Winter Tires? or Nokian WR year round?

I'm going to switch to the Nokians - as a year-round tire. When I calculated the cost of swapping out the tires each season, it didn't make financial sense to me. I guess if you buy another set of rims, after the initial investment, if you make the swap yourself each season, perhaps that pays off in the long run. But I would need to pay someone and I think it would be cheaper and easier to leave the Nokians on all the time.

I was trying to decide between the WR's and the WR g2's. I've used the WR's before on several other vehicles. A recent post here indicated that the WR's are being discontinued. So that's causing me to lean toward the g2's.

 

I am currently using the WRs year around. After one year and 31,000 miles they are now about to go into their second winter with sufficient tread and they have performed well in all respects throughout the four seasons. Their only drawback is some road noise which would be somewhat reduced (as would the snow traction, I believe) with the WRg2s. Either will give great MPG.

Note that with the TPMS in newer Prii, using a second set of rims requires you to ignore the "low pressure" indicator. You can pay about $500 for a second set of TPMS sensors, but you will then need to have the dealer re-register the sensors on each swap.

JeffD

 

Not in New England, but I also use the WRs all year round. Just got one year on them. As Jeff says, they are a little noisier than the Integrities, but they work very well in all conditions.

I would get the WRG2. The rubber compound is more advanced, and that alone should compensate for the loss of the aggressive tread (G2 is 1/2 WR tread and 1/2 "summer" tread, made in high tech. rubber). They should be quieter and stickier, especially on ice, compared to the WR.

This way you don't have to mess with the tires, storage, extra rims, TPMS, etc. All you do is rotate them at every oil change.

The bonus is when the weather is nice in the winter, because you will have them mounted on the stock light weight rims, you will get good mileage. When the weather is NOT nice you will have traction!

 

Well, I'm a bit old fashioned and still prefer a modern aggressive studded winter tire for winter driving. I've had great luck with the Goodyear Nordic, sold at Canadian Tire. This is actually the Goodyear Ultra Grip 500 tire:

http://eu.goodyear.com/home_en/tires/repository/UltraGrip500/index.jsp?page=benefits

If you click on Profile, a Flash movie loads about the tire. Goodyear does not directly sell the Ultra Grip 500 in North America.

This tire provides awesome snow traction, and at -25 C and colder deicing salt doesn't work. So icy intersections can stay icy for a long time in winter. On ice, these tires are great, providing better traction than the studless Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus I have on my FJ as a winter tire

Downside is noise on dry pavement due to the very aggressive soft tread compound. Another downside is an average 5-7 mpg loss in fuel economy, again due to the aggressive soft tread compound.

I won't use any other winter car tire in winter conditions

 

I am running the G2s year round. If I run snows in winter and another tire in summer, it will cost $30 in the spring and $30 in the fall to change them out. That's $60 a year. If the tires last three years, that's $180 over the life of the tires. That's half a new set. That's why I run G2s year round.

P.S. I can get 50 plus in town on the G2s. I do better with them than I did with the Integritys. The G2s just cost more.

Mike

 

I switched to the Nokian G2's last fall, I've been using them year round. I live in the Boston area, no problems at all. Great on snow/ice, wet pavement, and dry. I wouldn't bother playing the switching game.

 

I'm trying to figure out what to do as well. I have been in the habit of buying a set of steel wheels and good snow tires for my vehicles. But I am beginning to think that this Prius may be so bad in the snow that I'll end up leaving it at home when the roads are bad. I had a rather disconcerting experience the other day. I was just barely able to drive up a steep dirt road with wet leaves. It was as if there was a governor on the engine. I could not get any power to the wheels. Very wierd, and worrisome given the kind of weather we have here in the winter in the Upper Valley. Anyone elso have this issue with their Prius or is there something wrong with mine? Its an 08 package 2.

 

What you experienced is pretty common with the Prius. I have a steep gravel driveway, and last winter there were many snowy days that I had a real problem driving up it. A few days I had to leave the car at the bottom of the driveway. The approach that worked was to get a running start so I had momentum going up. If there is any slippage, the Prius stops - something to do with not over rev'ing the motors. I'm hoping that winter tires - probably the WR G2's - will make a big difference. The stock Integrity tire was bad in snow.

 

I just purchased a new set of 4 WRg2's to have the dealer install before we take delivery of our 09 pkg 2. Any suggestions on what to do with the stock Integrity tires? Do we try to sell them back to the Dealer or swap them out for all weather mats, etc?

 

I traded mine in on the G2s. They only had 3K miles on them, but I only got 100 bucks trade. Not much, but then they are Integritys

Mike

 

I just put Michelin Hydroedges on mine for my upcoming winter in the high desert. John1710a in MN and others use them year round and are satisfied. Costco sells them for about $125 a tyre including installation, lifetime rotations, and road warranty, and Michelin currently has a $60 rebate. I've seen about a 4% drop in mpg over the first 800 miles.

 

What is the mileage rating of the G2?

 

" If there is any slippage, the Prius stops - something to do with not over rev'ing the motors. "

Well, I must say that this problem is going to be a huge issue for me. Like you I have a steep driveway and I live in a mountainous and snowy area. This is a product defect. No doubt about it. From my reading on forums and such I thought the issue had been resolved with the newer models. I don't understand how a Toyota sales person in northern New England could fail to explain this defect to buyers. I honestly feel that I was deceived on this. Ugh.

 

rpg51, loads of Prius wonder around snowy areas without owner complaint. Smart tyre choices and a bit of driver adaptation might be required, but I don't think you need to assume you are going to have serious problems. I live in foothills at 6000 feet, and have only walked home once -- when the snow was too high for the car, not due to traction.

 

My WRg2's have a treadwear rating of 420. They've been excellent in rain, and in the 10 minutes of snow/sleet that we had this close to the Washington coast. The MPG has remained the same as the factory Integrities since buying them in Feb 08 while driving 8,000 miles.

 

Nokian doesn't rate the tires on their website for mileage. My WRs have a treadwear warranty of 100,000 km (62,000 mi). I would expect the WRG2 to go a little further. Best bet would be to check at a dealer.

 

Anyone happen to know of a good cheap source for steel wheels? My dealor is looking for $75 per wheel which is way more than I paid a couple of years ago for my wife Corolla and I think they are the exact same wheels.

By the way, I've come to the Conclusion that the Nokian WR all season are not going to cut for me here in central Vermont where it is quite hilly, lots of steep driveways, and lots of snow and ice. I'm going to purchase a good full on snow and ice tire - probably the Nokian Hak 5.