Hi, I've been looking for winter tires to put on my Speed6 for some time now. I have a set of OEM Mazda 17" wheels. I seem to be fond of Nokians because they're one of the only tires I can find that doesn't turn into an all-season after about a year.
Anyway, I spoke to a couple of local dealers, most of which said the Nokian WR is a good tire to use. I'm a little wary about that because it is an all-season tire. When I spoke to another local dealer who is specifically a Nokian dealer and who is the self-proclaimed "huge tire fanatic" he mentioned that the WR is a waste of time for winter.
He mentioned that I should go with the Nokian Rsi. Unfortunately, the WR is the only tire Nokian makes in 215/50/17. If I wanted the Rsi, I'd have to either go with 205/50/17 or 215/55/17. I'd probably lean more towards the 205's. He said there should be no problem at all putting a 205 on the wheel.
He said the Rsi is a great tire and it will be good on ice until the last 1/32 of the tire but it'll begin to lose its snow grip around half of the tread being worn. Sidenote, with the Blizzak and other such winter tires, you get a different compound after approximately half the tread is worn. He also mentioned that you could wear trhough an Rsi in like 15k miles. I think I'd rather have something that lasted longer. He said Hakkapelliita 2's would last forever but I'd hate them.
By the way, he quoted me $175/tire mounted and balanced. Is that a little high? Is there anywhere to get the tires cheaper online somewhere? I might have a friend that can mount and balance them for me.
Any comments on what I should do about rubber for these bare wheels? Lookin to do something during the week. Some opinions would be much appreciated.
Jeff
