VETDRMS

iTrader: (3)

I recently moved back to Montana, so I expected snow/ice to be part of life again, unfortunately. I initially planned to drive the old suburban when conditions were poor, but the Evo seemed built for this and I'd rather enjoy it year-round rather than shutter it up over the winter.

Thankfully, the road conditions around here improve quickly after storms and we have plenty of sun and dry days during winter so I wanted a separate set of winter rims to make swapping sets easy (and to protect the BBS wheels from winter driving risks). I picked up a good set of Evo VIII rims that are plastidipped black, which will help protect the factory finish.

I spent some time researching snow tires and settled on the new Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2. Dry pavement performance was supposed to be vastly improved from the original R and the tests I could find looked good.

Notable alternatives are the Blizzaks and Micheline X-Ice 3. The new X-Ice has great reviews and looks like a solid alternative, but I wanted to try the Nokian tire. They are a bit more expensive and a little harder to find. Pricing is uniform among suppliers and they were $260 per tire installed for a 235/45/17 size.

From what I could find the Blizzaks tend to decrease in performance fairly quickly as they wear down where the Nokians last a long time and maintain performance down to their rated wear limit. Bridgestone also offers two different models, I believe LM60/70 where one has better dry pavement manners than the others but sacrifices some ice/snow performance.

The R2s are an "eco" tire with very low rolling resistance and I noticed a slight increase in mileage compared to the BBS/SS595 combo currently on the Evo (about 1mpg). The road noise on dry pavement was much lower with the R2s and ride quality was improved.

First off, the tread pattern is very aggressive and, in my opinion, looks pretty cool on the car (has that rally-car look).

Obviously, dry performance is reduced and the steering is less precise, but there is not a floaty or roll-over feeling with this tire in dry conditions. It performs admirably. Moderate speed quick turn in will induce noticeable understeer, but if you look at the number and size of tread blocks this is an obvious sacrifice to maintain snow/ice traction. Overall I would rate dry performance very good and close to normal all-season feel.

I have been waiting for some winter weather to do some real testing and the artic obliged with a fresh storm over the last day and bitter cold temperatures! The change in conditions was conducive to very poor road conditions with warm weather turning to very cold artic front so the ground is warm when the first snow falls, which melts, then freezes, then is covered with more snow. It seemed like the perfect condition to do some testing.

First impression on fresh snow-packed roads was very positive. The car feels very stable with no float or steering induced slide/delay, even when riding ruts or cutting fresh snow lines in 3-4" powder at 45-50mph.

What really impressed me was the amount of braking traction. On a hard packed/glazed surface I had to literally mash the pedal to activate the ABS. Grip is very similar to normal pavement braking grip. Very impressed with braking performance.

Similarly, acceleration performance is very good, but traction can be overcome with power, but normal driving with moderate/high acceleration is possible without slipping.

Turn in is very responsive on hard packed and glazed snow at speed. I was very impressed with how well they handle surface changes from ice to hard pack to dry. The road just feels uniform and stable.

On hard corners at moderate speed (25-30mph) there is some understeer, but can be controlled with power application (ACD in Winter mode). Oversteer is possible but is predictable and only occurs with snap power application. There is no float oversteer in normal/moderate driving.

Verdict? Fantastic! I am really impressed with the performance of these tires in the current conditions and will obviously be testing them more over the winter. My primary concern is the risk of over-confidence leading to unnecessary risk taking in adverse conditions, but this occurs in other areas of life too!

If you are in the market for an aggressive snow/ice tire I would recommend these. Anyone else have recommendations/experiences to share?

The hard snowpack on my backroad test area was nicely iced up this morning so I got to do a little more driving on slick ice. Grip is really good transitioning between snowpack/ice. It is definitely easier to induce sliding on the fresh slick ice but it is very stable. Still very impressed with stopping power and turn-in.

At some point, I will throw them on the Talon and probably end up testing their barrow-pit escape ability!

barneyb

The black rims and that serious looking rubber make for a great combo. Enjoy!

BBC

iTrader: (3)

Great review. I'm actually having R2's put on this week. I have 30k+ miles on my set of Hakka R's, and for the first 20k miles they have been brilliant. 85 mph on snow the whole way to Seattle is no problem. Hell 140 on snow and ice with these tires is drama free as long as it's not rutted. Welcome to Montana, the Evo is brilliant here year round.

jstchur

I ordered the Hakkapeliitta R2's for my 2014 EVO X and my 2003 BMW 325i wagon (rear wheel drive). They arrived for the Bimmer first. They are definitely a lot more squidgy in the dry than the worn out Michelin Alpin PA3's that were on the car previously. The better rolling resistance is also definitely noticeable in a good way. So, at first I was really disappointed with the dry pavement performance but as they scrub in and I have gotten used to them, not so bad and actually kind of interesting to drive.

No snow on the ground yet, but just looking at them- I have no doubt that they will be amazing in the snow. I'll post an update when they get mounted on the EVO.

BTW, when I was pricing tires at Discount Tire (at the store - not online)... i was originally interested in the Nokian WR G3's for the EVO. Looking at the computer terminal with the salesperson, they came up at $259 each for stock 245/40R18 size. However, Hakkapeliitta R2's came up at an unbelievable $149 each for the same 245/40R18 size! I told the salesperson that it must be a mistake and he said "hey... get em while you can then". So, I ordered and paid for them on the spot. They are supposed to arrive any day now. This was the clincher for the R2's. Don't know if that little glitch is still there but wanted to pass it on to everyone for what it is worth.

UPDATE: On my Evo X now... These tires make me happy in the snow (nothing like them) but unhappy in the dry. Make no mistake about it, they GREATLY reduce braking and handling in the dry. I almost rear ended someone the other day on dry pavement - braking hard... something that would not have even been close with different tires. On the positive, they turn the car into a snowmobile in the snow. Living in Michigan, probably will not see enough snow sticking to justify these hardcore snow tires. Should have gone for the WR G3's instead. Got lured in by the great price. Oh well... hope we get lots of blizzards now!

jstchur

Getting rid of the Hakka's and getting WR G3's. They are great in the snow but just give up too much in the dry for Michigan winters

Grimgrak

iTrader: (3)

Pretty happy with the pa4's but in 245/40/18 sizing noticed they released some 245/35/18's and price gouge for the drop handling is out of this world summer tire style on dry pavement. Havn't had too much snow to play around in this year.
What do you mean by oversteer possible in snap accel ? I still understeer in snow mode with in floor it mid turn.... Or do u mean clutch dropping it mid turn?

kseriestuner

I sell a lot of the Nokian Hakka R2's and WRG3's in the Boston area. These are hands down the two best winter tires on the market, and are in a league of their own. I'm glad to see you guys are also having great luck with these on your Evo's, I have yet to try them on mine (my fiancé has them on her car).


If anyone is in the Boston, MA area, and interested in pricing on these, send me a PM!

mrowka

iTrader: (6)

FWIW, nokian is the preferred brand of snow tires in Russia.

I hear that they get some snow there.