Winter tyres for Finland?

[Nj]

what's M&S mate? I assume marks and spencers aren't selling tyres these days?

[EspenW]

what's M&S mate? I assume marks and spencers aren't selling tyres these days?

Mud & Snow

[Nj]

aha. thanks. should have been obvious really.
With ta
hat in mind referring to david's comment above I really don't want to buy a set of M&S tyres only to have to buy a full set of Hakkas when I get there mate.
I've emailed a good friend in Germany to see what prices are like there and maybe get him to send them on to me.

[Henkjan]

is it an option to find a tyre shop near Malmö (or somewhere else alnong the road to Stockholm) and mount them there? since you take the nightboat to Turku you should have some time for that in the schedule?

[s2driveruk]

aha. thanks. should have been obvious really.
With ta
hat in mind referring to david's comment above I really don't want to buy a set of M&S tyres only to have to buy a full set of Hakkas when I get there mate.
I've emailed a good friend in Germany to see what prices are like there and maybe get him to send them on to me.

only thinking they go for good money on ebay...consider it a rental opportunity lol

[Nj]

is it an option to find a tyre shop near Malmö (or somewhere else alnong the road to Stockholm) and mount them there? since you take the nightboat to Turku you should have some time for that in the schedule?

It's a possibility I've considered mate. The only issue with that is that my summer tyres are on 18" RS6 alloys and I was planning to put winter tyres on a set of 16" wheels so I'd need to carry the 16s with me and then put the 18s in my boot. Or pay for 18" Hakka Rs. hmm. could be a bit expensive.
My father in law seems to think that tyres are much cheaper in Sweden than Finland. IS there any truth in that or just nonsense?

only thinking they go for good money on ebay...consider it a rental opportunity lol

haha. aye not a bad idea actually. I'd still rather avoid posting them back to the UK or something though. I think perhaps I attract difficulty in life

[harmeetjohal]

i have a set of these, PM if your intrested
snow tyres i brought from Canada

[moradi2k]

http://www.mytyres.co.uk/

I use these when i buy my tires. Located in germany but all prices are included VAT and delivered at your door. They have everything and all tires are new

Saves me alot of money here in norway.. last time i ordered it took 5 days from germany to my door.

[Nj]

i have a set of these, PM if your intrested
snow tyres i brought from Canada

Sorry mate, 14" is too small to put on my A4 but I appreciate the offer, cheers

[Nj]

http://www.mytyres.co.uk/

I use these when i buy my tires. Located in germany but all prices are included VAT and delivered at your door. They have everything and all tires are new

Saves me alot of money here in norway.. last time i ordered it took 5 days from germany to my door.

That's where I was looking and found the Nokian WR G2s but they don't have the Hakka Rs or am I missing them somehow?
cheers
nj

[porkkis]

Don't go for speed rating over T. Tyres with studs always gives you the best overall grip, but make more noise. Soft nordic type studdless tyres are very quiet.
As you probably are not very experienced driver in snowy and icy conditions, go for the best grip = studs. Hakka 5 or 7, Michelin XiN2, ContiWinterViking 2 for studs and Hakka R, Michelin Xi2, ContiVikingContact5 for studdless and you can't go wrong.
I recommend to listen to the Norwegians, Swedes and us and filter out the rest

You're able to buy any of those tyres the moment you enter Sweden. At this moment you're ok with summer tyres but after a month or so the situation is completely differen.

And don't be surprised. All the nordic type winter tyres are sh*te on dry tarmac roads, but that's the price you have to pay - maybe to avoid an accident.

[Mr.Crossfire]

Here are the test results of the tyre test performed by Finnish magazine "Tekniikan Maailma":

Studded winter tires:

1. Michelin X-ice North XIN2 & Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7, 8.4/10 points for each
2. Continental ContiWinterViking 2 & Pirelli Winter Carving Edge, 8.3/10
3. Vredstein Arctrac, 8.2/10
4. Bridgestone Noranza 2 & Goodyear UltraGrip Extrem, 8.1/10
5. Gislaved Nord Frost 5, 8/10
6. Kumho I´zen KW22, 7.9/10
7. Hankook Winter I*Pike, 7.8/10
8. Nankang Snow Winter SW-5, 7.3/10
9. Toyo Observe G2S, 7.1/10
10. Roadstone Winguard 231, 6.7/10

Studless winter tires:

1. Michelin X-Ice XI2, 7.8/10 (I personally have a set of Michelin X-ice:s, a very good tire but obviously inferior to studded tires when it comes to grip.)
2. Nokian Hakkapeliitta R & Yokohama Ice Guard ig30, 7.5/10
3. Continental ContiVikingContact 5, 7.4/10
4. Bridgestone Blizzak Nordic WN-01, 7.3/10
5. Goodyear Ice Navi Zea, 7.3/10
6. Michelin Primacy Alpin, 6.5/10 (This Michelin was in the test representing the "center european studless tires", you can draw your own conclusions...)
7. Falken Eurowinter HS439, 6.3/10


All the studded tires above had speed rating T = Proper winter tires. The maximum speed limit in Finland at winter is 100Km/h, so with the T-tyres you have a plenty of marginal. And yes, you must have winter tires on between 1.12. - 28.2.
The proper studless tires in the test had speed ratings Q, R or T. The Michelin Primacy Alpin had speed rating H.
I agree with porkkis that if you are inexperienced driver on the snow, go for studded. The slipperiness can be surprising especially when you drive a quattro. No problems getting up with the speed but the slowing down... If you end up living in Espoo, you will probably be driving a lot on roads that have polished snow & ice crossings, water on ice etc.

[Nj]

Thanks lads. I genuinely do appreciate your advice, especially since you're experienced Scandinavian drivers. I was heading for the Hakka Rs since I could drive with them on from Scotand right across to my end point of Kajaani (until I find a job and move elsewhere. I like my wife's parents but I'm sure things will get tense enough pretty quickly ). I plan to be extremely careful but of course it only takes a fraction of a second to make a mistake.
So what are the down sides of studded tyres? the noise of course. Do the studs wear out the tyres or the roads when it's not snowy or icey?

cheers

[Mr.Crossfire]

The noise mostly. Of course they tend to make deep grooves on the road too.

[Nj]

That's what I was thinking. Scotland, England, Denmark and Sweden may not thank me for cutting lumps out of their roads as I head to Finland.