Nokian WR SUV tires

[jpalaska]

I've been researching the best all-season tires for my T4R, and I'm very interested in the Nokian WR SUVs.
From what I've learned, they are the only all-season tires made that have the Canadian snowflake/mountain certification that meets specific snow traction performance requirements, and have been designed specifically for use in severe snow conditions.
I had my '84 Volvo wagon for 23 years, and it was never very good on snow and ice with dedicated snow tires, until I got a set of Nokia Hakkapeliittas. They were much better than the Blizzaks they replaced. So I know that Nokia (now called Nokian) knows how to make great snow tires.
But after driving my new 4Runner on some ice in Anchorage with the stock Dunlops, I think my T4R could do very up here without dedicated winter and summer tires if I could find the "right" all-season tires. I believe that the WRs are those tires. (the Dunlops have done OK, actually).
I searched this forum, and a few posts have speculated about the WRs, but no one has actually reported using them on their 4Runner.
So, I'm asking for an update....has anyone here actually tried the Nokian WRs on winter and summer roads and off-road?
I know this is heresy on this forum, but I think that the Nokians could perform better year-round than the highly praised Revos, at least up here in Alaska.
I downloaded the Nokian warranty on the WRs, and it states that the buyer can return them within 30 days if not completely satisfied for a full, unconditional refund. They are also warrantied for 50,000 miles.
Right now my plan is to sell my new Dunlops on Craigslist for $350-$400, then buy the Nokians from the local dealer ($920 for 4 tires, mounted and balanced).
What do you guys think?
Thanks,
JP

 

[007Runner]

BF Goodrich makes the all terrain TKO tire. A heavy wall truck tire with all terrain tread that is severe snow rated. This tire can be used year round not just in the snow like many severe snow rated tires.
Consumer reports rates the Revo tire poor in the snow. Dunlops brand new go for about $100.00 which is a crap tire as we all know. You will not get the brand new price if you sell them.

The Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armour is an excellent all terrain tire severe snow rated. Can use on dry pavement in the summer as well and comes with a 60,000 mile warranty.

These are well tested tires and widely available.

 

[jpalaska]

Hello 007,
You're right, the BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO is on the Transport Canada's certified list. The Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armour is not on the certified list I downloaded.
You may be right about the price I'll get for the Dunlops, but I called the Dunlop dealer here in Anchorage, and they sell them for $177 each, unmounted.

But what about the Nokian WRs?
In addition to their excellent reviews on snow, ice, and dry pavement, they are load rated at 116, and H rated for speed (130 mph). They sound like fantastic tires to me, what do you think?

JP

 

[leftyrb]

My view is that really good ice tires must have a soft rubber compound for grip. The downside to the soft rubber is that they wear quickly with warm pavement, such as summer temperatures. I think that the tires that are suitable for year round use must use a harder rubber compound in order to meet mileage claims.

Where I live in interior British Columbia, I am happy with my 5 year old Bridgestone Winter Duelers that I use about 4 to 5 months of the year. I have Cross Terrains on the factory rims, but feel that they do not grip as well as the Winter Duelers.

This is my opinion.

Rick

 

[jpalaska]

According to what I've read, Nokian has developed new technology in which canola oil and silica are mixed into the tread compounds. This increases the tear resistance of the rubber and improves the tire's grip in winter and wet conditions.
WRs are siped to full tread depth. As the tire wears down, its handling characteristics, driving stability in particular, remain stable.
The WRs have a very high load index (116), a AA traction traction rating (the highest), and a Uniform Tire Quality Grade (UTQG) of 500.

 

[makaveli51499]

Ya, as far as my 2 cents goes, Nokian make some of the best winter driving tires around. I think that they are such a secret becuse Nokian doens't do much for advertising. More word of mouth I guess.

JP: I did some more looking at work and we are also running Nokian WRs on one of our cars, year round. They do stand up pretty well to the summer driving, but aren't quite as good in snow as the RSi. That's all on cars though

Rick: Where in central BC are, if you dont mind me asking? Have you been getting all the crazy storms this year? It's been snowier and colder than usual up here, that's for sure.

 

[Falls]

They sound like a decent tire and if you like them go for it. The reviews I read were good.

Im not sure about the compound they have but I know the Revos os supposed to have a similar type of compound as the tire wears , yes i might still do good in the rain , but the rest of the traction being the same is BS. Mine have 17500 miles and I did not think much of them in the snow last year ( not bad at all , but a little disappointed from all the hype here ) and even less of them in the snow this year but they have worn 17,500 miles since last year.

I personally dont think much of these tires , not bad at all like they are gods gift to trucks , but sure not what I expected from all the hype , maybe I was expecting to much from them.

