Help for tyres - did I make a good choice?

[mrenglishman]

Hi all!

New forum member here, since I just discovered this awesome place. Let me jump right into the issue since I need your advice..

We own a 2004 Land Cruiser 120 (and we would never ever change it for anything else). I am resuming regular use of the car, as it had been mainly sitting in the garage for the past 2 years, with only some small occasional drives around the block. A full service is due, and I must get new tyres, since the ones that the car has right now are downright dangerous because of the wear.

From now on and in the foreseeable future, the car's use will basically be in the city and in the countryside for some long trips on highways and paved roads. HOWEVER, I'd give a 20% (at most...) for slight off-road use. That is mainly dirt roads, maybe some light snow, or on the beach etc. Have in mind that when driving on those terrains, it will be more of a "fun" and "easy" ride, rather than actual aggressive driving. The most "tough" situation that I can see could possibly be climbing some slightly steep hills at the mountain, since the era of "extreme" situations has long passed .

For the past few years, the car has a set of Cooper Discoverer ATR tyres, and I was very satisfied. In my search for a new set, my local tyre shop recommended hands-down (for the aforementioned use) the Nokian WR G2 SUV tyres (can't post link due to forum limitations :/). The guy literally went crazy over them (and no, he's not even an official dealer for Nokian), claiming that they are the single best All-Weather/All-Terrain tyres out there, and they have the complete "package". They also contribute to slightly lower fuel consumption (which I guess can offset their slightly higher cost compared to the Cooper ones or any other similar). Eventually the guy convinced me and we ordered them today.

Here is where I would like your advice: My online research indeed concludes that those are amazingly good tyres -- everyone is praising them with regards to performance in every weather condition. However, what do you guys believe regarding their performance in a general off-road setting, based on what I described above (and compared to the Cooper ATRs)?? Unfortunately, I did not find enough posts or comments online regarding actual off-road performance, so I can't form an opinion yet. Do you believe that they won't perform well or I will encounter any difficulties in this, mild, off-road use I described? Obviously, they are not "pure" city road tyres, but on the other hand they are not characterized as All-Terrain either. Also, do you feel that they will be more prone to wear with this use?

Waiting for your takes everyone! Thanks for reading and I apologize for the long post.

 

[chadr]

Welcome.

I must admit that Nokian aren't a brand that come to mind when I think of decent tyres for the kind of usage you describe. That's not to say they aren't any good.

If I was in your shoes, I would go with something like a Toyo Open Country HT or even AT if you feel the need for a bit more off road capability. However since you've already confirmed that most of the driving is on-road and the off-road driving you might do is pretty light, I would just go with the HT. It also depends if you want to take the extra hit (~5-10%) to fuel consumption using ATs.

Just my 2p worth.

 

[uHu]

Doesn't look like a good offroad tyre at all. But for dirt roads, it's probably very good. Might also be excellent for snow, depending on the rubber composition. The problem is that the best winter tyres have a very soft rubber compound which might be outright dangerous on hot summer days if you push the limits when it comes to curves and braking. Looks like a typical winter tyre for road use.
https://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11955&group=2.01&name=Nokian+WRG2+SUV

 

[silvercruiser]

I would say that your tyre fitter has given you a pretty good all round tyre that's not going to eat your MPG,

 

[AndyCook]

That tyrehas loads of sipes - i e. Looks like a winter tyre?

 

[mrenglishman]

Thanks for the warm welcome and the replies all!

From what I understand, Nokian traditionally makes really good winter tyres. So, I guess they applied some of this "influence" on these specific All-Weather/All-Season (that's how they categorize them) tyres. The reviews floating around comment on the superb performance on dry AND wet surface, especially when there's slush on the terrain. In my country, we do not usually have really long or rough winters with regular snowfall or icy roads in the mainland, compared to some of the countryside where indeed the situation is a little bit more harsh (e.g. on a ski or mountain trip). We do have high temperatures in the summer though, and that's why I decided to go for an all-around tyre.

I don't know where exactly "real" off-road begins and dirt-road stops to be honest. As I said, I will be doing a little bit of everything off-road in this 20% of the time that I will be actually off a typical city road or highway environment. The Cooper ATR served me great all those years, although I did not really "kill them" off-road. That said, my main concern is if those Nokian tyres will do their job in the mild off-road excursions I will be taking the car at. Dirt-roads, maybe some of them a little bit muddy, maybe some beach/sand or some hill climbing. uHu provided a link to the tyre specs a couple of posts above -- thanks for that.

In about 10 days my tyre guy will have the tyres delivered and fitted so I will be able to comment more. In the meantime, I'd appreciate more opinions from anyone!

 

[uHu]

... In my country, we do not usually have really long or rough winters with regular snowfall or icy roads in the mainland, compared to some of the countryside where indeed the situation is a little bit more harsh (e.g. on a ski or mountain trip). We do have high temperatures in the summer though, and that's why I decided to go for an all-around tyre.....

Where is "My Country"?
A signature line and location would be welcome.

 

[lc 120]

I think you will find he is living in Greece as he put the same post on the other forum....

 

[mrenglishman]

Yes, indeed, sorry for omitting to update my profile. Greece it is. Hot summers (around 35-38o C) and winters ranging from 2-15o C close to Athens and lower as you move northern.

 

[Graham]

That is definitely serious WINTER snow and ice looking tyre.

Gra

 

[majic79]

I lived in Cyprus for a few years and have visited Greece a couple of times, I would have thought those tyres are a bit more "Northern" oriented than you need. I'd probably look at HT (Hard Terrain) type tyres instead of AT (All Terrain), given the amount of on/offroading you refer to. These will usually have a tread pattern for good water clearance on tarmac, and will generally give lower fuel consumption than the AT type. If you find that HT's and 4x4 leave you stranded, no matter what you do, then AT's are probably justified.

 

[mrenglishman]

From what I understand, those are a variation of your typical HT tyre.

On a related note, what do you have to say for the Nokians with regards to wear and tear in the conditions I described above?

 

[majic79]

Can't say much about Nokians specifically, but I often use M+S marked snow tyres in the winter months on my road rally car, they do the job well at low temperatures (zero celsius and lower) and in dry/damp/ice conditions. On the same car, the same winter tyres melted when driven hard on tarmac on a dry day (took off nearly 2mm of tread on a 20 mile round trip), temperatures around 5 celsius, I only use them in the summer if the tread is low and I want to replace them quick (e.g. I know that I will wear them down quick in the summer)