NOKIAN WR C CARGO vs Michelin LTX ?

Has anyone had experience with NOKIAN WR C CARGO tires ?
Living in Ottawa,ON I use dedicated winter tires on my other vehicles however I do not expect to be using the Sprinter much in winter but do want snow capable All Season tires.
Consumers Report has given the Nokian WR a decent rating calling them "A very good choice for all weather including snowy conditions"
and High being "Exceptional snow traction and resistance to hydroplaning"
MICHELIN LTX MS2 has only "Very Good" snow traction but higher overall rating and I know many LTX users are very happy with them.
DUNLOP Rover H/T also gets a high for "impressive snow traction" by Consumers reports but scores lower overall.
My 06 T1N 140 10 pass is my first non-AWD vehicle in decades and I am just a bit paranoid about winter use. Will not be using it often enough to rationalize two sets of wheels and tires though.
Comments appreciated, thanks in advance !
Bob

I'm in MN with plenty of snow. You will be fine with a good all season tire. I do recommend that you put some weight in the back of the sprinter in the winter. With a passenger (like mine) and no weight, traction can be an issue. I put about 300 lbs of weights over the rear axel and that help a lot. You also need to learn to turn off the ESP when at low speeds and you need traction otherwise if one of the wheels is spinning you will get no traction at all. The stability driving around on regular snowy roads is very good. Main issue is starting from stops and going up hills from stops where you need the low speed traction.

Chris

I think you are out of luck, they do not have your size in that version, and it is not load rated like originals. Michelin or others in LT is what most of us use.

AlbertaBear said:

I think you are out of luck, they do not have your size in that version, and it is not load rated like originals. Michelin or others in LT is what most of us use.

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There are some Nokians that meet your need specs. They have a very good
reputation here and on the VW Westfalia forums.
Can't lose either way.

Just put a set of the Michelin's on our recently purchased 2006 TN1 140" WB Roadtrek Agile. A good friend in the tire business (a consultant, not a dealer) told us these would be his recommended tire for this vehicle. The handling of the vehicle improved dramatically with the Michelin's - we recently completed a 2500 mile trip.

No replies to your post from Nokian owners. Hopefully someone can provide some info before you need to make a decision.

The correct tire pressure seems to be a point of discussion on these forums. Not certain what the best tire pressure will be for how we use the vehicle (it will not be the 55 psi Front / 80 psi Rear recommended by Roadtrek) but you may want to check out those posts too.

I know this is late but I only found this thread in a google search. I searched Nokian on this forum many times but never found this.
Anyway, I have a set of Nokian, WRC Cargo 225/70 15 C 112/110.
Bought in 11/10 and have put on 46,500 miles to date. Rotate every 5000 miles, by Goodyear service center. The last rotation they said I have dry rot, 5000 miles previously they said they were fine, so they won't rotate them anymore. But they do have sale on wranglers...

I talked with Nokian and Tires by web. Either will give a discount on next purchase since it is still under Nokian warranty of six years and 50,000 miles. Cargo tires don't fall under mileage warranty. I've had the tires for 3 1/2 years, they were made in 09, so they are 5 years old. Nokian says the dry rot is cosmetic at this point but will eventually develop deeper cracks.

I chose the Nokians based on info I found in this forum. I had expected to get more mileage so was shocked that i have to think about tires again. They did a far sight better in snow and wet grass and mud then the Goodyear vectors. They really hold the road very well in heavy rain, impressively so. Handling in curves is great. I still have good tread left, imo.

I'll run them another 5000 miles then choose between Nokians or try the Michelens LXT M/S2 for 15 inch wheels.

I hope this helps future tire buyers.

My Michellins MS2 cracked in 3 years.
This on a little Honda Element.
50 K out of that set of Nokians and they were good for your terrain.
Stick w/ what works.

