I run Hakka r3. My wife runs General Winter Contact and they are about equal, very quiet good studless winter.
Got Nokians last year. They work much better than the cheap chinese ones i had before.
Very, very much a happy camper. Ride is suprisingly supple, I went up in size from 215/65 R16 to 215/70 R16 which I knew would give it a bit of a cushier ride but I didn’t expect it to feel better than the All Seasons, which it does. A little added road noise, slight roar over the All-Seasons but not noticeable unless you look for it. Ride height went from the stock 8.2in to about 9.4in which easily cleared the wheel well with no rubbing.
Most surprisingly though, it feels like it handles better. Comparing it to the high-mile Continentals I had (90k warranty) they’re more confidence inspiring
in turns, not much added lean at all, might be due to other mods on the wagon but
it definitely didn’t make it worse. Tested today at 90F from a winter-rated “AT-lite” tire, I was caught off guard how well it takes the turns. It’s no Michelin Pilot Sport, but it’s better than I thought it’d be. It also took a gravel road I threw at it like nobody’s business. I drove it pretty aggressively through some twisty, dusty gravel and it was planted pretty much the whole time.
The compound in a decent snow tire like a Nokian, Michelin, Blizzak, etc… stays less form in cold weather and will stop better in the winter.
Just picked up some dirt cheap 26" tendrils to replace the nobbys on my stumpjumper commuter. Hope they do well with glass riddled roads, but honestly at $10 a pop it's not a big deal if they don't.
YEARS ago, had to be over 12 yrs, Kenda was selling FLAME tires for $5 each. I bought 30. I still have a few. They weigh a friggin ton, at least 2x more than a normal tire but they're pretty bulletproof and look cool.
Winter tires are best in class, their Hakkapeliitta 10 and R3/R5 line is the best in the world right now, their summer tires are very good, up there with the high-end brands maybe not as good as top-end Michelin or Continentals but still very good.
I use Nokian Hakkapelliita R3 winter tires in the winter (in Michigan) and they've worked great.
I previously tried Michelin CrossClimate2 tires, but they didn't provide quite enough snow traction. On packed, compacted snow, I could feel the car just barely sliding if I changed lanes, and I occasionally felt the ABS when braking. With the Nokian winter tires, I never feel either of those phenomena.
Personally, I think a Hakka 1 or Hakka 2 is too agressive a tire for an AWD NJ daily driver unless your commute is only a couple of miles. They'll corner like you have four gum-erasers mounted and at least double your road noise.
On my '16 RT, the dealer installed a new set of Kenda KM1 sport touring tires when they prepped it to sell. I've put a couple hundred miles on the tires now, and I'm not crazy about them. Above 55mph, the entire bike feels like it's "squirming" slightly. You can feel a little instability in your hands, almost like you're riding on a highway with rain grooves.
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