Originally posted by Lawrence Wussow
Another brand you may wish to look into is Nokian, made in Finland. I am seriously looking at these for winter tires..good grippy tread pattern, lots of sipeing (sp.?)& also studable.

Happy Trails, Ldub

Here are the tires I have: Hakkapeliitta SUV

Sz. ----------Ld Ind. --Prod#- Wt. lbs--Rim W.--Ovrl. Dia. Ovrl. W.
245/70R16_108T__ T443650_32___ 6.5-8 7 __29.5 _____9.8

Trd. Depth (32nd) Stud Sz. (TSMI) Stud Sz. (mm)
15 ______________12__________ 8-11


Yes, the Nokian's are supposed to be good. I purchased some in town and they were quite expensive at $798.00 for a set. They were studded with those aluminum shoulder type. I was told by this shop they only came studded from the factory, but I was still charged $10 a tire for 'em!

I have driven about 1300 miles on them so far and they are good on the street or highway if there isn't a lot of snow. I had asked for tires good in both types of environment and was told they were good in the snow.
I almost got stuck in my driveway two weeks ago. The snow varied in depth from 3" all the way up to just over a foot, I might add that my driveway is on an incline. They don't seem to do well in thick/heavy snow from about 3" in depth on up (they fill up rapidly with snow).

The Nokian's cost a lot because of where they are made; the 'proprietary' compound in the tire itself and the special way the studs are inserted into the tire, with a (for a lack of better word) separate rubber backing behind the stud itself.
This is supposed to keep the stud above the surface of the tire for the life of the stud.

The Nokian's are supposed to have a newer (improved?) tire pattern in this model, but it wasn't offered in the size our Vx's used.

I was going to purchase a set of blizzak's but they couldn't get them until a week later. I had used blizzak's on an Audi TT in the past. It drove like it was summer time with those tires.

With the Blizzak's they would have been $120 cheaper for the set.

Maybe someone else has a better experience to offer from being in the snow, ice, etc., than I have. I still don't know if these are worth the premium in price. Maybe they will last a lot longer than any other winter tire - as the (but of course) tire seller claims.

Good luck in your tire search, let us know your results!