Nokian Hakka R3?

[Slim]

Anyone know if the new Nokian HAkka R3 (SUV) is available yet in the US?

 

[zephyr17]

They sure are. My local Discount Tire just subbed the R3 SUV for my R2 SUV order as they couldn't get the R2 SUV.

 

[Tony S]

Disappointed in my R2s on my wagon. They have not worn well compared with the Michelins that preceded them.

 

[Muleski]

Disappointed in my R2s on my wagon. They have not worn well compared with the Michelins that preceded them.

Interesting. We've had four sets on smaller wagons: a Legacy GT, an Outback XT, an Outback 3.0R, a Passat and an S4. All AWD. our experience is that they have all worn better than what we had on each before. I do drive into everybody that they need to pay attention to tire pressure. we run them about 4 psi higher than the vehicle manufacturer recommends. Maybe we've been lucky. I have my second set on the LGT. First set lasted 5 winters, about 12K each. That was remarkable, The car east summer tires at a quick rate!

The Hakka's that we have had on our Land Cruisers have worn really well. Moved to them maybe 12 years ago. I get about four seasons out of them. Blizzaks were good for one.

Again, maybe we are lucky.

 

[Tom K.]

Disappointed in my R2s on my wagon. They have not worn well compared with the Michelins that preceded them.

Agree. Mine are not lasting as long as the Michelins, either. But I'm estimating ~85% as long, and I absolutely LOVE the feel I get from them in terms of cornering traction, and the slow breakaway.

The Michy's held and held and held and then didn't hold, without much in the way of communication.

 

[Muleski]

BTW, the tires that were OEM on a Land Cruiser were Michelin LTX. They wear forever, and are IME a pretty terrible tire. Rock hard.

 

[François Pugh]

Agree. Mine are not lasting as long as the Michelins, either. But I'm estimating ~85% as long, and I absolutely LOVE the feel I get from them in terms of cornering traction, and the slow breakaway.

The Michy's held and held and held and then didn't hold, without much in the way of communication.

It's going to be hard to find a winter tire that beats the Michelin X-ice in miles lasted. On the other hand, the R2s had way better snow and slush traction. I found the X-ice traction curve very easy to manage, with gradual transition from grip to no grip in all conditions. Ever driven a Goodyear tire at it's traction limit - there's a real challenge.

 

[Tony S]

we run them about 4 psi higher than the vehicle manufacturer recommends

I always learn about this stuff too late.

 

[Muleski]

I always learn about this stuff too late.

I never would have thought of it. The tire guys filled to spec. I friend with a similar car, whined the tires the year before clued me in. He had sowed me pictures of his his were wearing with the normal PSI, and it looked like the center tread was burning away. I thought it sounded sort of backwards....more psi in a winter tire? How can that be good. Has worked well for us. Thus far. I also think we may have been lucky.

 

[sparty]

I never would have thought of it. The tire guys filled to spec. I friend with a similar car, whined the tires the year before clued me in. He had sowed me pictures of his his were wearing with the normal PSI, and it looked like the center tread was burning away. I thought it sounded sort of backwards....more psi in a winter tire? How can that be good. Has worked well for us. Thus far. I also think we may have been lucky.

Excess wear in the center of the tire relative to the edges usually implies overinflation rather than underinflation.

Personally, I like the chalk test as a way to verify that tire pressure is reasonable, as it is relatively simple but still accounts for differences in vehicle load vs. OEM and different tire construction. Relative pressures cold and after hard use are also useful, and obviously you'd want to make sure that the tire provides enough load capacity at the air pressure selected, but there are a lot of variable to optimize for and several of them (particularly grip vs. tread life) tend to be opposed to each other. OEM recommendations may optimize for different characteristics than you would.

 

[Muleski]

I agree on the wear signs, and the typical solutions vs. PSI. 100%. I was surprised to se the wear...as it was the opposite of what I'm used to, as well. {almost 50 years of cars...}. The takeaway for me was simply, use more PSI on this tire. That's worked. Also agree that grip and tire wear can be opposing "forces", if you will. That was my experience with about six sets of Blizzaks when they were the rage 15 or so years ago. Phenomenal snow and ice grip, and "gone" in about 10K miles. Now these were early Blizzaks. Completely different tire compounds these days. LOTS of great tires out there...sort of like skis!