Nokian WRG3

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Patman

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I just got a set of Nokian WRG3 winter tires put on my wife's BMW and was wondering if anyone else here has them and what do you think of them? They are a rather unique tire, they are technically a winter tire (they carry the snowflake so they would be legal in areas that mandate winter tires), however they are labelled in a new category called "all weather" which means you can safely run them in the summer and they won't wear down quickly like a pure winter tire would. They also handle the dry pavement very well too. They are a slight compromise over a true winter tire, however they are also a massive improvement over an all season tire in the winter. We've only had them on for one day, and it was a rainy day yesterday so I couldn't see how they perform on ice or snow, but in the rain they felt extremely grippy to me.
 
Loved the original WR on my wife's Jetta. She ran them all year long in Wisconsin. In fact, I thought they handled winter conditions better than my dedicated winter Michelin Pilot Alpin on my A4 quattro. I'm sure WRG3 is even better.

Originally Posted By: Patman
which means you can safely run them in the summer and they won't wear down quickly like a pure winter tire would.

Kind of, sort of. High heat will still kill them fast. When wife moved out to Texas, she wore them out in no time.
 
I have had these type of tires since 1999. Nokian NRW>WR>WR2>WR G2 SUV and next on wifes car WR Gx?

They work wonders on "most" winter conditions. While better then all-seasons on ice they still lack on ice IMHO.

These tires are absolutely superior to any winter tire I have had driven in slush esp deep slush. I run them year round with excellent life. Although my Acura MDX seems to be wearing the WR G2 SUV a bit faster then anticipated.
 
They are a very good fit for the mixed conditions around the northern great lakes, especially where roads range from dry and clear to slippery and snow covered and are frequently salted and slushy. Another good fit for a year round tire is the Michelin Premier A/S, which is great for slightly more southern climates - also handles slush well, good in light snow, better in wet than the WRG3. Not as good on deeper snow and ice.
 
I've used Nokian WRG2's on the Forester since 2011. Combined with the Subaru AWD, I feel pretty invincible in bad winter weather. Of course, on sheet ice only studs will truly help a lot, but the Nokians are pretty amazing to me for an all weather tread. Summer dry weather handling is pretty good with them as well. They do have a little more tread squirm in cornering than other tires during the first several hundred miles when new, but once they're scrubbed in they're not bad in the twisties for a winter style tread design.
 
I purchased a set of Nokian WRG3 tires to replace the OEM tires on my Honda Civic. This was in the Spring of 2014. No problems so far and I am extremely happy with the tires. Winter is just 'starting' here, so not a lot of snow comments to provide.

Cheers!
 
Originally Posted By: Patman
I just got a set of Nokian WRG3 winter tires ....

They are a slight compromise over a true winter tire, however they are also a massive improvement over an all season tire in the winter.


Sort of...!

They are a well marketed all-season tire biased towards the winter performance side. They are reasonably competent in winter conditions when new, and adequate on bare roads in summer. But the winter performance is a result of a fairly aggressive tread design, combined with a compound on the softer side ... tread wear is the compromise. Better than a true winter, but it really depends on how they are driven, especially in summer.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

Kind of, sort of. High heat will still kill them fast. When wife moved out to Texas, she wore them out in no time.


Our summer temps are pretty mild here, a typical summer day is about 75-80 degrees.
 
Would most put their winter performance (snow, slush, ice) even with, above, or below most of the H speed rated and above, 'high performance', stiffer sidewalled, winter tires??

I am NOT asking how they compare to the soft, highly siped, R speed rated and below, squirmy on dry pavement, PURE winter tires (we KNOW the WRG3s CANNOT be as good as these in hardcore winter conditions
wink.gif
).
 
They are basically a performance winter tire.

I'd say slightly below class leading 'performance winter tires', but lightyears ahead of all-seasons.

I actually found the wrg2 to be slightly better in the worst conditions than the wrg3.

Although this was on different cars so YMMV somewhat.

a honda pilot for the wrg3 vs a subaru outback for the wrg2 suv.

WRG2 suv were at 3/32 tread in under 35000 miles. that's in NE ohio climate.
 
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I actually have the G2's with the -SUV designation which is a 103XL load rating whereas my car came factory with 96's. Therefore, the ride with the Nok's is a little on the firm side in my car. If I had it to do again I'd go with the regular G2's not the truck ones.
 
Had the G2's on my Jetta, hated them. Noisy when worn, tread wore fast, *not* truly a four season tire given how fast they wore--and I thought too much of a compromise in slush. If I could live with buying a set every 30k I guess it wasn't so bad; but I have no love for them.
 
I just got mine a few weeks ago... I noticed the G3 have pretty soft sidewalls, compared to the Nexen Winguard Sport I had previously.

Some snow is supposedly coming on Wednesday, so I might test them out that night....
 
Originally Posted By: NO2
They are a very good fit for the mixed conditions around the northern great lakes, especially where roads range from dry and clear to slippery and snow covered and are frequently salted and slushy. Another good fit for a year round tire is the Michelin Premier A/S, which is great for slightly more southern climates - also handles slush well, good in light snow, better in wet than the WRG3. Not as good on deeper snow and ice.


Is this quote from a year ago still a good evaluation of these two tires? I have been running two sets of tires on each of my cars, but getting a tire that works in MN year around is tempting.
 
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Originally Posted By: ganseg
Originally Posted By: NO2
They are a very good fit for the mixed conditions around the northern great lakes, especially where roads range from dry and clear to slippery and snow covered and are frequently salted and slushy. Another good fit for a year round tire is the Michelin Premier A/S, which is great for slightly more southern climates - also handles slush well, good in light snow, better in wet than the WRG3. Not as good on deeper snow and ice.


Is this quote from a year ago still a good evaluation of these two tires? I have been running two sets of tires on each of my cars, but getting a tire that works in MN year around is tempting.

For MN you need two sets of tires.
 
if you want a single tire to use year-round, the WR G3 is a good choice.

is it as good as the winter only tires? Compared to Hakka R2, Xice, etc, of course it won't be as good in the snow & ice as them.

Definitely a step up in the snow/ice department compared to the performance winter tires I had previously.

but, never had issues with a FWD car climbing the hills and steep packed snow driveways in VT for the ski season.
 
Originally Posted By: UG_Passat
if you want a single tire to use year-round, the WR G3 is a good choice.

is it as good as the winter only tires? Compared to Hakka R2, Xice, etc, of course it won't be as good in the snow & ice as them.

Definitely a step up in the snow/ice department compared to the performance winter tires I had previously.

but, never had issues with a FWD car climbing the hills and steep packed snow driveways in VT for the ski season.

What kind of winter performance tires? Dunlop 3D or 4D, Blizzak LM? I do not think so.
 
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