Oppotire... Which one would you get?

"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
11/09/2015 at 02:33 • Filed to: None

I’m looking at replacing all 4 tires on my Focus with a set of decent 4-season tires.

I’m deciding between the Hankook Optimo 4S that are on special at Canadian Tire at $105 each and an all-in cost (including alignment and taxes) of around $630:

http://tires.canadiantire.ca/en/tires/all-w…

Or the Nokian WRG3 at $151 each and an all-in cost of around $840 from Kal Tire:

https://shop.kaltire.com/tiresdetails1/…

Note that I’m in Canada and these two shops are near me.

The Nokian seems to be rated a better in terms of performance. I’ve read that they last anywhere from 60,000 to 100,000km... though they have a 100,000km treadwear warranty.

The Hankook is also rated well. And I’ve read that they seem to last anywhere from 40,000 to 80,000km... though it has no treadwear warranty.

The Nokian has a higher load rating (92H vs 88H for the Hankook).

And I also plan on keeping my car at least another 4 years and I drive about 20,000km/year.

So... which would you buy?

Update: After some discussion, I’ve settled on the Kaltire/Nokian WRG3 option. I stopped over at Canadian tire over lunch to get some details on the warranty they offer on the Hankook tire. I read somewhere that there is a mileage warranty... but it varies on the size.

In reality it’s a 5 year warranty with no mileage guarantee (regardless of size) that’s pro-rated and kicks in once the tire is down to “3/32nds”. But given there’s no mileage warranty, I asked the person there exactly how do they pro-rate it since I know based on the amount I drive, there’s no way it will last 5 years. And I got a vague “head office decides” and “they would give a discount on replacement tires”. I asked how much of a discount... Answer: “I don’t know... head office decides”.

That answer suggests to me that if the tires turn out to be crap, they might give me a tiny joke of a discount on a new set of tires.

Since CT’s “warranty” sounds like bullshit, I’m guessing it probably is bullshit.

In contrast, Kaltire is very upfront about the warranty and what is offered with the Nokian. So that’s the route I’m gonna go.

DISCUSSION (30)

04sneaky - Boxers. Blowers. Bikes. And bitches. > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 03:02

Might not have these available in Canada, or they may not be as affordable, but....We just bought these for our 2012 Focus and my 2006 Mazdaspeed 6. Fantastic tire. I drive my MS6 like a hellion in snow (first AWD car :D) and they take the beating without a snitch. Not sure what year Focus you have, but ours came with these ridiculously horrible Continentals and these are 100x better. Better traction in snow/rain, less noise, wear better, less sidewall flex on the same profile (Contis felt spongy and unresponsive). Would definitely vouch to anyone.

Pirelli P7 Cinturato

Dunnik > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 04:18

Ugh, please don’t take your car to Crappy Tire.

Go with the Nokians, though I’m confused. You want an all-season tire, but those are winter tires, by their tread and the snowflake symbol. Cause I was gonna say, snowtires all day long for a Cdn winter. I’ve taken to calling all-seaons the same way the tire guys do: “3 seasons”.

Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 04:50

Would it be unhelpful to recommend getting 2 sets of tires? Where abouts do you live in Canada? (Like, if you lived in Vancouver then you could get away with 3 season tires)

Personally, I’m running 15” Michelin X-Ice tires for winter, and 16” Hankook Ventus Evo2 for summer (the Hankooks are incredible, btw. They are a dedicated summer tire). This is on my Mazda 3.

Eggplant > Dunnik
11/09/2015 at 05:38

Nokian makes some really “oddball” tires. This one, for example, is quite possibly one of the only true 4 season tires on the market. I get the feeling that these ones might suffer a bit in the summer, but more than make up for that in the winter.

deekster_caddy > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 08:02

Canada, eh? Get 4 blizzaks. Good 4-season tire for Canada. The WS-70s are on super sale right now if you can find them in your size.

Viggen9er3 > deekster_caddy
11/09/2015 at 08:16

I just picked up ws-80’s, they are better than my summer tires on my Saab. Mind you, the summer tires are cheap.

needMORv8 now with more V8 > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 08:37

I only have experince with the nokians, my dad has them on his pilot. They have honestly been absolutely great for him and he drives them year round. Of course its a bit different because the pilot is normally only driven on cold or rainy days as he has a second “fun car” that he drives when its nice.

jmedarts > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 08:45

Nokians may be the only real “4 season” tire out there. Used WR4G2 as winter tires on my 2000 540i (rwd. manual, ~300hp&tq) and they were GREAT. Mind you anytime the air dam started plowing snow I was done, but for 1-2.5 inches unplowed, and plowed i was fine. if you could see sand in the snow no issues at all.

Also great in rain, bit noisy.

jmedarts > Dunnik
11/09/2015 at 08:47

Pretty sure Nokian’s “all season” tires meet the snowflake test criteria. They are not like normal all seasons.

epidemike > Jarrett - [BRZ Boi]
11/09/2015 at 09:01

What Jarrett said. I’d second the Hankook’s

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 09:02

You mean no season tires? I guess it depends on what your focus is here (haha pun actually not intended) and whether you really want pseudo-performance when it's warmer out, cheap tires, or winter usability. Typically you can only pick 1, maybe 2 of those, when it comes to "all" season tires. I would recommend looking at the Continental Extreme Contact DWS, they are all seasons but I have heard good things about them in terms of actual performance. Not sure on the winter stuff, but any no-season tire is truly terrible in the cold stuff. But at least they will keep you safe if you drive with caution (and the right tire pressure).

