Why I stopped recommending Nokian tires + advice/comparison of all-weather vs snow tires on a Tesla

UPDATE video here-- I think I found out why these tires are so twitchy? Check it out:
Years ago I swore by Nokian Hakkapeliitta snow tires and -- indeed -- they were great on snow/ice. But that performance quickly turns into mushy tread and they're expensive to replace. So I moved to all-weather Nokian WRG4 tires, but while they're a great deal on paper my experience has been unsatisfying. They're HORRIBLE on wet roads and wobbly on the highway.... so where to now? I discuss the benefits and pitfalls of snow and all-weather tires and where I'm going from here.

TPMS troubleshooting and how the systems work/differ:

How to get TPMS sensors to display tire PSI on an older Tesla Model S using Service Mode screens

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[bnrjason]

I haven't used them on a Tesla, but I've been using Nokian Hakkas for the last 6 or 7 years in Seattle area winters. As you have probably heard, we have VERY wet winters here and a fairly light amount of snow. But we're about 45 minutes away from our nearest mountain pass which gets lots of snow. Neither my wife nor I have had ANY issues with the Hakkas in wet weather, they perform just as good or better than any all-season we have used. We use summer tires from early-mid March through early October on all three of our vehicles, and Hakkas from mid-October to early March. We run them on a VW ID4 AWD, a Kia Niro EV (FWD), and my Mitusbishi Lancer Evolution V and they are absolutely perfect for us in wet Seattle winters and mountain snow.

[joelbeske]

Never trust one random person's experience to determine your needs as far as something like this is concerned. I have WRg4s on my 2wd Jeep Cherokee for 2yrs now. Constant driving, 12k miles yearly. No issues. NW driving conditions. Snow, rain and dry.

[TizzleT]

WRG5 were just announced with a Kevlar fortified sidewall and sidewall warranty. Worth giving them a try when they come on the market. Stronger sidewall should take on the weight of the Tesla better, plus they are EV designed in mind so should be XL rated.

[elmerfudd]

High torque car with wide flat profile tires, expecting no slip during acceleration on wet roads might be asking a bit much out of most tires. That cut looks like road debris damage to me. Not the tire's fault.

[Noypi]

My experience with the WRG4 SuV has been quite the opposite. On a 2021 Toyota Highlander Hybrid AWD I had them for only 30k miles before they hit wear bars. Excellent traction in warm rain even in Sport and Trail mode. On a 2012 Lexus GX I have 50k miles on them and they are at 4 32nds of an inch tread life. Also excellent traction in warm rain here in Wisconsin. On the HH I also had Michelin Cross Climate 2s which lasted 55k miles before hitting wear bars and currently have Pirelli Weather Actives. In my experience winter traction was far better in WRG4 SUVs than the Cross Climate 2s. I have yet to test the Pirelli Weather Actives in winter but in warm rain they also offer excellent traction. So apples to oranges comparison but traction in warm rain has more to do with AWD/4x4 vs RWD. I have driven confidently and aggresively in warm and cold rain with all the tires mentioned without much drama. Only drama for me is ice and snow/slush planing.

[ffork]

If you cannot control "spinning" any tire, in any season ("tail wagging") - learn to drive a bit more precisely for the tire you are on. I'd never track these tires, but you'd also never drive Pilot Cup 2's below 60F - right? Yes - winter tires aren't great as it gets warmer - that's a fact no matter what car you're bragging about owning ... either drive them appropriately for the environment, change them in time, or adjust your expectations. Not a tire problem - a driver problem ;) ....

[fieldlab]

Yes. Your tire was damaged by debris or vandalism.

[ffork]

"A quick summer rain shower and you're skittering around roads like you're on ice, ..." -- hard to believe unless you're trying to drive like a hooligan .... please - what environments did you feel like you're on ice in a warm environment? Seriously - I'd like to know ...

[marcvalme]

Studless Winter tires are great in ice and snow, but like you said they are horrible in the wet. In fact in europe, they are pushing an extra warning of the poor wet performance. If you wanted slightly better snow performance than an all weather tire, but not sacrifice too much wet performance. Look into performance winter tires, michellin PA4s for example. Great Video!

[eteric]

I have a Cayenne Turbo GT and run Nokian R5’s on the stock 22” wheels in MN. Tested other winter tires and nothing compares to the R5.

