Thanks Jon.

Good to hear some input on the WR tires. And for sure. Studded
aggressive snows would be over kill. The CS looks like the tire I
would get.

For anyone considering Nokians, they are pricey. (I knew this already)
The quote I got for 4 Nokian WR-C "Van" was $869 Cnd. On sale too.
Still a bit of an "ouch", but then I can't recall the last time I
bought a set of tires, so am a little out of touch.

I'll be curious what Nokian CS's would cost me up here in Vancouver B.C.

Cheers,

Neil.
On Wed, Nov 5, 2008 at 6:54 AM, Jon Kanas <kanas@qadas.com> wrote:
> 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.