1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
I recently went through this exact dilemma for my 97 Aero. I have had three sets of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires on my Aero that were never good in the snow or on ice but were great in the wet and dry. I live outside of Boston, and we certainly get our share of messy roads. I needed to replace my tires at the beginning of the winter, and I debated between the Nokian WGR2's and the Continental ExtremeContact DWS's due to their performance in snow and ice conditions.
I have the Nokians (I am on my 2nd set) on my Infiniti QX4, and I can say that they are the best tires I have ever driven in snow. They can go through light snow, heavy snow, ice, and slush, and they are always sure-footed and predictable. I would never put anything else on an SUV. That having been said, however, they are fairly noisy on dry pavement and are only average when it comes to handling on dry roads. They do last a reasonably long time, but I think about 40K miles is about the most you can hope from them if you take great care of your tires (i.e maintaining proper pressure, making sure they are balanced, and performing yearly alignments).
After reading every review I could find and talking to two different tire companies that I trust, I decided to go with the DWS's due to their far superior dry handling characteristics -- even though I knew I was going to give up some of the Nokian's incredible inclement weather capabilities. My initial impression after installation was that thet were a little soft compared to the Michelins on dry pavement. But after several hundred miles and driving them pretty hard on some local (very familiar) country roads, I decided that their handling was very similar to the Michelins and that they were nearly as quiet (a hallmark of the Michelins at any level of wear).
Then we started to get snow. The past two months mother nature has repeatedly thrown everything she has at us, and the country roads that I regularly travel were covered in everything from sheet ice to heavy snow. I was absolutely amazed at how well the DWS's transformed my Aero -- there was no loss of grip under any circumstance. The DWS's are three orders of magnitude better than the Michelins and awfully close in their inclement weather capabilities to the Nokians. I realize I am comparing two totally different kinds of vehicles here, but the DWS's on my front wheel drive Aero inspire nearly as much confidence in the snow or on ice as my Nokians do on my AWD QX4. That's quite an endorsement!
I cannot say how long the DWS's will last, but I would think that 25 to 30K miles before the snow treads of the tires are worn away would not be out of the question. The DWS's are also considerably less expensive if you buy them from the Tire Rack. As a comparison, I tended to get about 30 - 35K miles on my Michelins before they totally wore out.
I don't think you can go wrong with either tire as I know from personal experience. Good luck on your choice. Let us know what you decide.
posted by 76.24.120...
, Fri, 1 Mar 2013 12:06:28
, Fri, 1 Mar 2013 18:40:44, Sat, 2 Mar 2013 08:24:47
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
