Nexen Winguard 231 Any Good?

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First time buying winter tires, and i couldnt refuse the deal i got for my car ($420 for 4 215/60/15 Studdable tires). My only concern is do they need to be studded to fully utilize their efficiency or will be fine. My commute consists of using the provincial hwy 16 and its clear most of the time but there are icy patches here and there. So for a first time use of winter tires will they be fine?

Thanks
 
Dad's 7th gen civic currently has Winguard 231 on it for 3 winters already, and they hold up extremely well in our hilly terrain, even w/o studs.

Q.
 
The identical European-branded Road Tone Winguard 231 got third last place in a 2009 Norwegian tire test, out of 22 tires. It was tested with studs, and placed last of the 14 studded tires due to relatively poor performance on ice and snow. However it did place third overall in wet braking and was fourth overall in the dry asphalt emergency maneuver, and it will still be better than almost every all-season tire in snow. But without studs I wouldn't expect them to be any better on ice than a typical all-season.

"(Winguard 231) is the last place among studded tires because of the bad properties on winter roads. The tread has a bad grip on both the snow and ice, and driving characteristics are not as they should be in a modern tread. On the asphalt is covered well. It has short braking distance and control precisely. It is unstable on the track and road rolling resistance is high." - Translated from Norwegian

2009 Norwegian Tire Test - Studded Tire Rankings
 
Oops; that just links to one of the test result sheets.

The Correct Link

I had the original document saved on my computer. While figuring out this link, I noticed they had corrected the name from Road Tone to Roadstone.

I recommend going studded. With studs, you'll enjoy the slippery days. But they may be a bit noisier. Some tires are a bit noisy with studs, while some aren't even noticeable.
 
I almost pulled the trigger on a set of these on Ebay...after figuring the price of shipping, they weren't that great a deal. I also couldn't find much information about them. After a lot of research I finally went with the Continental Extreme Winter Contact. I paid $350 through TireBuyer and they were shipped to my house (they don't have any installers within 200 miles of where I live...their tires are a deal only if you don't have them shipped to one of their installers...word is they charge plenty for installing the tires negating the good price on the tires...one advantage to living in the middle of nowhere). They're in the garage until after Thanksgiving...
 
if you didnt get them studded already and you have driven on them its too late to stud them anyway.

I'd say they are generic and among the worst winter tires but better than all-seasons.
 
I bought them last winter and had them studded for my 1994 Honda Accord. I live in northern BC and we get pretty severe winter conditions for 3 to 4 months per year. And my wife and I have run a variety of winter tires and all seasons over the past 23 years living here.

Our take on the 231:

- they are great in deep snow

- so so on ice, even with studs

- fine on wet and dry

- noise with studs is not a problem

- great value even with the extra cost for studs

Studs help on ice. Get them studded if you still can.

But, on my wife's request, I just purchased Bridgestone Blizzak WS70's for her Prius. We think the Blizzaks perform better on ice than the studded 231. But this is a new model of Blizzak so we will see soon.
 
Originally Posted By: rpn453
Oops; that just links to one of the test result sheets.

The Correct Link

I had the original document saved on my computer. While figuring out this link, I noticed they had corrected the name from Road Tone to Roadstone.

I recommend going studded. With studs, you'll enjoy the slippery days. But they may be a bit noisier. Some tires are a bit noisy with studs, while some aren't even noticeable.


There is some very interesting detailed information in the test tables.

The 231 may not be such a good value if you include the poor rolling efficiency (2.8% worse than Nokian)and poor ice performance verses the best tires.

For 50,000 km estimated tire life and 11 litre per 100 km (20 mpg).

At my current 1.30 $/litre fuel cost

2.8% improved fuel efficiency = $200

Up to $200 in fuel savings over the life of the tires narrows the cost benefit of going with a cheaper tire. Especially once you consider a higher possibility of getting into a collision on an icy road.

I think I might try a studded Nokian next time around.
 
Thanks everyone for the input i havent been able to respond because of school. Turns out i got a good eal on some lightly used goodyear nordics installed on rims so i pounced on those and returned the winguard 231\s. So far they are ok but noisy and maybe its me but i feel like turning at corners is much easier to turn the wheel. I have never used winter tires so maybe its in my head.
 
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