Nokian Hakka R3 vs Blizzaks WS90

Doubt you'll find anyone with experience with the WS90's. They just came out so nobody would have run them through a winter yet.

I have a set of WS80's, this will be my 3rd winter on them and they still have a lot of tread left. Doing about 20K a year on that vehicle. I think people's claims of them wearing down super fast are a bit overblown. They don't seem to wear any faster than any of the other winter tire brands I've tried.

I used to have Continental SI Winter tires and they were great, they perform the same as the Blizzak ws80s from what I was reading last winter. Last winter I decided to spend the extra money and buy the nokian hakkapeliitta r3 winter tires. I did find them to be slightly better then the Continental SI tires, a little better turning grip, a little bit better grip when starting from a stop and same goes fro braking. Its not a big difference but a slight difference if I'm able to notice it.

Now I cant comment on the WS90's but if they are better then the WS80's then they are likely closing that gap vs the Nokian R3 tires. But as you mentioned we dont know how long both tires will wear with regular use.

I was just reading up on the WS90's and Bridgestone does actually claim these will last 1 extra season compared to WS80's. Take that as you will as it's coming directly from the manufacurer.

https://www.bridgestonetire.ca/tire/blizzak-ws90

Assuming tires are only used in the winter season which is defined as approximately from mid-October to mid-April (6 months for very cold regions) and that an average user would go about 2 000 km per month, the Bridgestone Blizzak™ WS90 would last an extra winter season vs. the Bridgestone Blizzak™ WS80 tire.

I went with the WS90's. Had no experience with other tires but since I bought it at Costco I got $70 cash card and free installation which was a good deal.

It obviously would have to be an improvement over the WS80's, at least from a wear perspective.

TheTall wrote: ↑ Doubt you'll find anyone with experience with the WS90's. They just came out so nobody would have run them through a winter yet.

I have a set of WS80's, this will be my 3rd winter on them and they still have a lot of tread left. Doing about 20K a year on that vehicle. I think people's claims of them wearing down super fast are a bit overblown. They don't seem to wear any faster than any of the other winter tire brands I've tried.

I wouldn't say they wear faster , but I would rather have 7/32 left on X-ice than Blizzaks. I put 5 years on one set of WS80s on a Subaru and at 6/32 they have very little grip left. I did not have same issue with X-ice on other vehicle, but in cold, icy conditions I would take the Blizzaks, which is why I ordered the WS90s. The Blizzaks also handled deep snow better, which is good in Edmonton where they don't plow sidestreets.

I find the Conti's super quiet and last a long time, but the grip on ice was OK. The WS80's were awesome for the first season for me. For the second season they weren't that grippy, but I put a lot of miles on them. The Nokians were great too, about as good as the Bridgestones, but again didn't last very long as they were very soft to start with.

I drive my car like a go cart, so I'm a little hard on my car and I put on a ton of miles. I've only ever really slid badly on WS80 (but the tires should have been replaced, I just didn't know any better and the tire shop didn't tell me) and I slid badly on the Conti's but I slammed on the brakes to avoid an accident so they did stop but I wasn't expecting them to slide as they did. Again, the problem is probably me and my driving style and not so much the tires, but I had Nokian 1's and they were friggin amazing.

I see ws80s being sold online at discount at several places. Worth the deal, with the risk of getting an old tire?

mr_raider wrote: ↑ I see ws80s being sold online at discount at several places. Worth the deal, with the risk of getting an old tire?

Well those tires have been probably sitting there for some time so you lose some life out of it (though you can always check the manufacturing date yourself). That's about it tbh - it's not a bad option to go with it at all given the discount.

Had blizzak and seem to be great for normal winters with thaw and unthaw periods. But the hakkas are my favourite as it does not pull, ice driving is excellent and so is stopping. The natural rubbers on these never get hard and are grippy as hell. In winter I drive the same as if it was summer with the hakkas. One downfall with hakkas are that they are a bit spongy on warmer winter days. Nokian are my choice if most of your winters are sub zero.