gas purposes I try and only use 4WD when in doubt. The VSAC when its hairy. I travel hilly and turny paved back roads in VT and live an hour away to work each way. I have an option to trade in my Hakka 5 SUV for:
So THE BIG QUESTION!
These are my only OFFERED Options on upgrade:
Hakka 7 SUV studded
Hakka R SUV non-studded
Blizzak dm-vi non-studded
Here is my take:
Hakka 7 SUV studded: I'm in VT not Alaska and took much gas and noise on dry road and I road trip on highways to ski a lot.
Hakka R SUV non-studded: My choice so far. But will they be really that much better then the Hakka 5 SUV non-studded? They look similar. If so then why?
Blizzak dm-vi non-studded: they stiffened the side wall up on these but they seem like they would piss me off performance wise on dry road based on reviews. And they will not last as long as Nokians because of the softer micro-cell side wall material.
NOTE: that when the roads are bomber, I drive like a lunatic. My 4runner turns into an Audi.
So have I answered my own question?
Hakka R SUV non-studded?
TY mucho.

You can also change your tire size to 245/75/16 which has the same diameter as stock. The narrower footprint is better on snow as there's more pressure on the contact patch. Also, it makes it cheaper. The DM-V1's so show a pretty good review on Tirerack.

I agree the DM-V1's are awesome we ran those on my wifes old Rav4

Another vote for DM-V1's. Best snow tires I've ever owned.

Ok, Thanks! Now you guys have me thinking....one more week to decide

I think that ice will be your deciding factor. If you are going to encounter it routinely where you drive the Nokian studded is the better choice IMHO. I ran them last year in Alaska.

They match the weight of the 4Runner 4th gen. I felt confident with them on in any conditions.

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Not 100% on this but here's my take. Just because a tire is studdable doesn't mean it's studded. Let me explain: I use to run pirelli winters tires on my old Corolla (LOL no i'm not a baller and no I didn't specifically buy Pirelli's for a old Corolla, they fell into my lap at a very good price) and they were "stubbable" meaning they came from the factory without studs but they could accept studs if need be. So my question for you is, would the Hakka 5 come with studs or just come with the little dimples so studs could be added if wanted?

This is how I understood studded tires but I dont have much experience with them since they're illegal around here.

Ok. so I went with the Hakka R suv. The 50 percent tread thing on the blizzaks was a buzz kill. I drive 100 miles round trip to work 3 days a week in some hairy back roads. So I just felt the blizzaks would not last. However, I was really disappointed in the Hakka R handling on dry road. I felt like I was on a trampoline and the sidewall felt like it would fold over in turns going about 60MPH. Actually made it feel unsafe. Yes I drive it like its an Audi. So then I even had my stealer check my front end when I had the oil changed as I was thinking tie rod? Nope the front end was tight. So my tire guy was prepared to put me on something else. I then said can I just put more psi in the tire? He said to try it. Toyota Rec. is 32psi. He had them at 35psi. I put them to 40psi and wham! Tire handles 100 percent better! Front end was tight and steering felt GOOD! I am thinking to drop them to 38psi and see but right now I am feeling much more confident at 40psi. Think there is anything wrong with that pressure in a winter tire? By the way. All the reviews say this tire is not loud. B.S. It is frikin LOUD. Nothing music can't drown out. Snow handling makes up for the noise.

I run my hakka suv's at 38 psi which I found to be the best in terms of handling. These tires are awesome. I've put on maybe 15k-20k on them in three winters and they still have 10/32" tread left. They had 12/32 new. My friend with a 3rd gen 4wd with Michelin LTX AT2s could not get up the very steep snowy hill where I live, I just blasted right up with the hakks without any slip. As far as noise, they have a higher pitched hum than my Vatiiva A/Ts and the Pirelli Scorpion ATR I had on another truck, but they are not LOUD at all. The A/Ts were louder. Bottom line, you'll be very happy with the Nokians.

Flip,
That makes me feel much better! TY! I have noticed that the noise is much less with more psi. I will try the 38psi since that is where you run it.

In regards to my original post: I did find out through Nokian that my original Hakka SUV 5 non-studded was not meant to be stud-less. Nokian said that the winter performance of that tire without studs will be far less superior then the Hakka R's. They said that they only put that tire out for places where studded tires are illegal. Now they just make it studded. He agreed that I should upgrade to the R...which I did. I know that the Blizzaks are a ripping tire for those who suggested and TY. However it was the longevity of the tire and the fact that I love my Nokian HT's summers that made me choose Nokian over the DM-VI. I think they both would of been great. Now we just need lots of snow

I'm going with Nokian WRG2, they're a better performance tire in the dry and still an excellent winter tire. Unfortunately, the Michigan State Police also like them for their Tahoes, and they just ordered over 400, so mine are on back-order.

I had those tires which were excellent! I found that by the end of the second season of winter they started to feel slick. I am in an area where the weather gets really hairy so I go with dedicated summer/winter tires with there own dedicated rims. My good friend rides those on his AWD BMW 325xi wagon and he loves them. Good choice if you only want one tire to run year round.

Weather here is hard to predict. I'll get snow every day for a month near Lake Michigan, and the roads will be dry 20 miles away. I work at O'Hare, need to drive around Lake Michigan, it's often white-knuckle blizzards and I have to go or get home. More often it's just dry pavement, but I never know, can't really switch tires as I go. These tires are the best compromise I've found, apparently the State Police agree.

Interesting story. On dry it may make more sense, but I think once the white stuff falls lowering the pressure may make some sense. You could try it out?

Also in heavy deep wet snow, lock the diff. Makes the tires function more as a unit in my experience.

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I know this is an old thread, but I was wondering if you could rate your Nokian HT SUV tires compared to other brands you owned. Thanks,