Snow Tires: Common vs. Boutique Brands

[Dave K.]

Nokian Hakka 1 - they are amazing.  The grip unbelievealby well and they
last a long time (probably 6 or 7 seasons).
etires.com has them but you might be able to find them locally too.
I have put these on my Quattros as well as the wife's minivan.  In all cases
they provided amazing traction.

Dave Kase
south central PA
'90 Coupe Quattro

----- Original Message -----
From: <DieMarthaDie at aol.com>
To: <quattro at audifans.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 9:51 PM
Subject: Snow Tires: Common vs. Boutique Brands


Ok, I've had Blizzaks and Arctic Alpins and liked both under different
conditions (ice=Blizzakville, dry=Alpinland) and am in need of new snows.
Just FYI, Cooper Cobras really suck in snow/slush/ice... They were on the
car (w/95% tread) and I haven't needed to get snows until now.  Being a
quattro only helps if the tires grip better than slicks.

So there are lots of choices out there from Goodyear to Semperit.  I want
good tires for the MD/PA winters which are mostly slush and ice and less
real deep snow.  I want good tires and I'm ready to pay for them.  What I
don't want is to pay special pricing for a "boutique" label so I can make
people say "huh?" when I say I have Vreedsteens or something.  Unless of
course they really are worth it.

I know we've gone round and round about tires, and there are lots of
archives, but now its really snowing and people will have fresh opinions.

So, before I go back to Blizzaks or Alpins, please give me your unabashed
thoughts on the lesser known brands, like the Nokian, Semperit, Gislavad,
etc...  And I really don't care if anyone has ever heard of my tires, I want
them to work.

This will be on a 1990 V8Q with 15" rims, most likely.

Thanks for your opinions.  I know there are some out there ;)

John
83CGT Alpins
90V8Q slipnslide Cobras