Snow tires - Nokian WRG3s are worthless

[desy]

Here in Canada we are seeing more of the all-weather tire like the WRG3, Toyo Celcius, Hankook Optimo 4S, Kumho Solus HA 31.
I'm debating it for my third car cause I'm getting tired of the seasonal flip for my two daily drivers and my brother uses them on his Suby. If it goes well, I may get down to the one vehicle where I swap and use it for when driving is necessary. They also meet legislation where you are required to put on winters like Quebec.

 

[pauldun170]

No, what they're actually not is a top-tier winter tire. The WRG3's will never match Blizzak or X-Ice tires for example; it simply isn't as soft nor does it have as chunky treads. But then, if you were comparing the latest Nokian Hakkapeliitta tires to the original Blizzak tires, would you then consider the Blizzak's to be "not a winter tire" rather than simply "not nearly as good"?


The key factor that makes a WRG3 a low-level winter tire is that its rubber compound is designed to stay soft below 4 degrees Celsius (and indeed still soft enough to be usable in -20 C in my experience) and a tread pattern more optimized for snow/slush than rain/dry. The Nordman WR's, as the tire is known as in its native Europe, are only marketed as "all-weather" in North America but is a winter tire in its home markets.

If what you say about the tread compound is true then ok.
Pardon my ignorance because this new class of tire is new to me. Never heard of it before
https://www.thestar.com/autos/2015/10/31/all-weather-tires-vs-winter-tires-whats-the-difference.html

From what I've seen, these actually don't seem like that great a value if you do decent mileage per year due to the wear rate.
It appears that the overall performance is 30K-35K per set for "below average winter performance compared to winter tires and average performance compared to all season".
So 2 years and you need to by a new set if you want to maintain traction in the snow and ice.
At least with snows you can milk em for a couple of years since you only use during one season.

It is interesting though.

 

[ChronoReverse]

From what I've seen, these actually don't seem like that great a value if you do decent mileage per year due to the wear rate.
It appears that the overall performance is 30K-35K per set for "below average winter performance compared to winter tires and average performance compared to all season".
So 2 years and you need to by a new set if you want to maintain traction in the snow and ice.
At least with snows you can milk em for a couple of years since you only use during one season.

Yes, this has been my experience too so I generally recommend getting a set of winter tires. I only wanted to provide my own anecdote as well as some facts about the tire.

 

[pauldun170]

Yes, this has been my experience too so I generally recommend getting a set of winter tires. I only wanted to provide my own anecdote as well as some facts about the tire.

Thanks for the info.

Unfortunately...this thread is reminding me that I really should toss my winters on my car for the season.

 

[PricklyPete]

Sounds like a terrible compromise.