Nokian Nordman 7 Winter Tires (Non-Studded)

[WI_Mirage]

I've ordered through Walmart for the Federals and they shipped from giga-tire with the shipping labels and everything but since I purchased them from Walmart mounting and balancing was cheap cheap cheap. Just took the tires in with my Walmart receipt, no problem.

Well f*ck me! I should've done the exact same thing. At least I know now for the future!

[WI_Mirage]

175/65r15 (24") is big for a Mirage, & the factory size 175/55r15 (22.6") tires have very limited in choices. Just to clarify all this - a 175/65r14 (23") would be a better alternative tire match for a Mirage.

I mixed my wheels up. Still new to this Mirage/car research! The wheels I was referencing are the 185-55-15 or the 185-60-15 (from this thread and this thread).

The reason being is because I want something that has more stability on highway speeds in the warm seasons. Next year I am planning on ghetto-strapping a whitewater kayak to the roof and going on some trips. On the standard 165s I've had gusts of wind slap me harder than a drunk high-school crush with a broken heart. But, if you think that the 175s on 14" rims would do just as well, then I'd rather save the money buying the smaller tires and rims!

I would stick with the 14" rims you have & not second guess the purchase of the Federal SS657 tires. I prefer the Federal SS657 tires over the Dunlop Enasave tires, and Federal tires are about 1/3 the cost. I currently have a pair Dunlop & Federal tires on my Mirage.

I only wish I had gotten 175s, not 165s.

I live in the the driftless area of SW Wisconsin myself, & I have to climb snow covered ridge roads in the winter to get home. I learned many years ago, a skinny tire on a small lightweight FWD car will do quite well climbing snow covered ridge roads. Likewise, a wider tire will have the opposite effect. Thus, I would not go any wider than 165 tires for the Mirage.

Greetings fellow cheese head! Had no intention of going wider than 165 for winter tires, will definitely be staying at this size for winter.

Unless you have a local mechanic who will mount/balance tires, I wouldn't hesitate to use Walmart if the price is right.

I'll have to call around and get some prices from smaller guys, and Walmart too. I'm in Madison, if you happen to have any recommendations.

I bought a pair of steel rims ($50/rim with free shipping) from onlywheels.com three years ago. I mounted the Nokian Nordman 7 to them, & they have been my front winter tires the past three winters. I realize using 4 dedicated snow tires is better, but I haven't had any issue with Federal tires being in the rear the past two winters.

What's the worst conditions you have driven with this setup? I will be driving from Madison to Mount Horeb probably twice a week in the winter. Mount Horeb is very hilly. And possibly driving further up north to Cascade Mountain/Devil's Head/Granite Peak.

[WI_Mirage]

If I had to do it over, I probably would have gone with Vredestein Quatrac 5 on the "fancy" rims and kept the Enasaves on the steel wheels for emergency back-up. As it is, both sets have plenty of tread on them, so I'll just keep reading on other people's experiences for another couple of years.

What are fancy rims?? I'd like to get a second set of rims for a second set of wheels (one for warm, one for winter). But I don't know what fancy would be considered for 14" rims. Any recommendations on rims would be appreciated, fancy or budget.

[WI_Mirage]

Even though I don't own a pair yet, I suspect the Vredestein Quatrac 5 would be decent in the winter (especially when newer). Once they wear down some, they could be used up during the summer months. I see myself headed that direction myself some day. Overall, the Quatrac 5 reviews seem pretty good.

I can't find a Quatrac 5 in 165/65/14 for sale online.
- https://www.discounttirezone.com/Vre...T_p_10912.html
- https://www.tires-easy.com/165-65-14.../8714692316401
- https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...rom=selectSize

In my case, I have an AWD Subaru for the nasty winter days. Thus, I am not overly concerned about my Mirage having the best snow tires on the market.

A manual Outback will be my upgrade after this car. How do you like yours? I can't wait to get mine in the future. I plan on doing something like this so that I can travel and work out out of the car full-time.

I would use your Federal SS657 tires & eventually consider a second set of wheels with Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires mounted on them for the winter months. Your SS657 summer tires (April-November/8 months) will probably wear out faster than the Quatrac 5 tires (December- March/4 months).

When it comes time to replace the worn down Federal SS675 tires, you can get another new set of Quatrac 5 (if you have been happy with them). Your 1st set of Quatrac 5 tires can then become your summer tires, and your 2nd set of Quatrac 5 tires will become your new set of winter tires.

The nice thing about an arrangement like this - You can take care of your tire rotations when changing the sets of tires each spring & fall. Your tires wear evenly, and you are always using newer threads during the winter months. Likewise, you are using up older tires during the summer months. I feel this is the best use of tires for those of us that have to deal with snow/ice conditions.

I do really like this idea. However, I can't find any Quatrac 5's in the 165/65/14 size. I also would not mind getting a second set of 14" rims for the Nokian Nordman 7s. But running these during the summer months after they've been "winter worn", would that work? Or would I just run them during the winter, and only winter? Or maybe using the Dunlops instead?

Depending on where you live in Wisconsin, I could help clone the 2nd set of wheels to your current set of wheels. All it would cost you is the price of the new sensors. I recently bought the Autel tool to do this, & it would take less than 15 minutes. The tool records/stores all 4 codes on your car, & then you clone a new sensor to each individual code. It could be done in a parking lot anywhere.

