Nexen Tire is a popular South Korea-based tire brand that has been selling tires in the United States since 2005. It manufactures tires for passenger cars, CUVs, SUVs, light trucks, EVs, sports cars, and coupes.

The Nexen SB802 is the manufacturer’s touring, all-season tire that’s designed for use on passenger cars. The tire is primarily developed for classic cars and brings together vintage styling and modern technology.

But, what makes this tire a considerable choice for the classic car tire seeks, and does it really get modern technology that enhances its overall performance? Let’s find out in this Nexen SB802 tire review.

Features and Benefits

The Nexen SB802 is like all other traditional all-season tires: it is optimized to offer quiet, comfortable, and grippy drives in dry, wet, and light winter weather conditions. Good for daily commuting, the SB802 gets many modern features and technologies that enhance the performance of classic cars. Let’s have a look at the features and benefits of this tire:

• Solid year-round performance – The SB802 features an all-season rubber compound and a symmetric tread pattern that improves grip in dry, wet, and light winter conditions. The tread compound of the tire is flexible enough even during the colder months and provides vintage cars with a solid year-round performance. The S-shaped sipes on the tread blocks provide better traction on light snow.
• Enhanced wet weather performance – The tread of this tire features wide circumferential and lateral grooves that resist hydroplaning by dispersing water and slush from the footprint, thus offering enhanced performance in wet weather conditions.
• Improved steering responsiveness, stability, and control – The center and shoulder ribs present on the tread boost steering responsiveness, control, and driving stability. The shoulder blocks of the Nexen SB802 provide a good number of biting edges to the tire to get a better grip on the pavement while cornering.
• Reduced braking distance – The tread design of this tire features S-shaped siping that reduces the braking distance and ensures a quicker halt to the vehicle.
• Longer tread life – The symmetric tread design of the SB802 evenly distributes driving pressure across the tread, which reduces cornering, braking, and acceleration forces and resists uneven tread wear to provide a longer tread life.
• Better fuel efficiency – The sturdy, all-season rubber compound and reinforced internal structure of this tire reduce rolling resistance for better fuel efficiency.
• Designed to compliment classic cars – The overall design and shape of this tire compliments the look of classic cars to enhance their vintage appeal.

The Nexen SB802 is offered in only one tire size, which is 165/80R15. Perhaps the reason to offer it only a single 15-inch rim size could be because the tire is primarily made for classic cars, which are not mainstream commuters these days. Additionally, the tire is not backed by any limited manufacturer tread life warranty.

Pros and Cons

Now that we have covered the key features and benefits of the Nexen SB802, let’s find what are the positives and negatives of this all-season tire dedicated to classic cars. Here’re the positives first:

• Better traction in dry, wet, and light winter weather conditions.
• Tread is optimized for better stability, steering responsiveness, and cornering.
• More fuel efficient than most of its counterparts.
• Strong braking performance in wet and dry conditions.
• Provides comfortable and controlled rides.
• More affordable than its peers.

While Nexen makes a good claim that this tire features modern technology and serves as a good year-round performer for vintage cars, it does have some negatives too.

• Not as durable as some of its competitors.
• Not made for use in extreme winter conditions.
• Offered only in a single tire size.
• Isn’t backed by any limited tread life warranty coverage.

SimpleTire’s view on Nexen SB802 tires

If you are specifically looking for an affordable classic car tire and the rim size you need measures 15 inches, then your first priority can be the Nexen SB802. Sadly, the tire doesn’t have many sizes available so very limited classic cars are compatible with it. That being said, the tire is good at offering traction in dry, wet, and light winter conditions, which gives you the flexibility to drive your classic car year-round without swapping the tires.

The stability, steering responsiveness, and cornering skills of this tire are impressive. Likewise, it doesn’t disappoint on the cornering and comfort fronts either. While the SB802 offers strong braking performance in wet and dry conditions, it cannot be considered a full-fledged winter performer. It is a fuel-efficient tire, so you can expect that it will keep the fuel expenses in control. The purchasers might not like the fact that this tire is not covered by any limited tread life warranty.

This tire competes against the likes of Coker Vredestein Sprint Classic, Coker Firestone Radial F560, Radar Dimax Classic, Americus Touring Plus, Petlas Elegant PT311, and Thunderer Mach I R201.

Vehicles the Nexen SB802 is a good replacement tire for

Made for use on classic cars, the Nexen SB802 is a good replacement choice for Pontiac Tempest, SEAT Malaga, Alfa Romeo Alfasud, and Volkswagen Polo.