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Greetings all. My recently acquired GTS still has a set of Pirelli Scorpions on the stock 21” wheels, they should be junk soon. I would prefer an 18, or 19” winter wheelset. I am a long time Nokian fan, but considering my experience with my last hot hatch DD...it has me thinking about speed ratings and snow tires.
I had to run 225/40/18’s on my last DD due to the front calipers size... no one yet made a 17” wheel to fit in late 2016. That car literally burned the rubber off it, not only could you smell it, you could see it “congealing” on the white winter wheels. After just over two winters, those Nokian R2’s were melted junk.
While my newly acquired 09 GTS, certainly won’t be mistaken for a hot hatch...it does have power, and handling ability. I am concerned that throwing either an S, or R rated snow tire on it...essentially every pure winter Nokian makes, would ultimately result in a short life.
so again...I would prefer an 18, or 19” wheel/tire combo.I live in Central New York, where we used to get winter....all winter long. Now it seems that dry/cold/wet roads are the norm.
Your problem might well have been low load rating.
I use 275/45 R20 on my wife's 08 TT, pirelli scorpion ice&snow and they are rated at 110 load rating and W speed rating.
I frequently drive well in excess of 130mph for extended periods of time and the tires work without problems for the second season now.
Your GTS also has decent sized brakes. You may be limited to how small a wheel you can use and still clear the front calipers. Also wheel design may make a difference if you select something with a stepped lip barrel for looks, it will get smaller inside.
For example these stepped lip Varro wheels I have on my TTS are 22s and didn't leave a lot of extra space for the 410mm PCCB setup I just installed.
I purchased a garbage set of 18s w Blizzaks off CL for this winter just to get through.
Next winter I am looking forward to these new Nokians: https://www.nokiantires.com/all-weat...ian-wr-g4-suv/ Technically an All-Weather tire it seems biased to winter driving. Perfect for moderate snow areas IMO. If you need Ice&Snow + studs for severe winter weather then these will not cut it.
These carry the proper 109V XL ratings as well!
My wife had those on a Mazda CX-7 years ago...solid tire, with winter chops. They did get noisier as they wore down...but this was a few generations of that tire ago. The 255/55R18 is V rated also, thanks for the reminder.
Nokian uses a proprietary rubber compound on winter tires that's softer and stickier in very low winter temps. Expecting higher wear/speed performance is somewhat in conflict with this goal. I chose Nokian Hakkas with studs mostly for the often icy deeply shaded last 1/4 mile to my house and my steep driveway, and for icy roundabouts. I hope I might get 3 seasons from them on the mostly winter dry roads, but if less its OK. I'd rather have good traction for that .01% of the winter driving when its really touchy Love the Hakkas.
I've been running the Blizzak DM-V2 in 255/55-18 on my wife's MDX for 5 seasons. They were great for the first 4 seasons, but this year they're getting noisy. Overall, been happy with them for some nasty conditions heading up to ski country.
I've been running a set of 18r60 Hakkapeliittas year-round for a couple of years. They're probably going to need to be replaced in the spring. Pricey, but I can't complain about how long they lasted or the grip. The Cayenne has been flawless in winter conditions.
I recommend running higher sidewall at least with snow tires just to cushion the potholes a little. I've now found that I like the higher sidewall in general. It's not like I'm cornering at high G-loads in this P!g.
01-19-2019, 11:24 PM
Winter tire advice...speed rating
