I have never felt like the studless Nokians were terrible in the dry - I've had all-season tires I felt were worse - and the one key component that magazine tests can never capture is how traction holds up over time. I have 2 seasons on the Michelin's but not a ton of miles so I haven't seen how they do when worn yet, but in my experience that is the Nokian's trump card - that you get great snow and ice traction for the entire life of the tire, nearly down to the wear bars.
The most eye-opening trait of this Hakkapeliitta R2 is the way it steers on the snow and recovers from understeer. As steering angle increases, the R2 continues to turn the car where the other tires give up. Get into the push, dial it back a few degrees, and the grip returns. It feels more like a summer tire in the wet than a winter tire in the snow.
I've had good experiences with pirelli scorpions, bridgestone blizzaks and nokian hakkipaleltelatlalas.
For the EV, I go with a 215/65/16 or 225/60/16 as there's no need to have some wide tire setup on a EV unless you are going for looks or some offroad setup. I choose whatever is cheaper. Right now I have a set of Nokian ENTYRE's on both the Jetta and EV. Both last a long time (they have a 720 treadwear rating) are quiet, don't go out of round and the ones on the EV have the correct 102 load rating and a useless H speed rating because only way I could ever see going that fast is to pull a Thelma and Louise into the Grand Canyon.
Used them last winter, 18" on my CC, lots of snow and ice last winter. I live in the hills of S NH, lots of hilly back roads not a single problem, the CC performed as well as my 4x4 SUV on the roads. Best snow tire I have ever owned
I've been impressed with the Nankang NS-2R in 120tw and in 180tw. Would definitely recommend giving them a go if you burn through tires quickly. 265/35/18 120tw on the TSW worked very well and I ran them on the street between events. Strong sidewalls, even better than the RS3 at the limits, and very durable.
A very competent "All Weather" tire would be Nokian WR G3. It probably won't have the traction as a dedicated winter tire, but will be better than an all-season tire. as it still has the Mountain-Snowflake logo indicated severe service.
I second the praise for Nokkian. Best winter tires I ever had. I hope they'll perform well on the GSW...but in no rush to find out :laugh:
Coming from Blizzaks, the R2s are a night/day difference, it almost feels like you have all-wheel drive. I never had an issue with Chicagoland winter driving over the past few years.
I had General's in that size on my old GTI. Awesome tires, but they've gone way up in price since then. After that, I had a set of the Nankangs. Crap tires and the road noise drove me insane. Would not recommend.
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