 

[leftyrb]

Rick: Where in central BC are, if you dont mind me asking? Have you been getting all the crazy storms this year? It's been snowier and colder than usual up here, that's for sure.

+++++++++++++++++++

I am in Williams Lake, somewhat south of Fort Nelson, and yes, we have had frequent storms this winter. It was +8 C on Wednesday, but -16 C by Saturday


My 4Runner is ideal for winter conditions

 

[jacal]

From what I've learned, they are the only all-season tires made that have the Canadian snowflake/mountain certification that

There may be more...check the transport canada web site for a "better" list.


I searched this forum, and a few posts have speculated about the WRs, but no one has actually reported using them on their 4Runner.

I only have WR experience with a Jetta. I run vatiiva on my suv - they do not have the snowflake, but they were never sent in for testing. Otherwise they would likley have it.

I firmly believe the nokian wr will outperform the revo on packed snow and ice. Nokian tires keep flexible right down to the -30C.



J

 

[Koz]

BF Goodrich makes the all terrain TKO tire. A heavy wall truck tire with all terrain tread that is severe snow rated. This tire can be used year round not just in the snow like many severe snow rated tires.
Consumer reports rates the Revo tire poor in the snow. Dunlops brand new go for about $100.00 which is a crap tire as we all know. You will not get the brand new price if you sell them.

The Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armour is an excellent all terrain tire severe snow rated. Can use on dry pavement in the summer as well and comes with a 60,000 mile warranty.

These are well tested tires and widely available.

Where are you getting your information? I'd like to see ANY report/review/comparo that says the REVOs are rated poor in the snow. And please stop with the KOs, they are only fair in snow and on ice, nowhere near as good as the REVOs, even with the snow flake rating. Thousands of owners can't be wrong.

With that said, what jpalaska would need for Alaska is a dedicated winter/snow tire, maybe with the use of studs.

Koz

 

[Climb14er]

I had a set of Nokia snow tires, studded when I had my Mercedes Turbo 300 sedan. It had rear wheel drive and I wanted the best tire for traction and performance I could get.

The Nokias performed very well and I'd very much recommend them for winter driving.

I routinely drive the high mountain roads here in Colorado so I need a tire that perfoms on both wet and dry roads.

I would not recommend the Nokia tires for high speed driving in all four seasons as the rubber coumpound will wear quickly.

If you only use 'em for the winter months, then that's what I'd use 'em for.

However, it's expensive to have two sets of tires that cost that much money.

My choice if they fit is the Michelin M & S LTX tires. I got over 72K on my Toyota P.U. 4 x 4 and the ones I have on now look like new after fifteen thousand miles.

The LTX's (M & S version, not the AT) are comfortable, quiet, long lasting, and perform fantastically.

 

[jpalaska]

Hey, thanks all you posters for your input and advice.
The thing about the Nokian WR SUVs is that the 'SUV' tire is new. Nokian WRs have been out for the past 2 or 3 years.
They get outstanding recommendations on other forums, such as Volvo, Mercedes, Toureg, and Audi.

But the WR SUVS are built tougher than the earlier versions. For summer wear, they are rated the same as Revos. For winter use, they are snowflake rated, like Blizzaks and all the other best dedicated winter tires.
My only concern about them is their ability to perform 'off road'. I'm not talking about trying to drive overland from Anchorage to Nome. (I've only got 2 dogs) Alaska has a lot of old mining roads that are a great way to get into beautiful scenery, fishing, camping, etc.
The Nokian WR SUVs have especially tough sidewalls.
Oh well, perhaps I'll be the first pioneer on this forum to try them. We Alaskans sometimes have to do that, before those Canadian southern cousins, and you flatlanders in the lower 48. (just kidding, please direct your angry comments to my ex-wife at: [email protected])

JP

 

[Falls]

Where are you getting your information? I'd like to see ANY report/review/comparo that says the REVOs are rated poor in the snow. And please stop with the KOs, they are only fair in snow and on ice, nowhere near as good as the REVOs, even with the snow flake rating. Thousands of owners can't be wrong.

With that said, what jpalaska would need for Alaska is a dedicated winter/snow tire, maybe with the use of studs.

Koz

I wouldn't say they are poor and others like them a lot in the snow , but nothing like I expected from what I've read here. Having owned both I totally disagree and don't really take much stock in ratings from places like Tire Rack ONLY because everyones interpretation is different including my own,so I can only speak from my own experiences since I don't really know the conditions others were driving in , I can only speak of my own experiences. The road characteristics of the Revo is great all season driving tire. They handled good in the street snow I was driving in , but off road in the snow and wheeling in deep snow was a different story it just didn't have the deep tread lug needed.