Wow, you're awesome! I'm in Madison. Even if it doesn't work out, you rock for suggesting this. Would you mind explaining to me what the sensors are for? Are these the TPMS things? Not exactly sure what they are.

[Mark]

There is a lot to unpack in this thread, & I tend to say too much!

14" rims - 175/65r14 will give you more options than 165/65r14 (22.4") factory size tires.
15" rims - 185/55r15 will give you more options than 175/55r15 (22.6") factory size tires.
175/65r14 & 185/55r15 are the same 23" diameter (slightly larger than factory size).

If you want a slightly wider tire, the 175/65r14 can accomplish that with 14" rims. If you find some 15" rims you like, that's always an option, too. It comes down to what you want. If I can't keep my Mirage on the road with 165/65r14 tires, I may need to re-examine my driving. That's how I feel about it all at least.

As far as improving stability on the interstate goes, I would check out the threads on rear sway bars. I have a 1st edition Daox rear sway bar. If I bought a second Mirage today, I would be ordering another sway bar tomorrow. I was not all that optimistic about adding a sway bar, but I wouldn't leave home without it now! Thank you Daox!

165/65r14 Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires were carried by tirerack.com for quite some time. My hope is they will reappear again soon. These tires come from Europe, & the pandemic has made the world a bit of a mess. I have to believe these tires will be available again in the future.

As far as being a bit bummed about the 165/65r14 Federal purchase - the narrower tires may have a slight mpg advantage over the same tires in a 175/65r14 size. 175/65r14 tires allow a person to consider a lot of tire options. Many American tire companies carry that size. If a person isn't happy with 165/65r14 tire choices, 175/65r14 is a good place to start (no need to change rims).

I explored tire options before buying a Mirage. The strange tire size was a bit of a concerned at first. That may seem odd on my part, but I owned a car with 12" tires for 14 years. Thus, I'd learned something about odd tire sizes. I soon realized that it's not that big of an issue for a Mirage. Plus, more 165/65r14 tire options have appeared in the past couple years.

When I mentioned tire sensors, they are a part of your TPMS. I don't have sensors in my snow tires. My TPMS dash light is on during the winter months on both my Mirage & Forester. I have cloned sensors ready to install for this coming winter. The cloned sensors match the factory sensors on both vehicles. I paid about $120 for the Autel TS408 tool that can do this for me.

If you don't use cloned sensors, you would have to reprogram your TPMS in your car every time you change tire sets. I have zero interest in doing that.

Climbing hills is a part of where I live. People with crappy tires don't make it up them in the winter time. I've watched a snow plow truck not able to keep his plow on the road from the front window of my house. They go back, turn the dump truck with snow plow around, & then back down the hill dropping sand as they go. I've pulled my dad's Impala up the hill with a my ATV with chains, because he couldn't make it up the hill. And that's the small hill near my house on the top of the ridge. The road climbing the ridge is much worst. I've helped stranded women in minivans turn their vans around, because they couldn't make it to the top. They were petrified, because the one side is a steep drop off. I might add that I would go up and down that same hill with my former 1990 Ford Festiva without issue.

Are the Nokian Nordman 7 the best snow tires I have ever used? NO, but I am not aware of a better option for a Mirage. I am impressed with Cooper snow tires on my Forester, but it's also AWD. I hope to test out the Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires some day, but no tire is going to make a Mirage unstoppable. Once you hit deep snow, clearance becomes an issue. If the bottom of the car starts riding on top of the snow, you are done. It's no different with any vehicle including an UTV.

As far as Subaru goes - I bought my 2011 Forester 2.5X manual used in 2013 (15,000 miles for $17,000). The engine was replaced @ 90,000 miles (compliment of Subaru losing a class action lawsuit concerning oil consumption). My Subaru was burning about a quart of oil every 1,000 miles. That may not seem like a lot to some, but the vehicle holds 5.5 quarts of oil. You had to add 6-quarts of synthetic oil between oil changes. My replacement engine seems fine, but I have only added 4,000 miles to it so far. The Subaru does some things extremely well, but I don't plan on buying another one. I like my simple 2000 Honda CRV LX AWD manual better, but Honda stopped offering AWD manuals after the 2nd generation of CRV. At the time, I wanted another AWD manual vehicle. In hindsight, I sort of wished I had bought a Honda Element, but my 2011 Forester can tow 2,500 pounds. I use a trailer quite a bit. I hauled two loads of crushed gravel this past week, and I used it it pick up my rototiller at a friend's today. I would be lost without my Forester & trailer, but my Mirage is used for most everything else.

I may have missed a few of your questions, but tomorrow is another day!

[Dark Magenta]

What are fancy rims?? I'd like to get a second set of rims for a second set of wheels (one for warm, one for winter). But I don't know what fancy would be considered for 14" rims. Any recommendations on rims would be appreciated, fancy or budget.

Honestly, to me they’re fancy rims, but they’re also budget rims. They’re the ones seen in my ‘garage’ and my profile pic. I got them from a Miata guy on Craigslist. New, they would have been $120 each. I got them $100 for all 4. https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...(Garage-entry)