Great Winter Tires- Hakkapeliitta's

[candubrain]

Finally had some bad weather to try out the Hakkapeliita SUV winter tires. They perform much better than the Michelins 4X4 Alpins I had on my last vehicle.

Good lateral grip when lane changing through slush and deep snow. The vehicle wasn't pulled or swayed as with the Michelins. Braking and hard starts on ice covered pavement was outstanding. Big trade off was the road noise on dry pavement, but I can live with that, just crank up the radio.

Haven't gone through deep snow off road yet, maybe this weekend...brian

[bliss53]

I agree. I put these on my wife's Yukon XL. They are great. They seem to be wearing well. Other soft compound snow tires have been eaten up by our previous Suburbans. I will consider these next season on the Ridge.

[Mountain Ridge]

I have them on the Ody great, and no increase of road noise.

You missed a T

Hakkapeliittas

[candubrain]

Originally Posted by Mountain Ridge

I have them on the Ody great, and no increase of road noise.

You missed a T

Hakkapeliittas

I'm wondering if the Ody has more sound dampening materials. You're right on the spelling, I thought it looked wrong, but I wasn't sure. thanks

[MontanaFred]

here is an interesting article about winter tires. I've always just used alll weather but after reading this article I just might make sure I change to REAL Michelin X-Ice severe service WINTER TIRES for the winter.

Michelin X-Ice severe service winter tires

Winter tires work because they remain flexible in lower temperatures than all-season tires. They also have numerous little slits called sipes that increase the amount of gripping surfaces.

The history of winter tires has created some reluctance by consumers to make the switch. When all-season radial tires were introduced in the 1970s, even the worst all-season was better in winter than the best bias-ply winter tire. So that created the expectation among consumers that they could avoid the twice-yearly tire change.

But new rubber compounds and new tread designs make winter tires so much better that in some areas, real winter tires are mandatory in winter.

True winter tires are distinguished by the symbol of a snowflake against a mountain. Without that symbol, the tire is merely a winter pretender. To use the symbol, tires must pass a test comparing their traction against an all-season tire. Mud-and-snow (M+S) tires face no such test.

[candubrain]

Originally Posted by MontanaFred

here is an interesting article about winter tires. I've always just used alll weather but after reading this article I just might make sure I change to REAL Michelin X-Ice severe service WINTER TIRES for the winter.

Michelin X-Ice severe service winter tires

Hi Fred
I agree with the article, but I can't comment on the X-Ice since I have never used them or know of some one that has. I can tell you the Michelin 4X4 Alpins, (winter tire for SUV) were not as good as the Yokohamas that I used previously, nor as good as the Hakkapeliittas I am using now. The Michelins were better than my all seasons, but did not offer the grip on ice or snow that my old Yoks did. They were terrible for lane changes when you had to traverse through slush or piled up snow. The vehicle would be pulled, and if it wasn't for the excellent overides on the Mercedes, (just like the Honda brake assist and steering assist), I would have been in the ditch for sure.

The X-Ice is called the Lattitude Ice in the bigger sizes used for SUV's. These were the tires I was originally going to go with, since there is a limited selection for the Ridgeline. Honda Canada were sold old, and unable to get more until Michelin did their next production run. My options were Toyos or the Hakks. The Toyos were the same price as the Michelins, but the Hakks were $30.00 more for each tire.

The Dealership was unable to give me any pros or cons for the Toyos or the Hakks, but having used Hakks back in the early 80's on a Volvo GTL, I knew they were excellent tires back then and decided to go with them again. Also my friend had used them on a Nissan Maxima and just loved the Hakks. The Hakks are made in Finland, the Toyos are made in Japan and also have good reviews, but I think the Fins would have more experience with winter driving

[spdrcr5]

I have been using Nokian tires since 1999 and will never go back to anything else. The questions regarding the soft compound and tread wear is a very common one. The reason why Nokian tires remain so soft and don't wear out like other tires is the tread compound.

Nokian was one of the first tire companies in the world to go to a silica compound, silica as in glass and sand. This is obviously a very tough material and allows for a longer tread life.

The reason why Nokian tires grip so well aside from the soft compound if the number of sipes within each tread block. When walking through a parking lot look at the tires on all the cars and truck, you will notice that the tread block are all mostly smooth, you will see a few that have extra "lines" or sipes running through them. Then look at the Nokian Tires... they are lousy with sipes.

I never ran the Hakk Q's or the Hakk SUV, I have only run the Nokian All Season Tires, they used to be called NRW and now are called WR. For my Element they are called WR SUV's. I put a set of Nokian WR's on my Mom's Camry and she and her friends cannot believe how well her car grips in the snow and ice. I ran NRW's on my Audi TT for 3 years all year long. They were rock solid and never had to replace them. I put over 30,000 of very hard driving on them.

As for another companies winter tire, you have to weigh the pros and cons of them. Aside from places that remain bitter cold all year round such as norther parts of the US and Canada, the rest of the US doesn't need them. What happens to these tires is they begin to chunk and prematurely wear from being driven on the highway and dry city streets. They overheat and last 2-3 winters with under 5,000 miles on them.

Up in Montana I can only imagine how cold it stays all winter long. brrr

[candubrain]

Originally Posted by spdrcr5

I have been using Nokian tires since 1999 and will never go back to anything else. The questions regarding the soft compound and tread wear is a very common one. The reason why Nokian tires remain so soft and don't wear out like other tires is the tread compound.

Nokian was one of the first tire companies in the world to go to a silica compound, silica as in glass and sand. This is obviously a very tough material and allows for a longer tread life.

The reason why Nokian tires grip so well aside from the soft compound if the number of sipes within each tread block. When walking through a parking lot look at the tires on all the cars and truck, you will notice that the tread block are all mostly smooth, you will see a few that have extra "lines" or sipes running through them. Then look at the Nokian Tires... they are lousy with sipes.

good points

I never ran the Hakk Q's or the Hakk SUV, I have only run the Nokian All Season Tires, they used to be called NRW and now are called WR. For my Element they are called WR SUV's. I put a set of Nokian WR's on my Mom's Camry and she and her friends cannot believe how well her car grips in the snow and ice. I ran NRW's on my Audi TT for 3 years all year long. They were rock solid and never had to replace them. I put over 30,000 of very hard driving on them.

As for another companies winter tire, you have to weigh the pros and cons of them. Aside from places that remain bitter cold all year round such as norther parts of the US and Canada, the rest of the US doesn't need them. What happens to these tires is they begin to chunk and prematurely wear from being driven on the highway and dry city streets. They overheat and last 2-3 winters with under 5,000 miles on them.

Up in Montana I can only imagine how cold it stays all winter long. brrr

good points.....brian

[montana]

As some of you might know, I have the Cooper S/T's on my Ridge. However, we needed something very much a snow tire for our Odyssey and we went with the Blizzak. Man, they make that feel like it is in 4-wheel drive. Can't think of a better tire I have ever driven with in snow and ice. The guys at my tire shop and I have had many discussions about wear on a tire like this and they say that with all soft compound tires, it is not where you drive them or how fast, but what temperature it is when you are using them. If the thermometer is above 50 F it is time to take them off. That is when they really start to wear. I saw the Blizzak for light trucks the other day and it looked really cool. If I hadn't already spent the $$ on the Coopers, I would probably be running those in the cold 9 months of the year.

Anyone have the Blizzaks on their Ridge?