Nexen Winguard Sport summary

[UG_Passat]

unless a surprise snowstorm hits NJ in April (has happened before).... guess, I'll have to give a summary.

Nexen Winguard Sport, 235/45r17 97V XL ... which I put about 10,000 miles on them (one winter season)....

For these tires, my actual measuring stick is the Hankook Icebear W300.... which it did everything it did, for less money.

Naturally, comparing the ultimate snow/ice grip against General Altimax Arctic & Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSI (other previous snow tires on the car)... is unfair, and naturally, doesn't have the same grip. Nonetheless all these tires can't make my car climb the 20%+ grade that goes from the main road to my development....

So:

Noise: Quietest snow tire I have used on this car
Wet grip: Good plenty of grip, including road holding
Dry grip: PLenty of it, should be, for a performance winter tire. Felt somewhat confident on the highway last second highway gator avoidance. (I don't expect the squishy altimax to behave the same way)

Fresh powder: Good. Never had an issue with deep fresh powder (unless it was the 20%+ grade climb)
Packed snow: Never had an issue
Snow cornering: Can't match the Nokians I had. But, holds its line better than the Hankooks.

Slush: handles it fine. See snow cornering in regards to slush cornering

Ice: never drove on a ice-skating rink... but the occasional patch of ice didn't phase it.

 

[dparm]

Can you expand on your ice comments, please? Did you try to get started from a stop on ice? Braking? Steering? Steering feel/stability/cornering confidence?

 

[threeputtpar]

Your comments on this tire are very appreciated. I will be replacing my W300s in November with something, and the Nexen's were at the top of the list. The second place tire is the Achilles Winter 101, which is considerably cheaper than any other tire in size 225/45/17. That makes me a bit skittish about the quality, even though Achilles is a value brand of Hankook.

My main concern is snow/slush traction, but a very close second is the noise level on cold, clear concrete. The W300's are very noisy now that they are down to the snow wear bars, and I don't know how long I can run them this summer to use up the remaining tread.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Can you expand on your ice comments, please? Did you try to get started from a stop on ice? Braking? Steering? Steering feel/stability/cornering confidence?


Since I don't have an ice-skating rink to test on....

I didn't have much ice testing comments... just the occasional hitting a patch of ice at low speeds driving around industrial park where I work.

Though... the other day, while it was snowing during my evening commute... I passed a Benz C-class 4Matic while I was on packed snow, which made me immediately thought of their recent commercial.....