I was googling and found out that the Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper according to consumer reports has the BEST snow tire review in the WORLD bar none.

They review the Blizzak WS-50 and all the other tires more extensively than most places like the Tire Rack and others across the globe.

Unfortunately I cannot read swedish so I can't search for the review on their website.

I would be curious to see how the Blizzak stacks up against the other studless snow/ice tires around the world. Apparently the Blizzak WS-50 is 10 year old technology...

 

I totally agree I have the same ws-50 blizzaks and they are awesome . I also agree with the tarmac setting set in snow. I didnt like the snow setting in the snow . I was plowing through the lane that wasent plowed yet at 30-40 mph with ease as others were going 5 mph in the plowed lanes. Although not by choice I did drive in the snow with the advans and I was praying just to get home . DONT DRIVE THE EVO WITH THE STOCK ADVANS

 

Im a BMW tech and have mounted plenty of snow tires on M cars and the ws-50 in my opinion are the best. Yes they are very soft and may only last 1 winter if you drive hard on dry pavement but they are worth it. ws-50 are equivlent to studded tires acording to bridgestone and I agree

 

Here is the link -

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/au...s/reviews.html

Nokian rates at the top for studded tires apparently, which does me and the EVO no good because in Minnesota you cannot use studded tires anymore.

Aside from that all the studless tires including the Michelin X-Ice rate 2 stars. The tirerack had a review of the X-Ice compared to the WS-50 and the WS-50 was a better tire in almost all the categories.

I have run the WS-50s before on my MazdaSPEED Protege I had prior to my EVO and I was never disappointed in the least.

 

Good link - it rates Nokian as a top pick (tied for at minimum). You'll note they don't make many tires, yet each one is a top pick, damn convenient if you ask me! To answer why Tire Rack doesn't carry it is simple, from a margins and supply chain standpoint, it's not feasible. They make a lot more money with other tires; they are business, they are doing the right thing for their shareholder's'- This may change as Nokian changed their HQ to NY and may offer volume discounts to distributors. As far as how I got to my opinion - easy, I winter rally at any given chance for the last 7 years. I have tried just about everything available, and I am confident that for non-studded snow tires and not taking specific-application into account, the Hakkes are superior.
My post is purely for knowledge share, not to knock anyone's choice. I'm glad to see so many people actually understand the value of tires - it's the only thing between the EVO and the road.
Downfall of Nokians - They're not easy to replace.
If anyone in NYC wants to compare snows next downfall - PM me - we can post results.

markeddy - though I live in NYC, my office's' are in Minne and Maple Grove - I'm there a few days/mo - Go Vikings!

 

If I could read some good reviews on the Nokians I would always be up to try something new, but I really can't find an extensive comparison.

Either way the bottom line is to have a good snow tire for the winter regardless...

It's just playing russian roulette with the stock advans in the cold weather...

 

I have Nokian Hakkapelitta Q's on my LRV, it has AWD and a LSD in the rear diff. They kick ***, I drive them into the Cascade Mountain Range when I go snowboarding. Totally awesome SNOW tire. Its like driving on gravel instead of snow. They sacrifice ice grip to get that excellent snow grip though.

Ignore that Werner guy <edit by fourdoor> he's a software engineer, not a tire expert.