Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 or Sottozero 3?

[acarney]

Finally got my hands on an extra set of aero wheels and now I'm trying to decide between these two wheels. TireRack lists the Sottozero's at 31 (!) pounds each, while the Hakka R3's are like ~24 pounds each.

I don't like that there are not direct head to head tire tests with the R3's, just a lot of puff from "reviewers" that were invited by Nokian to test them (of course the tires are going to be great when Nokian shows them off). I like that the Sottozero was actually reviewed with hard data (stopping distance on snow and ice, track time, etc) by the same company and in almost the same car that tests Bridgestone Blizzaks and xIce tires...

I also like that the Sottozero are direct OE Tesla tires with the acoustic foam, though I'm honestly not sure if it really does much...

My area often sees very cold temps, 10 to 30F frequently for two to three months a year. We don't handle snow well around here, so side streets are almost never taken care of and it's not uncommon for snow to be on them for a few days before the city gets around to it. Maybe ten "bad" snowy days a year and a handful of light snow/ice warnings. We get a lot of changing conditions; deep cold (20F) at night and 40F in the day, so the snow will melt some and then freeze solid at night.

I have a RWD SR+ and usually don't need to do freeway driving, but if I'm heading out of town during the winter is always an option.

Hakka's or Sottozero 3s? The Hakka's are a few bucks a tire cheaper (I think like $15 or so).

 

[Phlier]

I can't answer your question, but this is a pretty darn good resource. Here's the source of that chart.

 

[acarney]

I can't answer your question, but this is a pretty darn good resource. Here's the source of that chart.

Ya, I always worry about those charts since they're user inputs. If you went from the standard all seasons that came with your model 3 to the Hakka's you might think they're the best tire in the world... but maybe they stop 10 feet further on ice then the Sottozeros?

I just can't find any good tests of the Hakka's, just reviews of "wow they took us up north and the tires felt amazing!"

 

[Phlier]

wow they took us up north and the tires felt amazing

OMG, yes. Not enough hands to facepalm appropriately at those "reviews."

 

[jerry33]

I use Nokian WR-G3 for conditions like that (now G4). Where I live, what we generally have are ice days. The OE tires are not acceptable for that, but the WRs work just fine, and they don't melt on the warm days.

 

[KG2V]

You have a mail order source for the Hackas and rims? I'm looking. I used to run the WRGs on my wife's old car (couldn't get them last tire replacement) Tirerack doesn't sell them, and it is a PITA to order rims and TPMS one place, and tires elsewhere, and have to go for mount and balance

 

[intelligator]

I use Nokian WR-G3 for conditions like that (now G4). Where I live, what we generally have are ice days. The OE tires are not acceptable for that, but the WRs work just fine, and they don't melt on the warm days.

+1

I am located in NJ and used the WR-G4 mounted on the 18" aero wheels this past winter, they are excellent. The R3 are beyond what I need for the conditions I typically face. I will swap out the Conti's on 19" sport wheels for the WR-G4 once the temps come down to and stay below or around the 40's and keep them on until April or when the temps come back up above the 40's. I don't have the specs handy but found that the weight of the tire is similar to the tire mounted to the Michelin MXM4 and were less than $600 shipped last fall. I estimate they will last me 4-5 winters - easy swap out as the seasons change.

UPDATE: Here's the specs I based my decision on. You should look for updates, if the compund changed at all...

Which Snows and Why Poll?

 

[acarney]

You have a mail order source for the Hackas and rims? I'm looking. I used to run the WRGs on my wife's old car (couldn't get them last tire replacement) Tirerack doesn't sell them, and it is a PITA to order rims and TPMS one place, and tires elsewhere, and have to go for mount and balance

Nope, I sat on order with Tesla for wheels and TPMS for about 5 weeks before cancelling and buying from someone here willing to sell theirs. I basically paid the same price as I would have paid for the wheels from Tesla (once I factored in the shipping here) but thankfully this guy took his off like a day after he got his car, so hopefully they'll be perfect.

Then if I decide to get the Hakkas I'll order them online. I'll be in Seattle in a couple weeks and the service center said I could just swing by and pick up 4 TPMS for $75 each... so once I have all those I'll get them mounted locally.

Just need to decide which tires to order...

 

[Nosken]

I'm driving a Model S and had the Tesla OEM Sottozero 2's for 2 winters. Not sure about the #3 version. They were fine tires, but they were very loud. It seemed to be tread noise. I know nothing about the Hakkas. I have some Continentals now, and the are MUCH quieter.

 

[camalaio]

The Sottozero is a performance winter tire. The Nokian is not.

Performance winter tires are designed for cold conditions, some dry pavement, some wet pavement, and some more mild ice and snow. They're good "most of the time", and will wear less if you drive hard in dry, cold conditions.

The Nokian is a more classic winter tire, designed for cold, snow, and ice. It is expected that it will perform better in worse winter conditions, but is a softer tire that you need to try not to run on hot temperatures or high stress (fast cornering) or you'll experience increased wear. They might also be a bit noisier in comparison.

