Ellswrth

Well, finally (a little supply problem) my Nokian RSi tires arrived for my TSX. 215/55-16 size is slightly undersize in rolling circumference compared to the stock 215/50-17's.

I went for the most aggressive ice and snow tires I could install, on the theory that I don't mind giving up clear road performance since you can't really drive fast on dirty salty winter roads anyway, but I can have way more performance and safety in snow or ice. I've mounted them on steel wheels mostly because it's not worth sacrificing a set of alloys to the heavily salted Toronto area roads. My tire dealer (Wheel And Tire Zone) obtained aftermarket steel wheels and then had them machined to be hubcentric.

Of course, mounting winter tires will all but guarantee six more weeks of fall weather but I know so far that they are not much louder on the highway than the stock tires and seem to track well. Only an R speed rated tire (sustained speed of 170KMH/106MPH) so no high speed running, but they are an XL tire like the stock tire and have a 97 load rating compared to the stock 93.

It's too early to tell how they will perform until they break in but looking at these tires in comparison with my previous experience of winter tires (Goodyear UltraGrip F32, Hakkapelita, Pirelli WS2, Pirelli Winter 190 Snowsport, Pirelli Winter Ice, Blizzak WS-50, Yokohama S480), these will be very good for snow and ice at the expense of dry road performance.

I had a hard time finding info on these tires, but if you read Swedish there is a comparison test of them with some performance statistics on a website here. At the bottom of that page, click to see the sets of tests for ice, snow, and wet pavement acceleration, handling, braking and cornering. I translated their test comments where they call the RSi "best on ice and snow".

Anyway, for those in search of the ultimate winter tire, I'll post my experiences once we've had some good snowfall.

crisco

Just curious. How much $$?

Belzebutt

Wish I were able to find those in 215/50/17...

Ellswrth

OK, simple report.

These tires on the TSX in the first snowfall were subjectively the best performing winter setup I've had on any car. And if you look at the list of snow tires I've run a season or more on above, I've had some experience with them on Volvos, a Ford Probe, a Mazda MX3, and several Accords and Civics.

Braking, maneuvering, acceleration on the RSi's were positive and predictable.

Turned the VSA off for comparison, too. The car was good without the VSA, but more stable, more relaxed, and easier to drive with it on.

iTimmy

These experiences mimic what I have experienced with the RSi's on my Accord. And believe it or not the hakka. 4's take it to a level I have NEVER experienced, its literally like there is no snow, ice, slush on the ground. They will slip a little under hard acceleration and they will lose lateral traction if you do something dumb, but its never uncontrolable it always feels natural and "right".

Glad you are enjoying them, I strongly feel you have the best studless tire on the planet- drive safely!

Ellswrth

Where's the fun in that?



Seriously, in traffic I'm very careful winter or summer because Darwin hasn't finished his work and some of those people are still driving.

My main motivation in having winter tires is to safely use roads and lanes that other people can't/won't drive in. Saves a lot of time and frustration!

Ah, but they're designed as a studded tire, right? We can't use studs (and given that our roads are bare a lot of the winter studs could possibly be less safe there).

dexterism

Where can I get these tires from? What did they cost?

virtualbong

Good info Ellswrth! I'm thinking of going the same route whenever I pick up the TSX. If you can provide us with information on where to purchase these tires, that would be very helpful.

Ellswrth

Can't help you much with details, but try www.nokiantires.com for a list of US retailers by state ...

iTimmy

Flip through your phone book and see who has Nokian ads, I am sure there are a few choices in your area- the website isn't accurate.

phan

Ellswrth, I 'd be curious to hear how you feel the RSIs do in dry weather, particularly at high speeds. I passed on the RSIs and went for the WRs because of my concern over the soft compound of the RSIs. The tire store that I purchase all my tires from told me that RSIs can get squirmy at high speeds.

Anyway, I purchased the WR in a 205-60-16, and put them on a set of black steelies. I can't stand the black so despite the comments on this board about wheel covers, I ordered some today.

I have a set of Hak2s on my Volvo XC and so far have had good luck with them. I know WRs are not going to be as good as those or RSI in snow and ice, but I sure hope I didn't make a mistake.

Oh well, it's only money.

Ellswrth

Yup, they can and do feel "soft". It's understandable when you see you can easily push the tread blocks around with your fingers at -25 C/-15 F temperatures. These tires are compounded to be soft and stay that way to very low temps.

I've run them for limited periods (30 seconds or so) at 160KMH/100MPH. I wouldn't do it as a matter of course or for a long time. The car is easily controllable but definitely lazier to respond to inputs. I do regularly drive them at 120KMH/75MPH on highways. At typical legal speeds in North America there is no issue with the softness of the tires. Much better to have these than an underinflated and worn OEM tire ...

As noted above, I was looking for ultimate winter performance. I accept that I have to tiptoe around in the dry in order to drive around people in the snow and ice. I doubt your WR's are a mistake though. Everything I saw about them while researching the RSi was positive, particularly for occasional snow conditions.

iTimmy

Well put.

Seeing as I do have a lot of experience with all of these tires, I will add a few things.....

The RSi's are HUGE leap from the Hak. Q(which it replaced), while the Q was a good tire, it was very squirmy at any speed, this is MUCH better on the RSi. The traction upon accelerating is better and braking distances have been improved on dramatically. In the "shit" the RSi is a more predictable performer then the Q and looks like its going to wear better too. There as a lot of problems with heel and toe wear on the Q and this seems to be less of an issue with the wedge siping. The hak. Q felt unsafe at 75mph, the RSi feels unsafe much above 85mph- not much of an improvement but an improvement none the less.

Comparing the WR's to the RSi's almost isn't fair, while I LOVE the WR for most people, its not even close to the winter performance offered by the RSi's. That being said the WR will outperform most full snow tires from other manufacturers. The WR rides good, handles good, is great in rain, can do winter conditions with ease and will last many seasons, its not the best any thing, but it is good at everything. When you push the WR they will break free, your ABS will engage and you can play in the snow if you like. When using the RSi you have to really push the car and do things you know could be very unsafe.

The biggest shock so far this year is the soon to be available Hak. 4's- I am blown away by what this tire does in the nastiest winter conditions. I have had passengers in my car awe struck about panick stops and hard acceleration in the TSX this winter. You can be cruising at 65mph on a snow covered road and jerk the steering wheel side to side(as if you were "warming up" the tires) and the car goes, zero loss of lateral traction. Hill climbing, no problem; going around, down, and up turns no problem. The only problem I experienced was on an unseasonably warm day I was cruising with some friends when some idiot got the brilliant idea of driving in excess 100mph. Well I didn't know exactly where we were goin, so I tried to keep up, at 85 I had to stop- the car was just too unstable at high speeds. I caught up but was not amused with the antics these boneheads were up to, and know better then trying to drive fast with studded winter tires on a warm day. They do create a bit more road noise then the RSi's, but are significantly better in all snow type conditions.

dnb

Some retailers in the Boston area are Hogan Tire, Discount Tire and Broadway Tire. The first two are chains while the last is a shop near Kendall Square.

timp

Ditto everything you said. Stock size on stock wheels.
Fucking awesome.
Looking for snow now.
Good in the rain too, since that's what it's been doing since driving in snow over Christmas in Upstate NY and Ontario.
Pretty good in the dry. Actually "smoother" than stock at 75 mph on highways. I think the sidewalls are more compliant to bumps, yet cornering is about the same.
I tried 30 psi and they squirmed. Now at 32 psi.