i need some tires for the winter..
but not looking for ALL SNOW tires as it only snow 3 times a year at most here in Vancouver,
just looking for all season but leaning towards the winter use.
what to get in 14"
thx

 

Nokia Hakkopalita (or however you spell it) is the only all season tire I know of that has a winter/extreme weather rating, and as far as I know they aren't to expensive.

The winters I use are Michelin Pilot Alpine 2, More expensive, but they are great. They drive like an all season on bare pavement even when it's cold and grip well on ice and snow.

 

The Hakkapeliitta's are a winter tire, not an all season. You are probably thinking of the Nokian WR's, which are an "all weather" tire. They can be run year round AND they are still designated for winter service.

For what it's worth, I just put a pair of WRG2's on my Fit Sport. We had the old WR's on my wife's Jetta and they handled a Prince George winter just fine. Based on everything I've read, the WRG2's are better. If they'll work up here, you'll be fine running them in Vancouver. I went with these tires so that I wouldn't have to change between summers and winters.

I don't expect that they would be as good as dedicated winters in the winter and summers in the summer, however, I'm almost certain that they'll be as good or better than all seasons in the summer and I know for a fact that they'll be a SIGNIFICANT upgrade over all seasons in the winter.

Good luck!

 

I got the Goodyear UltraGrip 7 in 185/55/15. It's a nice tire, I like it. The price was great, the tire itself looks quite good and it seems to have a good level of grip. What a pity, they are not JDM.

 

Suggest you go to TireRack's website and check out their performance evaluations comparisons. They have good buyer comparisons by brands and type of tires and also timed tests wet and dry. If light snow or heavy snow or wet and dry performance or other criteria is your need there will some evidence for you to consider. Once you have the tire that looks best for your use (if course your favored tire is even listed) you can purchase it with some confidence.
TireRack deserves a lot of congratulations for their efforts.

 

Even though you don't get much snow, no all-season (even the Nokian WRs) are going to give you the quality of traction that you'll get from a proper winter tire.

Remember that winter tires give superior traction in cooler weather too. Anytime the temperature is below 7 C, you'll be better off with winter tires.

Besides, when you do get snow you get tons of snow, and you have hills. Winter tires will be worth every nickel of their cost.

Don't forget that because you won't be running your all-seasons all year, they'll last a lot longer. Also, you can run them down pretty much to the wear bars if they never see snow. (They'll be hopeless in snow long before they become hopeless in non-winter conditions.)

 

When looking into "proper" winter tires, I think the first place to start is to ensure that they have met Transport Canada's designation for winter tires. Per their website:

"Tires marked with the pictograph of a peaked mountain with a snowflake meet specific snow traction performance requirements, and have been designed specifically for use in severe snow conditions"

The Nokian WR's DO meet these criteria, as do many other great tires (such as the Michelin X-ice 2's we put on my wife's Passat). The other thing I loved about the WR's was their traction in the fall and spring when we typically get a pile of slush, rain and wet snow. They were awesome.

But yeah, definitely do your research and buy what you are comfortable with.

 

I didn't mean to imply that Nokian WRs don't meet Transport Canada's specifications. However, in order to be reasonable tires in the summer, there are compromises that have to be designed into the tire. For example, winter tires need a softer rubber compound to have traction in ice and snow, but softer rubber compounds result in lower treadlife and less resistance to heat, and the latter is a real issue in summer driving. this means that the WR is not going to be as good a winter tire as tires designed especially for the task, and won't be as good a summer tire as tires that aren't good winter tires. It happens that the WR is better in the snow and ice than any so-called all-season tire, but it's still not as good a winter tire as a winter-only tire.

The perfect tire does not exist. Running two sets of tires is less convenient than running one set, but you end up with tires on your car that are more suited for the seasons in which you are driving.

There is a reason why we don't own only one coat, and wear it year-round. We buy coats for the conditions. So too should we buy tires.

 

Oh I agree with you completely about the compromises PhotoJim. If I had decided to go with different summer and winter tires, I wouldn't have put the WR's on. I would've gone with X-ice 2's or the Hakkapeliitta R's for the winter. My experience with the WR's in the past led me to have no concerns about using them in our winter conditions, however, so I decided to forego the 2 sets for the time being (I may change my mind in the future if I pickup some nicer rims).

Truth be told, however, I'm not even sure that winters and summers are "ideal" for the climate I live in. We get 4-5 months of summer, roughly 3 months of "real" winter and 4 months of "who knows what you might get". Ideally you could have 3 sets of tires, but you have to draw the line somewhere.

If you don't want to change over or if you don't have to deal with "extreme" winter conditions on a daily basis, I think the WR's are a great option, especially in cases where the roads are fairly well maintainned. If you spend more time on the highway or in areas where road maintenance is questionable or unpredictable, then yeah, I'd suggest a different winter tire.

At the end of the day, I'd have no problem sugessting the WR's for someone that wasn't looking to change over. I don't think you lose much at all in the summer and they are a significant upgrade for winter use over all seasons. Like I said earlier, if they work fine through 12 months of Prince George weather, they'll handle Vancouver no problem.

Later!