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Winter Tires for Those of us with a Proper Winter

slipperywhenwet

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Calgary, Canada
I'm getting ready to buy my winter tires, and I'm looking to see if anyone has had experience with the Nokian Hakk 8s and the Yokohama Ice Guard tires?

I like the idea of studs, but, in Calgary, it's a bit overkill unless I'm spending a lot of time driving through the mountains. I'm leaning towards the Ice Guards right now, as they're $400 cheaper than the Hakk 8s, but seem to have ~85% of the performance.

Anyone have experience with either tire?
 

sng

New member
Location
Edmonton AB
I had the Nokian Hakk 8 studded on my old BMW M3. Its the best winter tires I ever used! So I am going to order a new set for my Golf R :)
 

GTI_guy2

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Canada, Eh
I have heard great reviews for the Ice Guards but the best winters I have ever driven on are the Hankook IPikes. It's worth giving them a look.
 

slipperywhenwet

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Calgary, Canada
I have heard great reviews for the Ice Guards but the best winters I have ever driven on are the Hankook IPikes. It's worth giving them a look.

I actually had the studded IPikes on my SUV, and loved them. Hankook seems to really punch above their weight in their price point, as I have also had their Ventus V12 evo, and that was a really decent tire.

Did you have the IPikes on your GTI? I ask, because I can only ever find the I-Cept in 225/40/18, and I am not sure what those are like in the winter.
 

Josh64

Ready to race!
Location
Canada
I'm in Saskatchewan, I'll be getting Bridgestone Blizzak WS80. Costco has them on sale, for my car 4 tires is only $370. I doubt those H8s are worth more than double the price. I also hear they perform worse on anything but ice. Snow, wet and dry roads you're better off with non studded tires. Studded tires are also noisy. Just some things to consider.
 

TheSwede

Ready to race!
Location
Sweden, Halmstad
Car(s)
Golf7 Alltrack/Cupra
I have Nokian Hakka 8 with studs on our Golf 7 1.4 TSI Estate. We have done several winter travels up north both in Sweden and Norway with full loaded car including people and ski equipment. Very good winter tyre for heavy climate. However not so good when you drive it on pure tarmac as we often do in southern Sweden. The car is a bit wobbly because of 190 studs per tyre and the rough tread. This is expected.

On my Golf 7 R I have 225/40/18" Nokian WR A3, no studs. This tyre is very firm and feels perfect for the R. Have used them for two winters now. They are good in snow and on pure tarmac as well. My favourite :D.

My R with WR A3:

http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showpost.php?p=73930&postcount=9

/Peter
 
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GTI_guy2

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Canada, Eh
I actually had the studded IPikes on my SUV, and loved them. Hankook seems to really punch above their weight in their price point, as I have also had their Ventus V12 evo, and that was a really decent tire.

Did you have the IPikes on your GTI? I ask, because I can only ever find the I-Cept in 225/40/18, and I am not sure what those are like in the winter.

I had them on my old RSX type S and I loved them! Now I'm running 16" Sailun Ice Blazers on my GTI. They are comparable to the IPikes and a little bit cheaper and less road noise. I'm very happy with them, especially for how cheap they are.
 

slipperywhenwet

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Calgary, Canada
I had them on my old RSX type S and I loved them! Now I'm running 16" Sailun Ice Blazers on my GTI. They are comparable to the IPikes and a little bit cheaper and less road noise. I'm very happy with them, especially for how cheap they are.

Were you running the I-Cept, or the I-Pikes?
 

Chadley1

New member
I wouldn't bother with studs. I always steer customers away when they ask for a studded tire. I personally don't think it's needed in the city. I would go with the Hakka R2. Nokian actually calls them a non-studded, studded tire due to the diamond shards built into the tread. I'm biased, but Nokian>everything else. Heck, I would ride a set of WRG3's than most of the winter tires out there on the market.
 

Canada Golf R

New member
Location
Calgary
I live in Calgary and go to the mountains all the time. I've tried a few different types of winter tires, but use Blizzak WS-80 on my Golf R and Tiguan R-Line. I would not use studs. Buy the best tire you can - they should last for at least 3 winters.
 

Oneryder

New member
Location
Montreal
Golf R with hakkapeiliita snow tires?

Hello, i was wondering how you feel the Golf R is with the Hakka R2 tires? Some have told me they are too soft for the car... but i've been getting these for the past 8 years on my Tiguan and my previous Golf... so i dont know what to think... i dont mind compromising on performance for safety during a few winter months... :confused:
 
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Kyle_Kelso

Passed Driver's Ed
The Nitto winters I have on now are garbage. I've run studded Hakka LT2 on my trucks and they are the best winter truck tire I've used. I get the debate for southern Alberta as we go back and forth from dry to absolute crap, but I'm leaning towards studded next winter. I swear the city factors chinooks into the budget for plowing!

Sent from my LG-H873 using Tapatalk
 
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