[s-cars] Nokian tires

[Varon H. Fugman]

I've been running Nokians for 18 years now.  I just ordered a set of 16"
Hakka R's for our Jetta, and even at dealer cost they were more expensive
than a set of Blizzaks at discounted retail.  Certainly in the last 10-15
years a lot of manufacturers have caught up--or at least closed the gap--on
Nokian's lead in winter performance + longevity.

I haven't driven on a lot of other snow tires and certainly haven't had the
opportunity to do true back-to-back testing (same car, same conditions,
different tires.)  I continue to be pleased with the performance of
Nokians--WR G2s on the wife's Volvo V70 XC and Hakka R's on my S6.  I
continue to be amazed at just how well the R's brake on a variety of winter
driving conditions including glare ice--you can brake hard and actually
stop.  Makes me want to take unplowed back roads coming home from work!
Heck, last February I was out driving the S6 on unplowed fire roads around
Hayward, Wisconsin to observe the American Birkebiener X-country ski race.
The only other vehicles out there were snowmobiles and 4x4 pickup trucks.
My passengers thought I was crazy--but they were pretty impressed with how
well quattro + Nokians got us through the woods!

Before the R's I had a set of Hakka Q's on the S6.  The big change I notice
is the R's work much better in conjunction with ABS.  I used to pull the ABS
fuse for the winter because I didn't like how much the car shuttered/lost
its composure when the ABS kicked in.  Nokian said they did some engineering
to make their tires work better with ABS, and my first-hand experience
certainly backs that up.  With the R's I leave my ABS fuse in for the
winter--it finally works smoothly in winter conditions.

Other winter tires may have caught up with Nokian on tread design, sipping,
and maybe even rubber compounds, but I wonder if they have mastered the ABS
equation yet?  I'm not ready to spend $600 find out.  Still sticking with
Nokians... at least for now.

Varon
'95 urS6 --Hakka R's
'02 Volvo V70 XC --WR G2 SUV
'07 Jetta 2.0T --Hakka R's on order