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Nokia winter tires
Someone asked about experiences with Nokia NRW and Hakkapeliitta.
Maybe I can give my $0.2 to the annual winter tire discussion
since I live in a country where winter tires are mandatory dec-mar
and where Nokia tires come from (Finland).
First a distinction should be made with studded and non-studded
tires. Here over 90% of passenger cars use studded tires but
non-studded ones are constantly gaining in popularity because of
advancing tire technology, recent warm winters and ecological view
points (road surface wear is a big issue). Hakkapeliitta is
designed to be used with studs and NRW without. In general if a
stud-tire is used without the spikes it is worse in all conditions
than a tire that is designed to be be used without them.
Comparative tests for winter tires a made annually by several
nordic car magazines. They are probably the only ones to test
extensively also studded tires. Nokia's Hakkapeliitta has always
been one of the best in this category. This year the winner seems
to be someone else, though (Gislaved?). Things like tire size
and everyones differing priorities in certain tire qualities leave, of
course, room for interpretations. Non-studded tires are tested
also in central Europe but in Germany, for example, dry and rain
performance are emphasized more over snow and ice. Last year the
top three non-studded winter tires seemed to be Bridgestone Blizzak,
Goodyear UG-4 and Nokia NRW.
Timo, '92 325i (with Goodyear UG-4 185/65-15 in winter)