Nokian Announces New R5 Studless Winter Tire

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Very few details at this point in time. I wonder why they bypassed the "R4" name?

Nokian Tyres is continuing to renew its legendary Hakkapeliitta winter tire range. NOKIAN TYRES Hakkapeliitta® 10 has been a great success and now the world's northernmost tire manufacturer is publishing its new flagship products: Hakkapeliitta® R5 Nordic non-studded winter tires designed for passenger cars and SUVs.

- Hakkapeliitta winter tires are known around the world as the champions of demanding winter weather. The new Hakkapeliitta® R5 is a revolutionary winter tire that everyone will want to experience for themselves, says Head of Product Management Marko Saari from Nokian Tyres.

A new and special introduction into this product family will also be a non-studded tire specially tailored for EVs and hybrids.

The Hakkapeliitta winter tire family will also be supplemented with van and RV tires designed for the growing logistics and leisure travel segments. The studded NOKIAN TYRES Hakkapeliitta® C4 and the Nordic non-studded NOKIAN TYRES Hakkapeliitta® CR4 feel at home on the ice and snow.

The key markets for the Hakkapeliitta product family are the Nordic countries, Russia, and North America. More detailed product information and photos of the new winter tires will be released in late January.
 
Nokian has released more details on the R5:


Some details:
The new Hakkapeliitta R5 product range comes with a comprehensive selection of over 160 products. Covering sizes from 14 to 22 inches, the Hakkapeliitta R5 is offered in speed categories Q (160km/h), R (170 km/h) and T (190 km/h). Most of the products are marked XL for the highest possible load capacity in that size. The selection will be available to consumers in autumn 2022. The main markets are in the Nordic countries, Russia and North America. 

One of the major safety leaps has been achieved by renewing the tread pattern. The new Double Block Grip design offers superior grip and handling, and it can be seen especially on the shoulder areas of the tire. The stiff row of tread blocks starts from the center and is split in two moving towards the shoulder area. Compared to its predecessor, the NOKIAN TYRES Hakkapeliitta® R3, the new Hakkapeliitta R5 has 40% more tread blocks on the shoulder and intermediate area. This increase means that the contact area has 4% more rubber touching the surface, which results in better grip on slippery surfaces.

The best-in-class ice performance is guaranteed by the unique Arctic Grip Crystals. The microscopic crystals are mixed in the tread compound and work like built-in studs, creating sharp, tough grip edges inside the rubber. As the tire wears down, the crystals emerge and activate a well-needed grip reserve.

The new tread pattern, along with amazing new innovations such as Arctic Grip Crystals and Double Block Grip design, have enabled us to dramatically increase winter safety and comfort – the most valued features of a non-studded winter tire. For the driver this means balanced and predictable driving feel and less energy costs, as the rolling resistance has been lowered to provide even more sustainable driving, says Samu Lepistö, Nokian Tyres’ Development Manager.

The uncompromising development work can be clearly felt in the overall winter performance. Compared to the Hakkapeliitta R3, the performance on ice and snow has increased by up to 4%. For example, the braking distance on ice is up to 5.6 meters shorter compared to the predecessor when braking from 0-80 km/h. The new Hakkapeliitta R5 also comes with a 10% increase in siping. The dense, computer-optimized sipes work optimally on ice, snow and bare roads. These deep-cut sipes ensure that grip remains safe even when the tire wears down. The self-locking 3D sipes press the tread blocks together on road contact, which improves handling during turns and evasions.

The new Hakkapeliitta R5 covers all northern winter conditions offering predictable performance on bare, wet, icy and snowy roads. One of the most difficult conditions to handle is slush, especially when it appears between lanes on a busy motorway. Designed to prevent dangerous slushplaning, the main grooves on the tread help to effectively remove water and slush from between the tire and the road. The grooves open from the center of the tire towards the shoulder area and give a clear path to pumping water away from the road surface ensuring stable and reliable grip on slushy and wet roads.

Tire noise can affect driving comfort significantly. Lower noise levels can make the journey more comfortable and less exhausting for the driver. The improved comfort features of the Hakkapeliitta R5 have been achieved by eliminating the most disturbing noise peaks the human ear can distinguish from inside the vehicle. This selective elimination results in less interior noise and added driving comfort.

The new Silent Touch tread design offers comfortable and pleasant rolling thanks to the new tread block distribution. While the number of blocks has been increased, the individual blocks and grooves are smaller. Combined with the balanced tread blocks, the Silent Touch design offers stable handling, smooth driving and pleasant sound levels.
 
