Good Day Neil and fellow Listers,

I am running the studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta ( I believe 10C) studded
snow tires on my Westfalia Syncro on steel wheels in the winter.  They
are remarkable on snow and ice.  In nearly 40 years of Colorado driving,
these are the best foul weather tires I have ever owned.  They have a
lot (100+) of studs per tire, are extremely noisy and do not handle well
on dry pavement.  I have them mounted on steel wheels, and only use them
during severe winter weather.  They are good enough that I have learned
to watch behind me when slowing on icy roads --  I can stop and turn
much better than others on the road.

I have Nokian WR tires on both of my Subaru Outback wagons, and on my
Mercedes 300TE before it was totaled.  They are much better in snow and
water than the Michelins I previously had on the Mercedes, and much
better in EVERY respect when compared to the Bridgestones that were on
the Subaru wagons.  They are noisy at low speed, almost like a noisy
rear wheel bearing, but the noise dissipates over 30mph.  We are on our
second set on one of the Outback XT wagons;  the first set lasted for
about 35K miles.  The WRs also have the little snow symbol on them which
means that they are compliant with Colorado's "adequate snow tires or
chains" law.

Per  your post and links, I would consider the WR (or similar) that is
appropriate for the Vanagon.  Unless you live where there is ice and
snow on the roads all winter, I think you will find the aggressive snow
versions of the Nokian tires to be excessive.

*Best Regards,
Jon B Kanas
Home: 303-678-0658
Mobile: 303-746-1785
Email: kanas<at>qadas.com <mailto:kanas@qadas.com>
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jonkanas
Longmont, Colorado; Cultural Center of the Universe
Website: http://www.qadas.com/~kanas <http://www.qadas.com/%7Ekanas>
AOL Instant Messenger ID: KanasColo

"How can they say my life is not a success? Have I not for more than
sixty years got enough to eat and escaped being eaten? -Logan Pearsall
Smith, essayist (1865-1946) "
*

Automatic digest processor wrote:
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Tue, 4 Nov 2008 14:06:31 -0800
> From:    neil N <musomuso@GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: WR-C, CS, and C2 Nokian tire questions
>
> Hi all.
>
> I'm doing a bunch of reading on tires, and learning, but am confusing
> myself with the choices.
>
> First point of confusion.
>
> A Nokian Hakkapeliitta CS, has a L.I. rating of 106. Seems fine for a
> Westy(Vanagon). But there is no "LT" prefix in the tire sizing
> description. So....
>
> With a higher load rating, does one assume it has a 6 or 8 ply
> sidewall (C/D load rating)? i.e. stiff like an LT tire?
>
> Yet another question.
>
> I know there's trade-offs, but I'm considering running the same tires
> year round. I have read that some do this with the CS:
>
> http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11889&group=3.01&name=Nokian+Hakkapeliitta+CS
>
> How are other year-round users finding tread wear and hot weather use?
> (I think it has a softer rubber compound)
>
> Or would I be better off running these year round (though they seem to
> be geared to harsher snow conditions):
>
> Hak C2:
>
> http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11877&group=3.01&name=Nokian+Hakkapeliitta+C2
>
> Or, if I move up to a 15" wheel (there don't appear to be any 15" CS
> or C2's) I would consider these:
>
> WR C (Van):
>
> http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11900&group=3.01&name=Nokian+WR+C+Van
>
> Anyone using these? I figure if I make my Westy my DD, I'll have to
> carry chains anyways.....
>
> I understand a big part of choosing a tire, is getting one that would
> work well in the worst driving conditions one might see themselves in.
> I won't likely be driving this into snow conditions, but it sure would
> be nice to "have my cake and eat it too".
>
> Sorry for such a long post!
>
> Neil.
>
>
> --
> Neil Nicholson '81 JettaWesty "Jaco
> http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
> http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
> http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of vanagon Digest - 4 Nov 2008 - Special issue (#2008-1166)
> ***************************************************************
>
>
>