posted March 03, 2000 10:44 AM           

Deep dry snow - excellent, I felt unstoppable
Hard pack - excellent, very stable
Ice - pretty good, but I think only studs will really help on hard ice
Slush - pretty good but you need really chunky tires to do well in slush

I have never had snow tires before and I was blown away by how good they were. I don't think I will ever not have them in the winter again. I even felt I could beat 4x4s in the right conditions.

The only complaint I had with the tires was that they were a little squirrelley at fast speeds on dry pavement when it got warm out (>40°F). However, considering how good they are in winter conditions I think I can live with this.

posted March 14, 2000 10:11 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by neal:
I used this board to research my purchase of snow tires and I bought the Hakka Q's so I decided to post regular updates on my experience so others can benefit.
Tires bought first week of Jan 2000.Car is FWD.
Opinion so far:
1. Best snow tire I have ever driven on
2.Excellent braking capability, excellent grip
3. Will not let car slide, when I set it up to do so the tires will recover very quickly (it is actually hard work to try and slide the car!!)
4. Minimal noise from tire
5. No discernible poorer handling on dry surface

This is the best snow tire I have ever driven on (previously used Yokohama Guardex 600).
I recommend them to anyone wholeheartedly.
Note: we have only had 4 inches of snow so all my testing has been in light snow. Still waiting for heavy snow.
Tires are sold out across Ontario (had to get my set ordered from Nokian directly!!)
Will keep you all updated.
Cheers,
Neal
nealf@hotmail.com

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posted October 16, 2001 10:26 AM           

The next day we got the first snow of the year. Sort of a mini blizzard. I had been hoping to put some wear on the tires before the first snow, but didn't get the chance. The tires didn't seem that great, but then I realized how easy I pulled away from intersections in comparison to everyone else.

But the real difference came once I had worn the tires in a bit. During hard stops, the car remained straight and in control. Which was a big difference between my previous front-drive car with all-seasons. And this was after driving an all-wheel drive, ABS equipped vehicle for the two previous winters.

We don't get a lot of snow at one time, but we did experience a large snow dump last December. When meeting another vehicle coming down a narrow residential street, I was usually the one who had to pull out of the well worn tracks in the middle, to allow the other car to pass.

Sometimes I didn't even realize how much difference the winter tires made. Everday I would pull up to my garage door and stop to open it. It's a slight incline, but I never had any trouble getting the car to enter the garage once I opened the door. I tried doing the same thing with a Windstar with traction control, and I kept getting stuck.

One other note. I took the Nokian's off the car a little too early. I had too experience winter two more times with my all-seasons. Not until I drove my car with all-seasons, could I appreciate the performance of my winter tires. It was like night and day.

So no matter the brand, I would recommend winter tires in the winter. I realize it's costly, but I think it's worth it. I don't even miss my all-wheel drive vehicle. I'm quite happy with the front-drive car(well, more ground clearance would be nice).