Roundbadge > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 09:07

I have a set of Optimo H727s with about 50K miles on them. They appear to have a good amount of life left, too. We live in an area that gets a fair amount of lake effect snow every year, and they’ve performed admirably.

There is a fair amount of road noise, though...beware.

wiffleballtony > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 09:42

I’m of the belief that most all seasons are useless. That said, I prefer Hankook.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > wiffleballtony
11/09/2015 at 10:22

I’ve only ever used All Season tires. They’re fine given that in the Toronto area, the roads get plowed and salted regularly.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Dunnik
11/09/2015 at 10:28

The Nokians are a “4 season tire”. They’re a fairly high-tech tire... and the price reflects that.

I have only ever used good quality all season tires and I’ve gotten by just fine over my past 15+ years of car ownership.

And the tire guys will always say that because they’re always trying to sell more tires.

And about Canadian Tire... yeah... many locations are crap... but not all of them. There is one that I occassionally go to for the odd thing that isn’t bad.

It comes down to how well the given store is run. And some CTs have store managers/franchisees who are idiots.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/09/2015 at 10:40

My car is a 2007 Focus Wagon. It’s not a performance car.

It’s a cheap low-maintnenance daily driver. I have always used good quality All-Season tires and have gotten by just fine since I live in the city where roads get plowed and salted regularly.

If I had a performance car, especially a RWD one with fat tires, yeah, I’d definitely get snows for the winter and another set for the warmer months.

For my Focus, I’m not going to spend the money on a second set of wheels or seasonal tire mounth.

The two tires I’m looking at are “4 season” tires... basically they’re better than any All season and many cheap winter tires in the winter, and perform way better and won’t wear out prematurely the way a typical winter tire would in warmer conditions.

http://www.apa.ca/wintertire_rev…

TheNeonDriver - Now with More BMW! > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 10:41

I also believe that 4 season tire are useless, having used them on several cars before. I would go with the Nokian, as it’s first and foremost a winter tire that has been re-engineered to deal with summer heat.

I also live in the Toronto, and even though I don’t use my car to commute, I have summer and winter tires. I like to think that if I need to go anywhere in any weather I can.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Jarrett - [BRZ Boi]
11/09/2015 at 10:42

You could, but I’m not going to spend the money on a 2nd set of tires. I’ve always gotten by just fine with good quality all season tires. And I live in Toronto where the roads get plowed and salted regularly.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > deekster_caddy
11/09/2015 at 10:45

Not gonna happen. I’m looking at having 1 set of tires only. And I’ve gotten by just fine with good quality All Season tires for the past 15+ years of car ownership. The car is a 2007 Focus Wagon... not a performance car.

And in the summer, those Blizzaks will wear out prematurely and I’ll end up having to buy another set in a year. I’ve seen first hand how quickly winter tires can wear out when driven in summer conditions.

And I live in Toronto where the roads get plowed and salted regularly.

It would be a different story if it was something like a Mustang GT.

Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 10:52

Well, whichever way you’ve decided to go, I can at least recommend a shop other than Crappy Tire since you’re in the Toronto area!

I buy all of my tires here - might be worth getting a quote:

https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Exc…

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 10:59

My only concern is that price though. At $189 a tire, you really could afford cheap $89 summers and decent $100 winters for the same cost but better overall results. I would agree on going all-seasons for a DD, but not at that price honestly. Although, if you can them cheap enough, those Nokians are definitely your best bet!

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
11/09/2015 at 11:02

I’ve driven cars with cheap summers... and they’re crap... especially when it rains or if it gets cool.

Also Kaltire is selling them for $151 each, plus tax, tire disposal fees, etc.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Jarrett - [BRZ Boi]
11/09/2015 at 11:09

Thanks for the suggestion. That tire place isn’t gonna work for me since I’m in the west end.

I’m leaning more to the Kaltire/Nokian option since there are a couple of Kaltire locations near me. And I’ve heard they’re decent.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 13:17

Ahh I missed that price part, I only saw the one in the link you posted. Yeah that sounds pretty good! I hope to get some cheap summers for my Miata, autocross focused tires are just too darn pricey and don't last long enough.

deekster_caddy > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 13:36

I hear you. I have a really hard time recommending a good 4 season tire anymore. So many compromises. But the goodyear assurance tripletread (formerly aquatred) seem pretty well liked by those I know who have them.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > deekster_caddy
11/09/2015 at 14:39

Yes... Those are good and I considered them. Had them on my mom’s car in the past. They’re particularly good in wet and slushy conditions.

deekster_caddy > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 14:44

Do you have to get a winter tire? Was just reading about those two you originally linked to and I didn’t even realize there were “4 season” tires that were winter tire rating approved. I guess I don’t live far enough north! ;)

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > deekster_caddy
11/09/2015 at 15:56

Well it does snow and it does dip down to as low as 0F in the winter.

And in the summer, it can get as warm as 100F. It’s a pretty big range.

Each season in Toronto is very distinct.

And I just want one set of tires that is ‘good enough’ for all 4 seasons. They don’t need to be the absolute best for each season since it’s not a performance car, being driven hard or being taken to the track.

deekster_caddy > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/09/2015 at 16:00

Right, I didn’t know if you had “required” winter tires. I don’t think the goodyears would qualify for that, but the ones you mentioned would due to their rating.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > deekster_caddy
11/09/2015 at 16:08

Winter tires are required in Quebec. Not required in Ontario.

Winters in most of Quebec are, on average, far more brutal than what people experience in the Toronto area.