skibumm3

Has anyone tried the Nokian WRG3?

nacke

I've been running with R2s for few weeks now. It's my first studless winter tyre, but definetely not last if it holds its grip. I was afraid of wet ice without studs, but it can find some friction on it too. It would be interesting to see how good it is compared to Bridgestone WS80 (not available in europe).

Jeremy1976

What are you guys running? I am in Wisconsin and have a 14 350awd f sport. I was looking at tire rack for a wheel and tire combo. My question is do winter specific tires wear quicker than say an all season radial? I'm guessing yes. The main reason for different tires and wheels is to keep the stock f sport wheels nice and salt free.

Would I be better going with a 100% snow tire like a blizzak, or would an all season such as the Conti DWS Extreme Contact be good enough?

Here in Wisconsin we do get bad winters. However, when we get a big blizzard generally the next day the roads are good.

Open to suggestions and comments. Thanks

newToIs250

Hello

I dont know how long your winters are, here in Quebec they are long...December to March depending on where....

I am a strong believer in Winter Tires, i have seen first hand the difference between cars riding on all season tires and cars riding on winter tires trying to get up hills...the difference is obvious...


Montreal average snow fall per year is 82 inches for 50 days of snow per year on average


Depending where in Wisconsin : there is a wide range of snowfall

Days Place Inches
35.3 Milwaukee 46.9
66.1 Bayfield 103.4
18.7 Beloit 31.9


some places look worse than Montreal...



some not...


But i would never drive in winter without snowtires

Oh and im deciding on new Winter tires between WS80 and Nokian Hak... r2

condosales

Hey guys,

Went in to a well known tire shop in Toronto last week to get an idea of pricing for a winter tire & wheel set-up for my 2015 IS350 F-Sport AWD.

I wanted steels with Nokian Hak R2's. I was told there are NO steel rims that will PROPERLY fit my car?! The guys seemed knowledgeable and very helpful and did research in answering my questions. They said the front caliper is too big on this car for a steel wheel.

They have the Nokians for $235 a tire (225/45R17). While there was no steels to fit my car, there was even very few alloys that would even fit, again properly. The ones that would fit properly (no spacers, etc.) were from Fastco, and were about $232 a wheel (17" alloy, non staggered, all wheels/tires same size.

They stressed when going to other tire shops to be careful as there are many shops that could give me many more options that they could MAKE fit, but there are very few options that are a proper fit.

The shop I went to has multiple locations, good reviews and I'm inclined to believe them, but I still find it hard to believe that there are no steel wheel options for my car? Total price out the door was $2500. 4 Nokians, 4 Fastco allow rims, and 4 sensors and balance. Seems way too steep to me.

Any options/comments?

Thanks in advance!

Answer

The big calipers are in fact a "problem". Not all 17" wheels will fit, and even some 18" won't. I know the OEM IS250 17" fit, but at 465 a piece, no way.

I'm also currently looking for a set of dedicated square setup winters being in Québec with harsh winters.

I might go the DAI wheels route seeing that 18" are like 165 a piece. So even cheaper for 17".

Let me know if you find something that will fit for sure. I'd like to go 17" if possible.

condosales

Thanks for the reply, I will keep the forum updated.

Atticus44

I have Nokian Hak R's (225/45/R17) and I was going through the same thing with different shops around town, they all wanted to do a test fit but I didn't want to. So I emailed Tirerack and talked to a rep and he guaranteed their fitments. I ended up getting some Enkei EKM3 rims for winter and they fit perfectly like he promised, and they are nice rims! Get some for winter!

dashmer

I am running this setup as well. Got my stuff from PMC Tire in Sherbrooke, QC

plutoGK

why not try to put winter tires on OEM rims?

dashmer

Three reasons:

1. More pot holes in the winter and a slightly taller sidewall in the 17" will help prevent rim damage.
2. A narrower tire is better in snow
3. Salt will damage the finish on OEM wheels over time

condosales

Yeah, I want to keep my summers for summer and have a designated winter rim/tire.

condosales

Are you in the states, or did you have them sent to Canada? How much? Any pics?

Thanks!

condosales

Sorry, I see you are in Edmonton. Did you order from tire rack or find them locally?

Thanks.

Atticus44

I couldn't find them locally, I actually had Kaltire custom order them in for me for pretty much the same price as tire rack.