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Winter Tire - Snow Tire Rating and Reviews

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Snow Tires or Winter Tires….it’s all the same

Marathon Automotive has been a Nokian dealer since 1981, longer than anyone else in Michigan. In fact, we have been specializing in winter tires longer than most tire dealers have been in business in Traverse City. Nokian tires are available in more sizes and styles than any other winter tire. We love winter tires, or as we used to call them, snow tires. Although we were the first Nokian dealer in the state, we sell many brands of winter tires. There is no tire store in northern Michigan that has a better selection of brands and sizes of winter tires than us, and if we don’t have it we can get it ASAP. And don’t forget, winter tires are the cheapest life insurance you can buy.

Disclaimer: The views below are a combination of world wide tests and our personal and biased opinions based on over 40 years of specializing in snow tires. Not all tires are suitable for all vehicles, talk to the experts at Marathon Automotive to find the right tire for your vehicle and budget.

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#1 Nokian Hakkapellitta R

Since 1936, Nokian tires have been the benchmark against which all other winter tires have been judged. The Hakkapeliitta R is a multiple test winner in most European winter/snow tire tests, bested only by Nokian’s own studded Hakkapeliitta 7. Nokian knows that loss of lateral grip is the most dangerous of all winter conditions. Their engineers focus terrific effort into maintaining lateral grip, something that other major tire makers are just starting to pay more attention to. The Nokian Hakkapellitta R lives up to its benchmark status and performs exceptionally in all areas. Nobody builds as many sizes and styles of snow tires as Nokian. The Hakka R has the lowest rolling resistance of any winter tire, and lower than all but a handful of the best summer tires. Not only will you be travelling on the safest tires, this exceptionally low rolling resistance will save you money on gas.

#2 Nokian WR G2

How did this “all season” tire make it all the way to the number 2 spot? Nokian WR G2 roots are traced back to a high speed high performance winter tire designed for the high speed roads of Europe. After several revisions this tire made it to the USA as a four season tire. Don’t be fooled by its 4 season moniker, the WR G2's tread compound and design help it outperform all but a few winter tires in the world. There is a reason this tire is our best selling tire--this is the safest all season tire for any vehicle--period. Winter, our seemingly longest and most demanding season for tires, is when the WRG2 shines the brightest. The WRG2 offers excellent control and handling on all driving surfaces, wet, dry, snow-covered and clear. In the November 2012 Consumer Reports the WR G2 was the #1 rated performance winter tire and for once the European winter tires test agree and also rate the WR G2 at the top of the performance winter tire segment.

#3 Michelin X-Ice Xi3, X-Ice Xi2 and Latitude X-Ice Xi2

German roads and German drivers are known for speed, and you know they won’t settle for a second rate tire. Michelin may be a French Company but thei Xice tires are build in Germany. This tire easily ranks near the top in every winter tire test; however, the price matches the tire's premium status. We prefer the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R for northern Michigan driving. The Hakka R is better in slush, (the X-Ice tends to be less directionally stable when driving in slushy conditions.) And we feel that the lateral grip is also better on the Hakka R. Both are exceptional winter tires witnessed by their top rating in every test worldwide.

#4 Gislaved Nord Frost 5

The Nordfrost 5 places near the top of most European winter tire tests The Nord Frost 5 is an ultra-quiet winter tire, and for a premium tire it is reasonably priced, earning it one of our best value rating. This is the tire that we often choose for our own vehicles. The major downside of this tire is the limited size selection (and current limited availability in the states).

#5 Hankook i*cept Evo W310

Wow is this tire a surprise. The i*cept Evo W310 placed second to the Nokian WRG2 in Consumer Reports November 2012 performance winter tire test and also did well in most of the European winter tire tests. This tire replaces the Ice Bear, a tire that was barely mediocre. Similar to the Nokian WR G2 the i*cept Evo is classified a performance winter tire. The Hankook i*cept Evo W310 is marketed a winter tire but we think that like a Nokian WRG2 this tire will be a great year round choice.

#6 Nokian Nordman 4

This tire draws its strength from Nokian’s 74 year history of building the world’s best winter tires. To help keep this tire cost competitive with other mid-price tires Nokian did two things. First, this tire is built in their Russian plant where labor costs are lower, and second, it uses slightly less sophisticated rubber compounds than the Finnish built Hakkapeliitta 7 and Hakkapeliitta R. This tire is still more advanced than all but a handful of premium winter tires, and clearly outperforms all other snow tires in its class.

