alpine4

Going to be purchasing snow tires for A3, I hear the Nokian Hakkapelitta are the best out there. Anyone have experience with them? Blizzak are a contender too. My commute is up and over Teton pass 5 days a week.

cad.guy

I have done allot of research and have found the Nokian's to be the best of the best. Being able to stud a winter tire gives a huge advantage over the un-studdable blizzaks (and other direct competitors).
I have also heard/read that the Michelin x-ice xi3's last allot longer than blizzaks, and handle as good, if not better. I tried the general altimax 12's, studded- and they were okay. I will be buying a set of nokian studded tires this year though.

Good luck to you and your tire shopping!

alpine4

Thanks going with the Hakka's. Not going to stud mine, I hear they grip awesome without studs.

cad.guy

I think you'll be very happy with nokians.
I would stud if you have ice/black ice (not sure of how the weather is there).

They have different shaped studs as well, so wont effect the on road performance as much, and better grip than traditional cone/round.

Either way, you'll be a tank in the winter.

mhblaw

I have Nokian HP R2's on my 2018 RS5, this will be the second winter on the tires and am very satisfied.

alpine4

Nice glad to hear that. I pulled the trigger on Hakka 8 with no studs. I figure since it’s a TDI the motor I have enough weight not to warrant studs. Can wait to put them through their paces.

Jonohio

I love my Hakka 7s with studs. I’ll never go studless in winter.

alpine4

Update: Been using the Hakkapeliitta 8 for about two weeks now. Last week we had some gnarly slick roads up and over Teton Pass, WY. Tires did awesome, fair amount of ice and some snow. Lost grip a few time but tires then found grip and kept rolling. Studs would have been better but studdless had little troubles. Awesome tire! Bare in mind Teton pass is 10% grade both ways and I drive it 5 days a week. Tires will be put to the test all winter, looking forward to see how they perform.

Sixmile

I've had all three brands if not the same models (Hakka R2's, Michelin xIce, and currently the most recent Bizzaks, the WS90's). All three would do a great job. None of these are studdable but we live in Upstate NY where we get lots of snow but not as frequent icing. Even on ice, these tires do a good job. We had studded tires years ago and they tore up our garage floor without a marked benefit on the road. But you see (and hear) a lot of studded tires around here. The current Blizzaks are the first I've had and are on both of our cars, an A5Q Sportback and a Golf R. Not sure how they would compare to the current Michelins but they seem to be comparable to the previous Nokians on the R and superior to the Micheilins we had in the past on several Audi's and a couple of all wheel drive VW's. The Michelins were almost like all seasons. They drove very well on dry pavement and, of course were still a great snow tire. But where we live, I'm most interested in a hard core snow tire with snow and ice performance paramount. Using those criteria, I'm very impressed with the Blizzaks so far. The Nokians and the Michelins would also do well too. The main area where the Michelins didn't seem to do as well as the Nokians or Blizzaks was on slush. I always replace our snow's when they hit 5/32 regardless of brand.

You'll be very happy with the Hakka's as you would with the Blizzaks or the Michelins. All three would keep you on most roads. I'm sure you'll know that even the stickiest state of the art tires can't negate the laws of physics.

All the best and have a great winter,

Jay

alpine4

Tires have been bad ***, they are quite and roll and grip through ice with ease.
Now looking for a performance all season tire. I would go all performance, but going up and over a pass snow will sometimes present it self into June. I have a set of Continental contiprocontact so far not impressed with them, they came with the car. They are loud, don't hold at all in snow and feel like they are going to roll of the rim at high speed cornering. They do alright in the wet. I am looking at replacing them with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+. Anyone running them? If so what are your thoughts? Looking for other options as well.