Looking for a new set of tires for the wife’s minivan, an AWD Sienna. Hot summers, mild winters with not much rain. However, it’ll visit the mountains several times each winter so I want a set of tires that is capable in winter mountain conditions (not extremes, we won’t venture out in extremes).

Some intial research shows the Nokian WRG 3 to be very capable in snowy/icy conditions so that’s what I’m considering.

What am I giving up by going with a tire more heavily leaning towards winter performance (without being a true winter tire)? I assume they will wear faster the rest of the year, particularly in our hot and dry summers?

If I get the Nokian tires should I just run those for the winter months and then switch them
Out to a more standard all season tire to save the Nokians?

PA state police used to, and still may, use their snow tires. If you have ever driven I79 during a storm that says something. No idea on their non snow tires but the Finn's make good stuff.

We have Nokian Hakkapelita R2's on both BMW's and our new Bullitt Mustang - but only for winter. There are people up here who have WRG 3's on their Subies year round; they seem to hold up fine in the summer and still climb around the ice during our 6 months of winter.

Not cheap tires, but hands down the best winter rubber.

Likely some of the best run flats you will come across. Which is fairly important for the AWD Sienna since it has no spare.

I had a set on a 4x4 full size 1/2 ton pickup a couple decades ago. Got great traction in all conditions, and tire mileage was extremely good.

Other than the price jumping up quite high suddenly, my local tire shop couldn't get the new sizes I needed on newer rigs.

They carried me through some very tough winter roads.

Spendy, but a very good tire brand.

Not an expert but I considered the same thing. I was told that good snow tires are not ideal for summer as they tend to feel squishy and less responsive. Sneakers for summer. Boots for winter. You can wear either for each season but not ideal. Anyway, advice that was given to me.

May not matter on a minivan. Maybe more dramatic on a sporty car.

Pricewise they are in the bottom third of "comparable" Grand Touring All-Season tires. I can get them shipped to me, right now, for about $115 a tire. I see other all-seasons by big names on Tire Rack knocking on the door to $200... and not many cheaper than the Nokians.

Locally I have a tire guy who mount and balance them for $10 each, but the tires on the van now have some life left in them and he'd probably take them as trade. He's in a seedy part of town and a large amount of his business is cheap used tires.

Sounds like $115 a tire is a solid price and the tire seems to be a good choice for me. Guess I'll pull the trigger.

I have a 19 yr old Volvo and have had the WRG 3's for about 10k miles (thru summer) and love them so far. They ride well, are quiet and responsive as hell. Did very well in our record breaking rains in Texas this fall. This is my 1st set of Nokies. I am very pleased so far. I plan to run them year round and see no problems with this.

Ordered.

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Originally posted by konata88:
Not an expert but I considered the same thing. I was told that good snow tires are not ideal for summer as they tend to feel squishy and less responsive. Sneakers for summer. Boots for winter. You can wear either for each season but not ideal. Anyway, advice that was given to me.

May not matter on a minivan. Maybe more dramatic on a sporty car.

The WG3 is their all season tire, not Nokians typical winter tire.

I've had Nokian tires on my last two trucks, and now have a set on my 4Runner. I even talked my mother into putting the WRG 3's on her RAV4 last year. They have worked very well in all kinds of weather that we get in Wisconsin, and I've not seen them wear any faster than other brands.

I have learned a thing or two when purchasing tires. To the right of "DOT" is usually a 4 digit code. The first two numbers are the week the tire was made and the last two are the year. A couple years ago I bought a set of tires for winter only. I was expecting the tires to last ~6 years. What I found was that the tires were made 3 years and 12 weeks prior to purchase (which means that they were probably not going to last 6 more years). I pointed this out to the tire store and they promptly order a new and fresher set.

Buyer beware

The tires went on the van yesterday and it started snowing up in the mountains overnight. So, when all kids woke up we dug our the snow boots and pants and through everybody in the van. Chain controls were in effect at about 3500 feet (we live at 100 in a technical desert). Most of the roads were relatively well plowed but parking lots had 4-5” of fresh powder. No problems at all in the van... it felt very solid the whole time. At one point I had to stop going uphill to and wait for a huge articulated earth mover with plow blades to get out of the way. I was a bit nervous about starting from a dead stop going uphill but it was just like the ground was dry.

I think we made a good choice!

I've never really heard of the brand until recently when looking for tires for the truck.

Seems like a Finnish company. Seems like they would know about snow tires

Do they make the tires in Finland? Or at least some 1st world country? If so, I may try them out next time.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I've never really heard of the brand until recently when looking for tires for the truck.

Seems like a Finnish company. Seems like they would know about snow tires

Do they make the tires in Finland? Or at least some 1st world country? If so, I may try them out next time.

Their factories are in Finland and Russia. I do not know which products come from which factory though.

We've got 3 sets of the WRG3s. Two are the SUV version. All have been excellent in the ND Winters and road trip Summers. I have read that they wear faster in warm environments due to the softer compound.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better all weather tire.

A big thumbs up on Nokian tires from this guy in NH.

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Originally posted by Black92LX:

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I've never really heard of the brand until recently when looking for tires for the truck.

Seems like a Finnish company. Seems like they would know about snow tires

Do they make the tires in Finland? Or at least some 1st world country? If so, I may try them out next time.

Their factories are in Finland and Russia. I do not know which products come from which factory though.

The WRG3 SUV I just got are made in Russia. I’m cool with that.

When my F150 needs new shoes I’m getting the Nokian AT.

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Originally posted by thumperfbc:

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I've never really heard of the brand until recently when looking for tires for the truck.

Seems like a Finnish company. Seems like they would know about snow tires

Do they make the tires in Finland? Or at least some 1st world country? If so, I may try them out next time.

Their factories are in Finland and Russia. I do not know which products come from which factory though.

The WRG3 SUV I just got are made in Russia. I’m cool with that.

When my F150 needs new shoes I’m getting the Nokian AT.

I wish their Rockproof tire was an All Season tire. I would like to give them a shot but don't want to have two sets of wheels.

The AT does not have an aggressive enough sidewall for me.