Vliou- I would agree that they are not "god-like", however compared to the Pirelli's that came with the car they are a huge improvement, in comfort and noise. You do lose some of the dry pavement performance, but hey, if I really needed superior dry pavement tires I would get some track tires,......although I don't really see the allroad making record times on the track.

 

Absolutely true - those Pirelli's were god awful. I will publicly admit I went from Toyo Versado LX tires (best tires in the world for comfort/noise) over to the Nokians. I got in the car and I was like ...wttff?!

So my perspective is abnormal - as I came from the quietest tire in the world. If you're coming from Pirelli's, don't even blink hahaha, you won't notice a thing

 

I'm considering getting the Nokian Hakka Rs for my A6 - thinking I want to get 225/50R17s, instead of the stock 245/45/R17s

I prefer the narrower width for winter.

Any thoughts on where there are reasonable deals to be found on Nokians in the city?

I've shopped at Steelcase Mags as well as Kal-tire in the past, but deals are ok, not stellar.
Plus the Steelcase guy (whom I respect a lot), veers hot and cold on the Nokians - not quite sure why....

I've looked online, but tiresavings.com charges over $300 in shipping them.
Tire-Rack doesn't carry Nokians....

any other suggestions?
Also looks like they all use UPS to ship - have heard horror stories about UPS shipping in the past.

Anyways, appreciate your thoughts and insights.

 

Kal-tire is the only distributor-IMHO.
I run WR all year long (on A6, 17").
Hakka's are too agressive, unless you do Rallying, farming or your Quattro is not working...

 

Question about buying from Tirerack - do you have to pay duty/tax when the shippment arrives? If so, is it 13%, or more?

 

Tire Rack's website will calculate all shipping, taxes, and duties just by entering your postal code - you don't even need to sign up on their site. You won't incur charges in addition to the price it shows.

 

"Question about buying from Tirerack - do you have to pay duty/tax when the shippment arrives? If so, is it 13%, or more?"

You can save big on the shipping and brokerage fees by having then drop shipped to a PO box in the states and picking them up and bringing them in yourself. There are services in all US border towns that will receive and hold your goods for a nominal fee. The savings are generally in the hundreds for 4 tires.

 

Thanks! I've used WRs as well, just that I have perfectly good/new all-seasons on the car (less than 10K) and I may as well invest in winter tires and get the most out of these overall.

 

Is anyone familiar with the Conti Extreme Winter Contact? It seems to be a pretty new tire.

 

I myself am running Semperits,(205/55/16) great traction, quiet on the highway. Have also used Gislaved. Soft winter tire with great traction,wears out fast. And i aggree with others about the Nokian Hakkapeliita they are a great tire as well. Thats what i used on my '97 Lada Niva. Sit back, sip that drink, scratch your head,and good luck!!