#7 Bridgestone WS60 & WS70 Blizzak

How did this highly rated and great performing winter tire end up in 7^th place? This is a great winter tire and probably deserves to be much higher when rated against pure winter tires. The ice traction is phenomenal but the slush performance is just average. The main problem is this tire achieves its performance through use of a multi cell compound (think of a sponge) the top 50% of the tread. The Blizzak wears fast and when the multi cell compound is worn away, the Blizzak performs as an all season tire. There is usually a better choice.

#8 General AltiMAX Arctic

This is a great choice in a mid-level tire, this tire draws its strength from the Gislaved Nordfrost. Continental Tire owns General Tire and Gislaved. The AltiMAX Arctic is the same as the award winning Nordfrost 3.

#9 Hankook I Pike W409

This represents one of the best values in low priced winter tires. It looks like Hankook copied one of Nokian’s winter tire designs. The build quality is good although the tread compounds cannot match the higher end tires.

#10 Hankook IPike RW11

This is the light truck and SUV version of the W409. This tire is the equal of the 409 in every way. This is the best value in the economy tire range, and is waaaay better than the Cooper ST/2.

#11 Continental ExtremeWinterContact

A great choice in the upper-mid price winter tire category. This tire placed solidly in the upper third of several European winter tire tests. Continental make a lot of great winter tires and this is no exception.

#12 Dunlop Graspic DS-3

This tire represents the third generation of Dunlop Digi-tire Studless Ice & Snow winter tires. This tire ranks in the middle in most tests and the price puts it squarely in the middle of the pack. Dunlop is a division of Goodyear and frankly we prefer the Dunlop winter tires over the Goodyear, and the prices are much better.

#13 Goodyear Ultra Grip Winter / Ultra Grip Ice WRT

Goodyear has been building some pretty decent winter tires the last few years. The Ultra Grip Ice finished middle pack in Consumers Report and most of the Goodyear tires tested in Europe are not available in the USA. A good overall tire but our preferences run toward the Nokian, Michelin or Continental for a premium tire.

Pans

Pirelli Snow Control

Well I need to admit this right up front, I think I may be a Pirelli bigot, I just can't find much to recommend in their winter tire line. They make a confusingly large choice of 15 different models. It is not like all their snow tires are all bad, but 15 different models, what are they thinking! Most of the Pirelli winter tire line is dedicated to performance winter tires. If that is what you are looking for the Nokian WR G2 or the new Hankook iCept evo W310 are much better choices. The Pirelli Winter 210 Sottozero Serie II placed 4th in Consumer Reports winter tire ratings with ice braking rated the same as the last place Firestone Winterforce, there is a good reason I test drive winter tires myself and rely on the test results from the German, Swedish, Finnish and other Northern European winter tires tests rather than blindly believe Consumer Reports test where a winter tire that performs so poorly on ice can still be placed 4th out of 16 tires.

Cooper ST/2

One of the top selling winter tires in Traverse City has few fans at Marathon Auto. This tire places near the bottom in most winter tire tests. A quote from one test summarizes our feelings: “this tire is full of surprises, unfortunately none of them are good.” Honestly this tire is not that bad, but you can do much better for your money.

Arctic Claw

This tire is built by Cooper as a private label (read cheaper version) of the Cooper ST/2. You know how we feel about the ST/2.

Hankook RW-07

This tire is a world away from the Hankook I Pike W409. The tread design is rudimentary and we find little to like in this tire, however, it is available in many sizes when there are no alternative choices.

Firestone Winter Force

It is hard to find a tire test that does not place this tire dead last. These tires do offer an unpredictable improvement over summer tires for winter driving. If you purchase these tires you will need to add an extra $10 to the price for hearing protection. They are the loudest winter tires we have ever heard. The tires perform fairly, but the noise is enough to drive us crazy. There is always a better choice and usually for only a few dollars more per tire.

Hankook Ice Bear

This is not a full blown winter tire but a performance winter tire. While trying to satisfy both winter traction and performance, it fails to do either very well. In the prestigious 2007 German ADAC “Winterreiten” tire test, the Ice Bear ranks an unimpressive 11th out of 16, and in 2008 13th out of 19. This tire fares no better in the Automobile Protection Association (APA), the Canadian version of our AAA, garnering a 2 out of 5 star rating. In the 2006 Consumer Report test, this tire placed 13th out of 20.

Kelly Magna Grip and Snow Tracker

This tire’s tread design looks like outdated technology from the 1970’s. It is hard to find any reliable test information for these tires, with the exception of the 2005 Consumers Report where they placed a dismal 9th out of 12 choices. These tires are built with one purpose - to be cheap. With all that is riding on your tires, an additional 3 or 4 dollars per tire moves you up to the GT Winter, Hankook W409 or even the Cooper tires that we don’t love, but even the Cooper would be a substantial improvement over these tires.