studding Hakka 1's

[Erik R Addy <erik@aero.und.edu>]

After living for years in the Minneapolis area, where I always use Hakk
1's on all my cars, I have moved to Grand Forks, ND.  In the Minneapolis
area, ice wasn't a huge problem because the roads are heavily salted and
plowed fairly well.  But, here in Grand Forks, I understand all but the
biggest roads are covered in ice all winter.  This winter, I will be
driving a 85 4000q, and have a set of Hakk 1's (185/65-14) mounted on
the original alloys.  The tires were new last season and cant' have more
than a couple thousand miles on them.  My questions are, can I stud them
now after they have some (very little) wear?  Is their any special
studding process required do to "eco-studding"?  Can I stud them
myself?  Do I need special "eco-studs"?  How does studding effect them
in terms of noise, dry pavement, wet pavement, and ice?

How do the Hakk 1's (with and without studs) compare to the Blizzaks on
ice?  If I had known I was going to be living here, I might of bought
the Blizzak's instead, perhaps the new MZ-02.  Partly because they
_might_ be nicer overall than the Hakks with studs, while still
providing better ice traction than the Hakk's w/o studs.  The other part
is I will be driving back to Minneapolis (where studding is not allowed)
for Winter break, and possibly some other occasions.

In summary, my options are:
1.  Drive on the Hakk's w/o studs.
2.  Put studs in the Hakks
3.  Sell the Hakks and buy Blizzaks

thanks in advance,
erik

PS: what really got me worried is when I saw a SAAB 9000 today with
studed Hakk 10's!