I think for many places in the US, the four-season Nokian tires (WR, NR) might be an excellent tire, but in Canuck-land, we've found they don't offer enough snow/ice performance compared to pure winter tires like the X-Ice/Blizzak/Hakka.

I've used many different snow tires over the years, including Nokians, Toyo, Yokohama, Kuhmo, Bridgestone and Michelin. My studded Hakkas offered the best ice traction, but for overall ice and snow, the newest Blizzaks have really impressed me. We'd moved away from Blizzaks, but decided to give them a try with the introduction of the newest tires.

One thing to note is that on the top-end of ice/snow tires, the performance gaps have closed considerably. In reality, you can't go wrong buying a good winter tire anymore. And even a middling snow tire is light-years ahead of any all-season tire in terms of winter performance.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

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I didn't find the WRs to be sufficient either. I regularly drive late at night in rural areas, where roads may not have seen a snowplow for several hours. Tried the Nokian all-seasons last winter on the W123 wagon and found myself under less control than I would have liked.

I got a set of Michelin X-Ice tires this fall; we'll see how they work. Their tread pattern looks similar to Nokian's old Hakka Q, with sipes perhaps just a little thicker. Dry handling isn't terrible, but the car was riding on cheap Hankooks so I'm not missing much.

My earlier comment was from the following:

October 2005

"The Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 (*est. $80) is one of the best-selling snow tires in the U.S., and it is still a top performer in some reviews, including those at The Tire Rack. However, in the stringent tests conducted by Sweden's Aftonbladet newspaper, the Blizzak shows its age. Although editors say the Blizzak WS-50 was an icon a decade ago, it no longer compares as well to newer technology. In terms of ice and snow braking and acceleration, the Blizzak was the worst in the test group. Tires easily lost traction in icy slush. In fact, Aftonbladet's review found nothing positive about the Blizzak WS-50 compared to other non-studded tires like the top-performing Continental Viking Contact 3 (not available in the U.S.), Gislaved SoftFrost 2 (*est. $85), Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi (*est. $90) and Michelin X-Ice (*est. $80).

We enlisted the help of a Swedish translator to prepare our report on snow tires. That's because the best snow and ice tire testing takes place in Scandinavia rather than the U.S. One of Sweden's evening newspapers, Aftonbladet, has by far the best reviews of winter tires. Conducted annually, this publication tests at least twenty studded and non-studded winter tires at the northernmost test track in the world (in northern Finland). Tires are rated on performance in hard-packed snow, ice (including dangerous black ice), slush, and both wet and dry pavement.

Sweden's winters are harsher than North American winters, with the exception of some extreme northern states, mountainous areas and Canada, and testers at Aftonbladet exhibit a fairly strong bias towards studded tires, which offer marked performance improvements on icy roads. Studded tires aren't used as often in the U.S., and because they contribute to road damage, some states restrict or ban the use of studded tires."

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/automotive/snow-tires/

Steve

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Steve
'87 300TD - 132K - Soon 4-Sale
'84 300D Turbo - 122K - Driving
'77 VW Type II - 77K - Restored
'08 250EX Ninja
English Bulldog (Brier) - My best friend. Passed away 12/02/04 while in my arms.

I've got 4 of the Blizzak WS-50 tires on my W123....found them to be quite good on thanksgiving morning in Preston Country west virginia in the middle of a pretty heavy snow storm, 3 inches on the road and not so much as any wheel spin...

First snow that I have seen in this Benz or these tires....but the first time in the slippery stuff has looked good.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche