Vee Rubber City Star tires

[Cobrajet]

I wouldn't hesitate to use the tires Cobrajet bought, but they are considered old already.

Yep. Nokian is on the Hakkapeliitta 9 now!


Fun Fact #2: "Hakkapeliitta" is a historical Finnish term for 'cavalryman'.

[Dark Magenta]

This past spring I went to Tires-Easy and bought some super-duper-closeout Nokian Hakkepellita 7s with studs...in 155/70-14! I think they were about $45 each with free shipping...crazy deal for Hakkepellitas.

I had no idea that size existed! These tires are date-coded to late 2012, but they look to have been stored properly and will be used at lower in-town speeds. They also look like they will be awesome in the snow.

I so very wanted the non-studded version, but I waited too long. Yup, they were phasing them out (selling their old stock) at an amazing price several months ago. ...Now that I can afford them, only the studded is available...not in MN! I thought I had heard less than pleasant reports about Nokian's Nordman, and had heard great things about the Hakkapeliitta. My local Discount Tire said their next big sale will be around Black Friday (end of November), so I've got lots of time to find a potentially better deal. Shopping around is free; buying is my problem.

[Cobrajet]

I so very wanted the non-studded version, but I waited too long. Yup, they were phasing them out (selling their old stock) at an amazing price several months ago. ...Now that I can afford them, only the studded is available...not in MN! I thought I had heard less than pleasant reports about Nokian's Nordman, and had heard great things about the Hakkapeliitta. My local Discount Tire said their next big sale will be around Black Friday (end of November), so I've got lots of time to find a potentially better deal. Shopping around is free; buying is my problem.

I always check Discount Tire around Black Friday...even when I don't need tires. The deals to be had are often that good.

I can run studs around here from November 1st to March 15th. I usually don't install the winter tires until the weather makes me NEED them. Sometimes, that never happens and I wind up running all-season tires, well...all season. But once the snow tires are on they stay on until the calendar says it's time to take them off. Man, I sure needed the winter rubber last year!

That being said, the studs on the Hakkapeliittas are different than normal studs. They almost seem to be a two-piece retractable sort of design?

[Dark Magenta]

The Nokian Hakkepellita 7s with studs are...old. But for that price, and hearing that they were probably stored correctly, are they worth it? Retractable? Does that mean removable? Would they sell them to me in MN if I promise to remove them? For that price would it be worth the effort? With Eibach springs enabling me to hide them better (by about an inch?) I would be tempted to "accidentally" leave the the least visible ones.

[benwerks]

in Colorado you'll hear people driving around all year with their studded snow tires on

[Mark]

The Nokian Hakkepellita 7s with studs are...old. But for that price, and hearing that they were probably stored correctly, are they worth it? Retractable? Does that mean removable? Would they sell them to me in MN if I promise to remove them? For that price would it be worth the effort? With Eibach springs enabling me to hide them better (by about an inch?) I would be tempted to "accidentally" leave the the least visible ones.

This is the stud design Cobrajet is referring to -

https://www.nokiantires.com/innovati...tud-8-concept/

The studs have a spring loaded inner core.

[Mark]

I always check Discount Tire around Black Friday...even when I don't need tires. The deals to be had are often that good.

Have you ever seen a time when Discount Tire carried a selection of 165/65-14 tires? The few times I have checked them it's been one choice (usually BRIDGESTONE POTENZA RE92) or none.

Simpletire.com seems to always have the largest selection of 165/65-14 tires available most of the time, but they carry some I would be very leery of.

Tires-easy.com & Tirerack.com seem to carry a handful of choices year round. Walmart is the about the same, except what they carry changes drastically & often.

[Mark]

I so very wanted the non-studded version, but I waited too long. Yup, they were phasing them out (selling their old stock) at an amazing price several months ago. ...Now that I can afford them, only the studded is available...not in MN! I thought I had heard less than pleasant reports about Nokian's Nordman, and had heard great things about the Hakkapeliitta. My local Discount Tire said their next big sale will be around Black Friday (end of November), so I've got lots of time to find a potentially better deal. Shopping around is free; buying is my problem.

I wouldn't lose sleep over missing out on a deal when the tires on sale may be 8 years old already.

Just a fyi for all - Ten states prohibit studded snow tires: Alabama, Texas, Florida, Maryland (exception five mountain counties), Louisiana, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi and Wisconsin. ... Seven states allow unrestricted use of studded tires: Colorado, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Kentucky, New Mexico, Vermont and Wyoming.

Can you travel through Wisconsin & Minnesota with your studded tires? YES If they are legal in your state, you may travel on Minnesota/Wisconsin roads with your studded tires.

Living Wisconsin, I have used a pair 165/65r14 non-studded Nokian Nordman 7 up front the past two winters.

Positives
* Available studded or non-studded in a 165/65r14 tire size. This may be the only studded tire available in that size.
* Fairly quiet for a snow tire.
* Seem to wear well.
* Handling on clear winter roads remains quite good. Studs on clear dry roads will decrease your traction. Put on football cleats and try running down a dry road.

Negatives
* Winter traction is good, but not as good as I thought it would be. Subjective on my part.
* Directional tires limits your ability to rotate tires.

I can't say that I am totally unhappy with the Nokian Nordman 7 snow tires, but I wouldn't hesitate to suggest the Dunlop Winter Maxx 2 instead. Even though the Winter Maxx 2 tires are asymmetrical, that doesn't prohibit normal tire rotations in any way. I suspect the Winter Maxx 2 may run a little louder than the Nokian tires without studs, but I am speculating on that. It would be interesting to compare the two winter tires on two Mirages side-by-side.

[Eggman]

Just a fyi for all - Ten states prohibit studded snow tires: Alabama, Texas, Florida, Maryland (exception five mountain counties), Louisiana, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi and Wisconsin. ... Seven states allow unrestricted use of studded tires: Colorado, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Kentucky, New Mexico, Vermont and Wyoming.

Can you travel through Wisconsin & Minnesota with your studded tires? YES If they are legal in your state, you may travel on Minnesota/Wisconsin roads with your studded tires.

Hey Mark, where did you get this from?

[Mark]

Hey Mark, where did you get this from?

I googled if it's legal to have studded tires while visiting Minnesota & Wisconsin.