Michelin X-ice Xi3 vs Nokian R3 SUV??

[Tom K.]

Your doing the hokey pokey in the snow? How much scotch involved?

Mrs. K's name for the Hakkas!

And never drink scotch. It makes you act like your parents.

 

[François Pugh]

The Hakkas are a softer tire and have a bigger squish zone (from first starting to slide to lost it) especially on pavement, but the x-ice, like all Michelins. are still very predictable at the limit.

 

[ScotsSkier]

I've been running the X-Ice for a number of years now. Good performance in a mixed driving situation. I've lived in Bay Area and driven to Tahoe every week. Its been a geat tire until, like you've experienced - the third season when they start to go off. When I move to Tahoe full time, I'm really debating studded vs studless and what to get. Everyone loves their Nokians. Maybe I'll try some studs for a couple seasons and see if the noise makes me nuts. I do have two sets of wheels and a floor jack so I guess I could go back and forth if we're about to get a big dump in April or May and I've already gone back to no season stock tires. Also about to get a new Scooby Do Outback.

Nope, absolutely no need for studs in tahoe, waste of time

 

[tball]

Are you familiar with this articlefrom Outside?
https://www.outsideonline.com/2359001/studded-tires-winter-car-prep

He's warning us as a "psa" against studded tires. But his studies cited are either 18 years old or 24 years old. Presumably when studs were the old stick em in at the tire shop variety.

Yeah, that anti-studded tire article from Wes Siler and Outside Magazine is terrible journalism citing decades-old studies.

Modern studded tires consistently beat modern studless tires in the Northern European tests where they are run against each other.

Here's a Canadian website dedicated to the love of studded tires that summarizes various studies in English:
http://www.skstuds.ca

And, an English language translation of a very comprehensive comparison from a Finnish magazine:
https://cdn.tekniikanmaailma.fi/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/tm_17_2016_english.pdf

Outside Magazine should take down Wes Siller's misrepresentation of studded tire performance.

Again, I own two sets of X-ice's and love them for Denver where the roads are mostly dry through the winter. They allow me to get around town in a powerful RWD sports sedan (and have a blast doing so) as long as the snow isn't so deep I'm plowing it. But I want my 4x4 with studded Hakkas for driving in severe conditions on I-70 to skiing.

 

[wyowindrunner]

Ran X-ices on a '06 AWD CRV with a 5 speed for the last year and a half or so. Got stuck once. High centered. Knocked the muffler right off the hanger. Wyo rig roads Pickups on the way out that day were getting stuck too. Couple more than once. Graders were having a hard time keeping the roads clear-they were blowing shut in 1-2 hours. These roads turn to a sea of mud in the spring and fall. Suprised how well the tires did in the mud. Put a hair over 40k on them from Nov 2017 until May of this year. Didn't drive it much at all the summer of '18 so just left the tires on. Finally put some all seasons on this summer and the Michilens got exiled to the equpment shed. Went out to the shed to check the tread depth today after going down to the U-Pull-it yd and finding a set of rims off an '03 Honda Odyssey that were the same size and offset so I wouldn't have to swap snowies off the rim. The depth measured 3/16 on all the tires. What Tire Rack suggests as the minimum for winter tires. Will throw an ad in the shopper paper to sell the used ones and am definitely getting new X-ices. The little Honda is retired from work duty and the Thule rocket box is on and ready for the winter.