[s-cars] Snow Tires

[David Cahill]

Ian et al,

Nokian argues that the price premium is justified by (a) environmentally
friendly manufacturing practices (b) a proprietary traction compound that is
sticky on ice but has low rolling resistance for fuel economy (c) siping
that supposedly "works collaboratively with ABS" and (d) wedge siping.

Some of this is marketing hype, but admittedly it's cool that their tread
compound is canola/silica based. Their tires are usually the best out there
in slush/ice (IMHO, the most dangerous conditions), and pretty decent on dry
pavement. Continental, on the other hand, has its roots in making high
performance winter tires that excel on dry pavement, but are safe in light
snow/ice, etc. The latter might be a good choice if most winter driving
occurs on dry or well-treated roads.

My winter travel takes me into parts of Quebec where there are regular
high-speed transitions from blacktop to glare ice to snow on "plowed"
highways. I like a very sticky tire for that application and am willing to
pay for it. If I did most of my driving in southern New England, I probably
wouldn't.

Dave

On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 10:32 PM, Ian Duff <iduff at comcast.net> wrote:

> So, with all the snow conversation, help me understand the value of
> Nokian. I have Hakkapeliitta R on my '04 Jetta on dedicated winter
> wheels, and love them. We have a set of dedicated wheels for snows for
> my wife's '09 Jetta, and I'm shopping for snows to mount for her.
> We're in Massachusetts, and drive mostly on plowed or dry roads
> (probably 90% of the time or more), but have the occasional blizzard
> thru which we need to drive.
>
> The Hakka R's in the correct 205/55-16 size are $169 each, from
> TiresByWeb.com
> . There's a seemingly decent Continental ExtremeWinterContact at
> TireRack for $90 each, and another also seemingly decent Dunlop SP
> Winter Sport 3D for $98 each. I had the predecessor to the Dunlops on
> my old '00 S4tt, and found them decent. The Hakkas on my Jetta are
> superb, but are they really worth that much more than Contis or Dunlops?
>
> Best regards, Meilleures salutations, 此致敬礼, Mit freundlichen
> Grüßen,
>   Con i migliori saluti, مع أطيب التحيات, Cordiales
> saludos, के साथ सबसे अच्छा संबंध
> है,
>   A mais melhor consideraçāo, によろしく
>
> -Ian.
>
> Ian Duff | 38 Grove Street | New Bedford | Massachusetts | 02740 | USA
> V: +1 (508) 717-8058 | E: ian at inside-overlap.com | F: +1 (801) 335-1661
>
> Think Green!  Please do not print this e-mail unless absolutely
> necessary.
>
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