I have the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3. The noise is increased over stock rubber, but nothing I don't expect from switching to winter tires.

 

[usofrob]

The Sottozero is a performance winter tire. The Nokian is not.

This! is probably the most significant difference. I put some studless snow and ice tires on my cars before, and I won't do that again. There is too much tire squirm for me. But, for my wife's Model S, we put on the Nokian WR-G3 (or 4), and they're fine. They're more of an all season tire that's snow rated. They call it an all-weather tire. But, I would never put that on my Model 3 performance. I'd prefer to have two sets of wheels/tires for summer and winter. The Sottozero 3's I have on the Model 3 are pretty good for SE Michigan, where we don't tend to get super deep snow, it's mostly dry, wet, slushy, moderate snow (4-6" max). Anything the car in front of me can go through, I can go through with more stability. But, it may not take me through unplowed 12" packed snow (like I did with my studless snow/ice tires on my Subaru).

 

[KG2V]

Well, then there is the R9 - Studs rule in really ICY stuff

 

[RayCanuck]

I rarely push my car in the summer let alone the winter...
I opted for the R3's similar winter as you describe but added jaunt to the ski resort and over the Rockies a few times a winter.
I want the best grip in snow not the best cold dry road performance...

 

[KG2V]

I rarely push my car in the summer let alone the winter...
I opted for the R3's similar winter as you describe but added jaunt to the ski resort and over the Rockies a few times a winter.
I want the best grip in snow not the best cold dry road performance...

Ditto. I'm one of those Tesla guys you see doing MAYBE 5 over like I was driving a civic or an accord. Think is, we sometimes get some nasty snow storms - Last Nov we got 8+ before the plows were ready for the season, and getting home in my 4x4 pickup was enough fun. My problem is I can't find someone selling R3s and rims at a reasonable price. At least I can get icex3s , but still not sure about them. I may end up ordereing rims and TPMS sensors, and then taking them to my semi-local dealer of Nokian tires (hard to get in the NYC area)

 

[coleAK]

I’m in Alaska and Nokian is our top winter tire brand up here. I put Hakka 9’s on our LR AWD last fall and they are amazing. I have Hakka 5, 6, and 7 on our other vehicles and I’ll be getting another set of Hakka 9’s to replace a set of Hakka 4 that we used for 8 winters on our MB 4matic E.

I’ll add though we don’t salt the roads so most winters drive on ice and packed out snow 6 months of the year.

 

[mswlogo]

Finally got my hands on an extra set of aero wheels and now I'm trying to decide between these two wheels. TireRack lists the Sottozero's at 31 (!) pounds each, while the Hakka R3's are like ~24 pounds each.

I don't like that there are not direct head to head tire tests with the R3's, just a lot of puff from "reviewers" that were invited by Nokian to test them (of course the tires are going to be great when Nokian shows them off). I like that the Sottozero was actually reviewed with hard data (stopping distance on snow and ice, track time, etc) by the same company and in almost the same car that tests Bridgestone Blizzaks and xIce tires...

I also like that the Sottozero are direct OE Tesla tires with the acoustic foam, though I'm honestly not sure if it really does much...

My area often sees very cold temps, 10 to 30F frequently for two to three months a year. We don't handle snow well around here, so side streets are almost never taken care of and it's not uncommon for snow to be on them for a few days before the city gets around to it. Maybe ten "bad" snowy days a year and a handful of light snow/ice warnings. We get a lot of changing conditions; deep cold (20F) at night and 40F in the day, so the snow will melt some and then freeze solid at night.

I have a RWD SR+ and usually don't need to do freeway driving, but if I'm heading out of town during the winter is always an option.

Hakka's or Sottozero 3s? The Hakka's are a few bucks a tire cheaper (I think like $15 or so).

You might like this poll.

Which Snows and Why Poll?

Acoustic foam is nothing but an annoyance. Xi3's are quieter than Primacy with no foam. R3's are great but they will be a little noisy.

There is no one perfect snow tire, it depends on what is important to you.

I wouldn't worry about the weight differences. I'd also not trust the weights are accurate unless they came from the manufacturer for that exact size tire.

Deep Cold == 20F (That's funny).

 

[acarney]

Deep Cold == 20F (That's funny).

Well I know there's a huge amount of SoCal people with the Model 3s... I didn't want them to think I would only be running them in 40 to 50F with a few dips down with snow every now and then

 

[mswlogo]

Well I know there's a huge amount of SoCal people with the Model 3s... I didn't want them to think I would only be running them in 40 to 50F with a few dips down with snow every now and then

-20F is Deep cold for us. 20F is Carwash day in the middle of winter.

 

[acarney]

-20F is Deep cold for us. 20F is Carwash day in the middle of winter.

Ya ya, but SoCal guys would think you were on a different planet

 

[Juanpelota]

on our model 3, we blew out two sottozero 3 sidewalls last winter. They are way too thin for winter driving and commensurate potholes. On our Y we are going with the Hakkas...