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Hmmm, I am wondering why? R3 is not on the market that long. Bridgestone pulled this off with WS80 replacing it bcs. issues with lateral handling in ice.
And it looks like VikingContact 7.
 
The R4 has been on the market for 4 winter seasons. They probably want a stronger competitor to the Contact7. In the various Russian and Nordic tire tests, the R3 has been falling behind the tires from Continental and Goodyear. Nokian provided enhanced tires to the magazine testers up to 2015 because top test results in the magazines translate to tire sales.
 

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They are different, but look very similar. They actually reming me of Continental TS780 I think was designation, some 20 years ago.
But, that is not indicative of anything.
It tells IMO a lot about R3, such short lifespan.
 
Nordic winter tire test results are beginning to appear online for the 2022/2023 winter season. The new R5 SUV tire is a very strong performer (ranked #1 overall in this test) on ice and snow, but unimpressive on wet pavement and with hydroplaning resistance. The very popular Continental VikingContact7-SUV tire had a lower overall score than the Nokian R5, but was stronger on wet pavement than the R5, and had much better hydroplaning resistance. In braking and driving on dry roads, the performance of the 2 tires was very similar.


NOKIAN R5-SUV:
This year's big news in the segment is the Hakkapeliitta R5, which replaces the R3. The newcomer immediately becomes the class's new benchmark when it comes to winter grip.

Nokian takes full advantage in both the snow and ice disciplines.

Most impressive is the cornering grip on ice, and retains good controllability even on the wrong side of the grip limit.

The big promise vis-à-vis its predecessor is on the dry road, not least the fact that the noise level no longer creeps up towards tiring frequencies. The steering is somewhat smoother, and in the evasive maneuver test, the HKPL R5 reacts quickly and is still stable. Rolling resistance is the lowest of all.

The minus points are braking on wet roads and the aquaplaning properties, but the test's best winter grip gives the Nokian the win.


PLUS:

Best grip on ice, handling on all surfaces, rolling resistance.

MINUS:

Braking distance wet road, aquaplaning

CONTINENTAL VIKINGCONTACT 7 SUV:

The VC7 came to this year's rating with several wins from our tests of tires with more traditional dimensions. Now it will be third place.

To adapt to the SUV's higher weight, Continental has created a stiffer tire with a harder rubber compound. It gives a somewhat poorer grip on ice and snow, with longer sliding stretches than we have previously experienced with the VC7.

However, the level of grip is still high compared to the competitors.

On the plus side, we see that it now handles aquaplaning really well in this larger dimension with a more open pattern. It also has good stability on asphalt, where it maintains steering precision in the evasive maneuver tests -

Never the best, but often right at the top regardless of the surface - it gives a well-deserved podium place.

PLUS:

Good grip and good driving characteristics on all surfaces.

MINUS:

Somewhat higher noise level than the best tyres.


No universal solution

Remember by all means that there is no universal product that is best at everything.

The trio of Nokian, Falken and Michelin focus mostly on winter grip, while Goodyear and Kumho have a higher priority on bare ground properties.

Continental performs evenly on both "white" and "black" roads, without being the best at anything.

Therefore, you should not stare blindly at our ranking. Consider what you want out of your studless winter tires. Take the time to study the partial results to find the tire that suits your winter best.
 
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@SubLGT - thank you for sharing!

I think I still have at least 1 season left on my Continental WinterContact Si on the Pilot. I'll need to check those as that would be first vehicle needing new winter shoes. The Nokian website shows 265-60-18 as an option for the R5 SUV which is the upgraded size I use for 3 season (245-60-18 stock). TireRack and DTD are not showing many choices in the 265. It would be good so I can upsize the full size spare to match 3 season and winter.

Conti website also shows the 265 as a listed size.

TR shows the 265 Michelin as "discontinued"?
 
Nordic winter tire test results are beginning to appear online for the 2022/2023 winter season. The new R5 SUV tire is a very strong performer (ranked #1 overall in this test) on ice and snow, but unimpressive on wet pavement and with hydroplaning resistance. The very popular Continental VikingContact7-SUV tire had a lower overall score than the Nokian R5, but was stronger on wet pavement than the R5, and had much better hydroplaning resistance. In braking and driving on dry roads, the performance of the 2 tires was very similar.

One thing I don't like about the tire tests from MOTOR magazine in Norway is that the test data is shown as scores, ranging from 1-15. I prefer to see data in its original form, expressed as meters or seconds etc.

Fortunately, the Swedish magazine ViBilagare does display data in its original form, and since they collaborate with MOTOR magazine in performing winter tire tests, they are both working from the same data set.

 
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