Can't speak to the nokian WR C's but I have the nokian rotiiva's and like them so far. Excellent in winter conditions and solid all around performance. Only issue I would bring up is road noise and it just may be me but they seem to be a little noisier on dry roads. Not terrible but not great either. I am impressed with the performance in winter though, night and day difference from the stock conti's that came on my van.

Just replaced a set of ltx 2 after 46k. And I replaced them with.....LTX 2s....

Go figure. I considered the M/S 2 but retreated to the tires I new. I run in lots of snow..in fact when ever it snows...I'm out in it.
A little weight in the right place and diligent application of the off switch on the ESP and I have been just fine.

That's all I got to offer.

Mrdi said:

Michellins MS2 crack in 3 years.
This on a little Honda Element.
50 K out of that set of Nokians and they were good for your terrain.
Stick w/ what works.

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I had Michelin MS/2s on for four years, no cracks.

The third steel belt that comes with Michelin LTX AT/2 and MS/2 load range E has stopped several punctures for me.

-Jon

I opted for the Michelin LTX 245/75/16 A/T2 for my Roadtrek SS Agile. Going a bit off road this summer thus the A/T2. Warranted for only 60k miles compared to the M/S 70k, but 60k is a lot of miles and dunno they will last that long. Since you live in a harsh winter area why not try the A/T2?

cheers...

Mein Sprinter-

Now that you have a few miles how did the A/T2 perform for you? Especially road noise and traction in the wet.

650gsGuy said:

Mein Sprinter-

Now that you have a few miles how did the A/T2 perform for you? Especially road noise and traction in the wet.

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Performed superbly on wet, mud, gravel; rocks and highway. Noisy..hhmmnnn we're deaf alright but our hearing friends told us that they can hear us coming down the road.



Great tire although only 60k mile warranty compared to the LTX MS2's 70k. I did get a rear puncture from some steel bridge grid which I repaired with an inner patch plus "wormy" outside plug.

cheers....

This is a follow up to my earlier post. It was obvious that the tire tread was wearing down faster in the last 5000 miles, (and fuel mileage seemed better). I bought the Michelin LTX M/S2 from tirerack sent to their local installer, Goodyear, and they would not put them on because they are not D rated. Goodyear searched their and other company products and had no suggestions for an all season tire that they would install. I purchased a new set of Nokian WRC Cargo 225 70 R 15 and Goodyear happily installed them.

FWIW, The North American Nokian Claims rep said several things.
These tires are very popular in Canada so I got the last set for this year.
Nokian is coming out with a new tread design for this cargo tire, available in 15 inch, sometime in 2015.
He said that 40,000 miles on these commercial tires is a good amount and that some retailers advertise more miles on their own, at their risk, to help boost sales.
He said the Rotivas would also work but they have a thinner sidewall wall than the WRC Cargo and for a cargo van with a high roof the WRC would be better against swaying in the wind or top heavy loads and against the spongy feeling when going over a gulley on an angle.

The other all season 15 inch alternatives I found at this point would be to go to Vredestein or have European Goodyear tires shipped over for well over $250 a tire.

When I bought the sprinter 2008 it had stock tires on it, summer... The first dusting of light snow i couldnt move my van around getting stuck all over in nyc. ordered up the nokian wr c and what a difference if the snow is upto 8 inches i have no problem getting to job sites in the city. really like the tires, 3rd winter with them and no noise on highway and i dont switch them in the summer. very impressed with how they handle. my van is always full so i carry around about 1800 lbs in tools and supplies every day.

alex

i bought wr c nokian's 3 years ago and still driving on them . They are the best i ever had on my van never got any problem on the snow and they look great too .

Michelin LTX M/S2 tires are load range E, that's stronger than a Load Range D. If your tire installer considers a Load Range E tire less qualified to be used on a Sprinter than a Load Range D, they are idiots.

I run Michelin LTX M/S2's on my 2002 Sprinter. According to all documentation for the T1Ns you have to run load range E tires. I have gotten 60,000+ miles out of a set (I just replaced all 4 last week - great tires in snow).