I bought Nokian Hakkapeliitta Q winter tires yesterday, 205's front and rear, and found the car to be more or less un-drivable. The difference from the summer tires is outright scary. The car is really loose, no grip for acceleration or turning, it sort of feels like driving on four stiff brushes that bends and gives, if you get my analogy. At speed the car "snakes" a bit and i need to make small corrections with the steering wheel.

Apparently these tires have a quite soft side wall for good comfort, and my guess is that this plus the dense siping of the tread pattern (making the tread soft too) is causing a problem in combination with the hard suspension of the S2000. Perhaps using the higher profile for the rear tires is bad too, a higher sidewall probably flexes more.

On recommendation from the Swedish Honda importer i will now change to Bridgestone Blizzak and see if that tire is better, it has a much stiffer side wall. I'll also go with the standard dimensions, 205/225 front/rear.

I'll post an update if there is any interest.

 

I'm definitely interested in hearing any results you may have.

Also, did you read the other posts about the rear tires actually being considerably wider than their printed size would indicate, while the fronts are narrower? Perhaps that's part of the problem here too.

Good luck on your next set, let us know how they work out.

 

Another thing i forgot to mention in favour of wider rear tires, using 205's on the rear rims leaves them quite unprotected. The side walls are not "bulging out" enough so there is an obvous risk of damage to the rims when parallell parking...

 

I remember years ago Hakkapalita's were some of the best snow tires you could get. I'm sorry to hear they aren't working out for you. Maybe one of the side walls is damaged?
Also they are made by NOKIA...The same company that makes the cell phones.

 

Thanks for the information and sorry those tires did not do the trick.

I am a big fan of Nokian NRW, an H rated tire which I have had great luck with on my Volvo 850R.

Nokian does not make a 225/50 16 in that compound and I went with Bridgestone LM 22.
The car is at the tire shop now having the installation done.

I have the sense that most Q rated tires run like jelly donuts and will provide an inferior experience relative to the S02s.

 

OK, i now have Blizzak tires (MZ01 though, not the sportier LM22's, i'm not ready to spend too much since this is temporary until i buy a second car anyway).

There is a major improvement! There is still not as much grip as i would like in the wet, but it's now "entertaining" and very controllable as opposed to the scary absence of grip with the Nokian tires. The car is also much more stable and doesn't "snake" or feel overly soft when making a course change. I think some mushiness must be accepted with these soft studless tires anyway. It also looks better with wide rear tires and the rims are protected.

I think i can recommend this tire (or even better the successor MZ02) for people that will take it easy through the winter. The sportier LM22 is probably to prefer in snow poor areas if you want to be able to drive a bit faster on dry roads and corner a bit closer to summer speeds.

clutchcargo, please give us your findings after trying the LM-22's!