A review of my Nokian WRG2 tires

When I got my new job back in October, I knew that the 15 years I had gotten by in Calgary on all-season radial tires were over. With a 40+km drive each way to work, via wide open prairie highway and a history of white-outs on said highway, I knew I would need better tires to succeed in my commute through the winter.

I compromised and bought a set of Nokian WRG2 all-weather tires. For those unfamiliar with Nokian, they make tires that are about 80% as effective as full blown snow tires, while also being suited to stay on your vehicle all year round. a Look at the tread makes it obvious that these are not your run-of-the-mill all season tires. I did my research and liked what I was seeing, so I took the plunge and tried them out. So far, I am very happy that I made this decision. The tires perform extremely well on our crappy roads considering that they are not de-facto snow tires. I make my commute with an extra degree of confidence.

There are drawbacks of course. These tires are only guaranteed for 50,000km, versus the 80,000 my stock tires were good for. They are a bit noisier, but that doesn't bother me. I also notice that due to the tread pattern, the car doesn't quite hold a straight line as easily as with an all-season tire. It's not all over the place, but you can definitely feel a bit of softer steering.