Any reason not to buy Nokian WRs?

[eryque]

It's time to replace the tires on my 98 Impreza. I don't live in an area that gets enough snow to warrant buying dedicated snows for the winter, so I need a good all-season tire. Of particular concern is driving on wet & slick roads, and I don't want to slide. Ever.

 

I also want good handling on dry surfaces.

 

I've read lots of good stuff about the Nokian WRs and one review saying that they were a little wiggly on dry roads.

 

So, do you folks think there's a reason not to buy them? Tires-easy.com has them for $107 each plus about $45 for shipping for the set.

[Jerry DeMoss]

Those are good tires I would say definate yes.

[ronemus]

I'm in the same situation and decided to buy the Pirelli P0 Nero M&S for about that price. They have fantastic grip compared to the OEM Bridgestones, and grip well on snow. Living in Indiana, I get occasional snow but spend most of the winter driving on dry roads; dedicated snow tires would be a waste, especially given the short service life. TireRack does a lot of comparison testing and the Pirellis don't give up much to summer rubber. The only drawback I've found is that they're noisier on worn surfaces (humming, singing or whistling), but any tire with the aggressive tread pattern needed for a M&S rating will do that.

[griffenrider]

I'm in the same situation and decided to buy the Pirelli P0 Nero M&S for about that price. They have fantastic grip compared to the OEM Bridgestones, and grip well on snow. Living in Indiana, I get occasional snow but spend most of the winter driving on dry roads; dedicated snow tires would be a waste, especially given the short service life. TireRack does a lot of comparison testing and the Pirellis don't give up much to summer rubber. The only drawback I've found is that they're noisier on worn surfaces (humming, singing or whistling), but any tire with the aggressive tread pattern needed for a M&S rating will do that.

 

Good advice ^^. They're a little more whiny at speed on brand new pavement than going slowly on worn (but not worn out) pavement; but they are orders of magnitude quieter than the OEMs - Going down the highway at 55 (2500rpm) with the fan and radio off, the dominant sound is the engine hum, with a very faint wheel sound. Going 55 on the highway with the OEMs is like putting a hair dryer next to both ears. Ok, not that bad, but you get the idea. Also, the suggested tires are fantastic on wet roads, and ok on light snow.

[eryque]

Well, I decided to jump on the WR G2s. A local shop had them and installed them for $125 a piece. Not too bad, I think.

 

They are quieter than the Dunlops that were on there when I bought the car.

[Cougar]

I'm sure you will like them a lot.

[eryque]

I was searching for another thread I made and found this one. I figured that after driving with the Nokian WRs for a year and putting about 15,000 miles on them, I'd post a review.

 

I couldn't be happier with these tires. I've become a lot more cautious when driving in the snow and tend to go a lot slower, so I'm sure I'm not pushing these tires to the limit, but they did provide excellent control and traction whenever I needed them.

 

I'm particularly impressed with the way they handle on wet roads. A buddy of mine who has always been into performance cars was riding with me on what we call in NY a parkway (goes through the hills, lots of twists and turns, 2 lanes each way but NO shoulder and a big curb along most of it), and he kept commenting about how he was expecting it to slip sideways around the turns with bumps in them, but it just kept its grip.

 

I know a guy whose family owns a Subaru dealership, and he told me that they started using Bridgestone Firehawk tires because they felt they offered the same performance for about 3/4 the price.

[bulwnkl]

Thanks for the follow-up, eryque. The WRs are fairly popular in this area, and I've wondered about a set of them before myself.

 

As an aside, Firestone Firehawk tires I've had in the past (the Firehawk line at least used to encompass a wide variety of tires) were outstanding. They dropped the specific Firehawks I once had on my SAAB, and I've never driven on WRs. Had some Hakka Qs, but never WRs.