Another Nokian installation
We had our first significant snow in St. Louis last weekend.
On Friday, we got the first blast, and about 1 inch on the roads as we were coming home late. I was looking forward to some confident, FWD with traction control, high-clearance motoring. But after reading the comments on this site about the stock Bridgestone Turanza's I was alert and aware.
Tried a street corner at a cautious speed, and detected some front end plowing. Hmmm, not good. Then tried to stop...slid and slid. We made it into the garage aok.
The next morning, we had the first 4-5 inches down. I backed out into the driveway about 5 feet, it's inclined but not severely. My CX-7 was immobilized! Just spin...and spin. We shoveled some clear paths for each side and rocked it onto concrete so it could get back into the garage. Nice. A nearly-new SUV that's worthless in the snow, due to those crappy tires. I had the image of an elephant on roller skates. We tossed the usual 80-lb bag of cement into the trunk of our commuter Miata, and drove around Saturday night on it's Kumho Solus all-season tires...it was fine, and fun at times
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We got the rest of our total 8" of snow that night.
So Monday, I found a site (TiresByWeb) that had Nokian Hakkapeliitta SUV's at a good price, and ordered some. Got them mid-week, they're now on in place of the Bridgestones. So far satisfied w/r/t noise (not much, considering) and ride (actually a bit more forgiving over impacts than the Bridgestones). Just need the next snowstorm to see what improvement we get in the slippery stuff.
Been driving in the snow since the 60's...and with a couple other FWD's too (a classic Fiat 128, and a Toyota Camry). It's really a shame the stock Bridgestones are so inept in the snow. I'd believe many owners will blame the vehicle, when it's those smooth-riding and quiet but snow-averse Bridgestone tires that cause the poor performance.