Snow/Ice winter tires

708 messages, Last post on Nov 10, 2009 at 12:57 PM

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#239 of 708 Nokian NRW/WR by protege_fan Mar 31, 2003 (3:22 pm)
They prefer to call them "all-weather" tires to differentiate them from "all-seasons" (ie. all-seasons aren't "mountain-snowflake" certified whereas all-weathers are). I have the NRWs and they did fantastic for me up here in The Great White North.
#240 of 708 by dudleyr Mar 31, 2003 (9:03 pm)
I agree the NRW makes a lot of sense to use if you don't encounter a lot of snow, but do need occasional winter tire traction. Not gonna find it at Sams club though!
#241 of 708 protege fan... by robr2 Apr 01, 2003 (8:56 am)
Nokian's website (at least North America) doesn't show that the NRW has the snowflake designation and the WR says it's an SUV tire. Hence I was a bit confused.
#242 of 708 Robr2 by protege_fan Apr 01, 2003 (10:09 am)
I know...it's confused me as well. I've read on a few sites that the WR is replacing the NRW. I'm certain I saw the mountain snowflake on the NRW's on their site though. This was about half-a-year ago though...maybe they've switched things up. Actually, I just went to their site (www.nokian.com) and noticed that the WR's are listed as winter passenger vehicle tires. They don't even list the NRW's under their current products (at least not that I can find). Ah...now if you goto the North American site (http://www.nokiantires.com/indexen.html), they have the NRW's, but no WR's. Very confusing.
#243 of 708 by adp3 Apr 01, 2003 (11:26 am)
thanks for the replies - I did mean my post as a real question, not as any sort of jab at folks who are doing this. I live in the SF Bay Area, so only deal with snow about once a month in the winter on drives up to Tahoe (and then while I am there). I did not realize that good snow tires are a better idea than chains (or Spike's Spiders). Sounds like having a set of snow tires mounted on wheels makes sense. It's probably just as easy to change 4 tires as it is to mount my Spike's Spiders. So, keep the "stock" tires on for most of the year, and then go to the snows on a weekend to weekend basis in the winter, eh? I wonder if they have a rim that looks like a snowflake?
#244 of 708 by dudleyr Apr 01, 2003 (1:24 pm)
The NRW does have the mountain ans snowflake symbol, and should do very well in snow and ice. Go to the link below and click on NRW there is a scanned brochure. http://www.meadowcreektire.com/nokian/index.htm You wouldn't have to put the snows on every weekend, you could put them on before your first trip up the mountains, and take them off after the season ends. They are fine as an all weather tire too. If you are going to put them on for the weekend you could get a more dedicated snow tire than the NRW, or a studded tire, since there is no need to compromise.
#245 of 708 by adp3 Apr 01, 2003 (2:37 pm)
yeah, that's the dilemna - I'd want a tire that is good enough so that I don't need chains to supplement it when I go to Tahoe but perhaps those aren't the tires I want to drive on during the week in balmy Palo Alto
#246 of 708 changing to snow/winter tires for mountain trips by adp3 Apr 01, 2003 (2:43 pm)
I am assuming this is a good idea even if the vehicle is AWD or 4WD, is that correct? I'm thinking of doing this with my next car, which may be an XC90, Caddilac SRX or Chrylser Pacifica. (don't worry - I won't take offense when you guys make fun of me and my car choices)
#247 of 708 AWD/4WD by protege_fan Apr 01, 2003 (3:15 pm)
Both AWD/4WD are good for getting you moving, but don't help in making you stop. That's where I think the benefits of winter tires really shine.
#248 of 708 The WR by theiceman Apr 01, 2003 (4:37 pm)
...is the ticket. It is an "all weather plus" tire according to Nokian's brochure - as some of you have pointed out. And, yes, they carry the mountain snowflake emblem. There are indeed two WRs: one is a passenger car tire and the other is an SUV tire. The two are distinguished from one another based mostly on load rating. I put 4 225/55/17s WRs on my '00 Bonneville - these are passenger tires which have a 101 load rating and are V-rated for speed. In contrast, the only other 55 series 17" WR is an SUV tire. It has a 255 wide tread - a beefier tire all around - and is rated higher for load (at 104) but lower for speed (at H). Both consistent with SUV parameters. Nokian invests a lot of resources in northern tire research but little in marketing - it seems that they're not interested in being big, just in being the best in their niche. I think their terribly inadequate websites reflect this rather accurately. BTW - 8,000 kms on the WRs through an Ottawa, Ontario winter and have to say that these were a dream to drive on. The plus side apparently is that the rubber compound in the WR is also supposed to be wear-friendly. That negates the need to have two sets of wheels to alternate between - you know, for those Tahoe weekends.