High wear on Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5?

[davider]

I was just swapping my Summer tires out for Winters.. I've got a split set of two Nokian R3s from when I purchased the car, and two R5s I purchased earlier this year after I was in an accident and two of the R3s were damaged. The R5s now have ~4k miles on them, and I measured the tread depth, and it was only 7/32s! I checked the stock spec, and they should roll out of the factory with 10.5... and for comparison, my two R3s that have now got 4 seasons on them are measuring ~5.8. Full alignment on the vehicle was done when the R5s were put on, pressures checked and maintained, no abnormal driving, etc.

Has anyone else seen crazy wear like this on R5s? I'm wondering if they have some totally different compound formulation than the R3s or what could be going on. Thanks!

 

[BigNick]

I've never owned those specific Nokians, but in general the softer compound of winter tires will wear out much more quickly when used on dry roads. (Blizzaks are probably the worst for this.)

I had a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 (non-studded) tires, 235/50R18XL with a 101R load/speed rating on a relatively new Impala for Winter a few years back and they went from new to only having the "6 4" showing on their "8 6 4" treadwear stamps in just one winter where it was mostly dry or wet, very little snow.

Your 3 is heavier than an Impala. It makes sense that it would wear out winter tires quickly especially if they were driven in dry conditions a lot.