Snow Tire Test in C.R.

[tom.murphy@xxxxxxxxxx]

Hello BMW Experts!
     I just picked this letter off another bmw list.  FWIW, I have had
Hakki 1's
on my '87 325is for two winters now, and think they are great, especially
on the
front wheels(I thought my old Gislaveds were better 'diggers' on the rear,
but they
had poor directional stability).  The Hakki's are very quiet, too.
RE:
The November 1998 issue of Consumer Reports magazine rated snow tires, and
the highest-rated all-around performer was the Michelin XM+S Alpin and the
highest-rated snow/ice tires were the Yokohama Guardex 600/Dunlop Graspic
HS-1.

Snow/ice performance in the order of their rating: Yokohama Guardex 600,
Dunlop Graspic HS-1, Michelin XM+S Alpin, Bridgestone Blizzak WS-15,
Firestone Winterfire, Pirelli Winter Ice Asimmetrico, Cooper Weather-Master
XGR, Firestone Firehawk Touring LH.

Unfortunately they did not include in their testing what most would
consider
the finer brands of snow tires--Gislaved and Nokian (and excluded studded
tires as well).  The Guardex rating surprised me since feedback from others
who have owned the tires were more negative.

Even though I was interested in reading the article, I ignored their
recommendations entirely and purchased a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta 1's
from
Meadow Creek Tire (Denver, CO 303-322-1800).  I chose the Hakka 1's since
they
were highly recommended by others who have used them, and I chose Meadow
Creek
since they were the least expensive of the 10 or so dealers I called for
mail-order Hakka 1's, and I would recommend them to others.

I hope this helps.

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