[jnrivers]

Similar to what you described, did some research and settled on the WRG4' for my 2WD Model S. Not a winter tire, but close, and drive able year round.
Granted I was living in Minnesota, but was getting by with other cars and all-seasons 'okay'.
First thing I noticed was how poorly they handled ice, snow was serviceable, but on the ice I had less traction than the Continental all-seasons I put on my other 2 cars.
The warmer months they seemed to do pretty well in the wet and dry, although I did notice after a couple seasons they started showing fine cracking (not as sever as yours) as if they were drying up. This winter I had enough, absolute death trap once the ice started.

Ended up getting a set of Crossclimate 2's like you were considering, and wow what a tire! So much traction in the snow, and even in the ice they still feel safe.
Hoping they wear decently year-round, only time will tell.

[NewyenMT]

I use them mainly as my "winter" set in Massachusetts since it doesn't snow crazy but it's nice to know they are snow rated and stop shorter than my UHP AS I use the other 3 seasons.

[bartofilms]

I think you are blaming the Nokian WR's for things that that are not their fault. That one tire may have been cut by road debris or vandalism. You could measure avg tred remaining and order a replacement tire shaved to match wear of the other 3. The Model S is very heavy, and if you run in Ludacris mode, you are over-stressing them. Go easy on them in spring / summer and you should be OK. Cheers.

[joninwv]

I had wrg4s on my Audi SQ5. EXCELLENT tire and superb traction all year round. Made driving in the snow a blast.

[frustratedalien]

Can't talk about Pittsburgh, but here in the Canadian Rockies, I haven't had any issues with the R5. Great in the snow, brilliant on ice, meh in slush. Dedicated snow tires shouldn't be used above a threshold temperature and usually don't come with any tread warranty due to that. I've used aggressive All Terrain tires in the snow and though they have the 3 peak mountain snow flake symbol, they are nowhere close to the snow tires when the temperature dips below -20 C or in the snow and ice

[timpmuldoon]

Ran 2-sets of Nokian WRG4 on Nissan thru 4Winters in Chicago great while new .. ran year round nice ride little to soft for Summer months.. Overall great Winter Tire
My 2 Vehicle now Cadillac XT5 & Nissan Sentra I put on Michelin Cross Climate 2… Can’t say enough Very Pleased with performance of tires..! Go with Michelin & I guarantee you won’t swapping season tires anymore..

[Poacher]

5:08 I noticed you don't have alot of sidewall with your setup, the sidewall of the tire is acting as a part of the suspension of the car in reality. The thing is if you hit a pothole hard enough on low profile tires you will damage the tire and possibly the wheel as well. Given the fact that EVs are heavier in general compared to fossil fuel vehicles its possible that a pothole is the culprit.
On the winter tire set up I would recommend a smaller wheel giving you a larger sidewall.

Road debris would cause a longitudal damage rather than a transverse damage due to the fact that the wheel is rotating. So I personally think that is an unlikely explanation for the damaged tire.

[victorpirsoul]

Hey there,

I’ve got the Nokian W4GR tyres on my vehicle and I haven’t had the same experience as you. Not saying you’re wrong, but I don’t feel any loss of control on warm, wet, roads. Also, I used to work for Goodyear and if you store your tires stacked up like that, that may be why the crack appeared in the sidewall. Go to any tire shop and you’ll see the tires are stored vertically, not horizontally. Hope you find an all round use tire that works better for you

[davewallace]

Tesla with the weight and the power will go through any tire you put on that car

[mercsr]

Teslas are known for powerful torque which could reduce traction or wear prematurely. As for lack of traction on warm wet roads, I'll have to take your word for it. I've had a few sets of Nokians ALL WEATHER and I find that very hot dry roads, the grip is not as good, but acceptable given the very good tire performance in deep snow, rain, ice, slush etc. I live in Northern Ontario, Canada where we get just about every type of weather possible. Nokian ALL WEATHER tires in Canada are sold by a retailer called Kaltire. Kaltire and Nokian offer to replace free of charge a Nokian tire which is deemed to be damaged or punctured or worn prematurely. If you haven't already done so, you may want to look into getting a replacement tire from your dealer. Nokians ALL WEATHERS for Teslas may not be appropriate but for Hondas like I drive, they are great!