I personally don't know , who , what, when the mountain/snowflake was invented or what it even means and how a tire qualifies to have it on or not have it on and who makes that decision. I honestly never even knew it existed on the BFG ( even though I've had many sets) until I read it on this board. Probably just a marketing tool IMO.

Just going by my personal experience having driven and owned both tires. I will never say the Revo is a BAD tire for what it is just not what I was used to,but neither is having a full time 4x4 4R .

This year driving in the foot of snow we had it handled great ( on the road ) , BUT it could also be part 4R with the full time 4x4 , because IMO it handles better than any truck I've owned in the snow. It just plain goes right through and keep you totally on track.

I'm just old school and lets face it most of us here drive our truck daily which means a pretty small amount of off road use ( even though we go when we can ) and good road manners are probably most important ( wet , rain , snow ect..) and the Revo will fit the bill for that just fine.

UPDATE: I did do a few Gooogle searchs on the Revos and found nothing that they were rated poor in snow. I too would like to know where that came from.

 

[jpalaska]

Oh For Holy Fuckin' Shit!
This post wasn't about dissing Revos, or who's got the biggest jones for Revos.
It was about a new all weather tire from Nokian that is, perhaps, way beyond the technology and performance that has been discussed and tried on a 4Runner in Northern conditions.
That's all I'm interested in discussing in this post
Ya know, the US of A isn't the only place on the planet that knows about great, new, driving technology.

JP

 

[Koz]

Oh For Holy Fuckin' Shit!
This post wasn't about dissing Revos, or who's got the biggest jones for Revos.
It was about a new all weather tire from Nokian that is, perhaps, way beyond the technology and performance that has been discussed and tried on a 4Runner in Northern conditions.
That's all I'm interested in discussing in this post
Ya know, the US of A isn't the only place on the planet that knows about great, new, driving technology.

JP

Every tire has its purpose/strengths. The Nokian is great for what you need in the environment you live in but it would not be any good for those who live in a climate that is 95% snow free. The dedicated winter tires are not very good on a dry highway, which is expected. The KO has its nitch as an excellent off-road tire that performs well on pavement. The REVO is excellent tire on pavement and performs well off-road. It all depends on how and where you drive and the weather conditions. Everybody's priority in a tire may be different, mine is a great highway tire that can handle bad weather and go off-road on occasion. I've owned just about all the top tires looking for the maximum traction on a vehicle that absolutely sucks, as far as RWD traction (2WD supercharged Taco) and the REVO is by far the best tire I've used so far.

Koz

 

[Falls]

Oh For Holy Fuckin' Shit!
This post wasn't about dissing Revos, or who's got the biggest jones for Revos.
It was about a new all weather tire from Nokian that is, perhaps, way beyond the technology and performance that has been discussed and tried on a 4Runner in Northern conditions.
That's all I'm interested in discussing in this post
Ya know, the US of A isn't the only place on the planet that knows about great, new, driving technology.

JP

Very true , sorry for the off topic discussion.It kind of a sensitive issue around here as you can see almost like a V6/V8 debate .... lol

So anyway , what did you decide ? Did you order the tires you wanted ? Like I said in our PM conversations , after a web search I could not find any negative reports at all on the Nokian .

Once again sorry for the rant !!
RANT OVER........................

 

[Meteorite06]

I have had these on the 4Runner for about 3 months now, and I think they have been great for the winter conditions that we have had so far. The only time that I might notice them slipping at all, is when starting out on icy surfaces that have been highly "polished" by traffic ( and then only when in 2WD). Dry and wet weather handling is also far better than with the Dunlops. They do ride firmer than the Dunlops, although this is probably due to the higher speed rating.

I can't comment on their ability off-road, but they work well on the gravelled forestry roads we have west of Calgary.

This is actually the 4th set of WR's that I have purchased, and I do use them year round. The first set went to 97,000km on a VW Golf, and I haven't had a flat yet on any of them.

 

[jpalaska]

Thank you Meteorite,
You're the first person with a 4Runner to report on using the WRs
Are they the WR SUV XLs? These are supposed to have a stiffer sidewall and higher load rating (116) than the standard WRs.

JP

 

[Meteorite06]

Yes, they are the WR SUV, 265/65R 17 116H XL. You will definitely feel the increase in sidewall stiffness, and it took me a while to get used it, but I feel the improvement in handling is worth it. The truck also seems to be unstoppable in the snow now (the good kind of unstoppable, not the "Oh My God I can't stop" kind).

 

[Falls]

I wonder how that side wall rating compares to US tires ? I'm not familiar with the 116 thing.

Like a "P" rated stands for passenger.
B-E are the load wt. "E" being the stiffest and heaviest tire.

Anybody know ?

My tires are "P" rated and I miss the heavier side wall, I think you will like it . More stable feeling in my opinion.