Anyone running newer Nokian WRG2's?

[bbbuzzy]

Just curious what kind of dry/wet/snow performance these tires have on an XC70 and how they wear. Thanks in advance for any info.

[PaperToast]

i got a set for my 98 and have been running them since around september and have nothing but awsomeness for these.
dry traction is beyond stickyness, wet traction is well, almost the same as dry traction.
and snow traction is almost as good if not slightly better than studded winterforces that i ran last winter. these are as good if not better than blizzaks.
they stop on ice as well as can be expected with a car that has abs, lots of abs action, but you can stop.

the tread life is rated for 40k miles but on these cars i would expect less.
on mine a bad alignment was eating them faster. i should get about 30k out of them i hope.

some pics from ealier this month when we got out first good snow


closeup of the tread design. i recommend visiting the nokian website to read up on the science behind the design.



all in all a very good true all season tire that you can run in winter and summer with great results.

[gregvet]

No pictures to show. We started a road trip on Dec. 17 (still are on the road trip) From Colorado eastward through Nebraska and into Iowa. I had purchased the WR G2 (235 60/16) and they had arrived 2 days before we left. Had our local tire shop install the tires. We have been impressed with the tires on snow/slush as well as wet slick roads. We are now in Minneapolis and will test out its snow traction but so far I have been glad that I took off the OEM tires(only 17K miles) and replaced before our trip.

[PGI007]

I had the WR G2s installed about a month ago on the Subaru and the XC70 (went with the 235/60/R16), just in time for winter. I have to say they grip very well in wet and deep dry snow and stop on slippery roads better than any all-season I have ever had. The 30k-40k mile tread lifespan may be the price to pay, but for me that will likely be the same as 5 years which is the most you should run tires anyway.

[kamiar]

Do these tires have the mountain and snowflake logo on them?

[Forkster]

Ok, here's the kicker with the Nokian's and our XC70's and tires. All Seasons are ACTUALLY summer tires and stop performing well below 7°C (44° F).

However, the Nokian WR's are a special kind of tire - half-way All-Season and Snow tire. They do perform well in winter condition because of how great the XC70 is to begin with, then add a decent design and softer thread for colder weather and it's a good combo. Two points:

First, the XC70 because of the design and function (especially the 03-07 model with the Traction Control option), handle pretty good in all kinds of weather.

Second, in a showdown of true winter conditions, any studded snow tire will beat the WR's. It's just that they're pretty good all season if you live in a temperate climate where you occasionally get snow. Brother in-law had WR's on his Passat, and let me tell you, they didn't perform near as well as his Hakka 5's studded. He swore by his WR's but once he put the studded 5's on, he said his stopping and cornering was greatly improved. But he also gave credit for the WR's being _ok_ in snow and slush, not on ice. He lives in Edmonton Alberta which gets pretty cold in the winter.

So, if you live somewhere temperate where it doesn't get too cold for very long or say below freezing much, the WR's are a great tire, especially in wet snow.

The best advice I can give you on tires is buy them according to your climate. If it's like up here in Canada, I have studded snows for winter, and nice summers for construction season.

[PaperToast]

Do these tires have the mountain and snowflake logo on them?

yes they have the severe service emblem.

[TiredGeek]

It's very interesting reading the comments about tyre life you guys get. I've never had a set of tyres last more than ~35k, no matter what vehicle they were on, and I don't know anyone else who has either (and I asked all my friends). Best set I've ever had were Michelin Energy, they did the 40k on a Citroen. The Pirelli STR that came on my xc70 have just short of 20k on them now and look like they'll be gone in another 5k. We must get different compound rubber over here, or different road surface that's more abrasive......

Lucky we don't get the weather you guys have. Coldest so far in remotest Scotland has been -4'c, coldest I've ever known it in the last 8 years was -9'c for one night, then it settled back to ~0'c. Snow can be heavy, like 6inch but the roads are cleared back to black top and gritted so that's not usually an issue.

I would love to be able to get some of those Michelin winters you guys have been on about, but when I do Michelin UK site or Google there's nothing there for UK supply It'd be nice to know that if the weather did take a turn for the worse I'd be able to get back home.

[8pack]

I just installed a set fo the G2s last week. I have run the WRs before and been extremely impressed and happy with them. Waiting to see if these perform as well as the WRs. I have run WRs on all my cars for the last many years including a MB S320, 2000XC70, Saab 9-5, Audi A8L and have never had any issue in extreme snow and ice conditions....

I will be up in VT starting December 26 and live on a dirt road there....should have a good opportunity to test out on ice, snow slush etc....I was up there 2 weeks ago with the Pirelli Scorpions and could not even get in my driveway with a thin layer of snow...they were pathetic....

on the advice of those on the site I purchased 235/60/15 as opposed to the 215s....

[bbbuzzy]

OP here, thanks for the insights. I'll probably be getting a set of four after the holidays. Just got a foot of fresh powder here in northern MA, and my Pirelli's with 35K are pathetic. If the XC70 didn't have AWD, I'd be stuck for sure. A local dealer has the WRG2's in the OEM size, why are people recommending a smaller diameter tire with a larger contact patch (235)? Seems like it would float more (like a fatter ski) and be more prone to hydroplaning.