We live at the end of a four mile class four road in Vermont. Snow and ice are a daily reality for 4-6 months per year. If you have to drive through real snow and real ice, this is your tire. Ours are studded, and not only will you not get stuck, you can also have braking action! The one downside is that when the snow melts and everything turns to mud, I find these tires don't do very well in mud. I feel too much lateral movement. When I am confident the last ice night has passed, I will quickly switch back to AT tires for the mud.
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Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 Reviews
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SimpleScore™
Our proprietary rating system
for the modern tire buyer.
7.6
Good
Score breakdown:
7.3
Long lasting
Good
8.3
Handling
Great
8.1
Traction
Great
Based out of Nokia, Finland, Nokian Tires was founded in 1988 and is a renowned tire manufacturer popular for its range of superb winter tires. Nokian is the only tire manufacturer with a dedicated winter tire testing facility and produces high-quality winter tires such as Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8.
Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 is a studdable winter tire that’s designed for use on coupes and sedans and ensures good traction and stability when driving in harsh winter weather conditions. In this Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 tire review, we will take a look at some of the features and benefits of the tire, its pros and cons, and SimpleTire’s view on the tire.
Features and Benefits
Winter tires are designed to be used ideally below freezing temperatures as they feature a flexible rubber compound that allows them to ensure a consistent grip on the road. Winter tires often come in non-studded, studded (where permitted), and studdable designs.
The Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 is a studdable tire and is designed for performance in moderate to heavy winter weather conditions. Built using flexible materials, diagonal 3D sipes, and more, Hakkapeliitta 8 has several noteworthy features and benefits, such as:
- Consistent grip: The rubber compound is built with flexible materials for consistent grip and performance.
- Improved steering response: 3D sipes improve the steering response of the tire.
- Shorter braking distance: The Brake Booster technology and tread block reduces braking distance.
- Increased fuel efficiency: The low rolling resistance design enhances fuel efficiency and ride comfort.
- Studdable tires: Can be studded, where permitted, to further improve traction.
- Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification: The Three Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol on the sidewall means this tire is certified to perform in severe snow conditions.
The Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 is available in a variety of tire sizes, ranging from 16 to 19 inches.
Pros and Cons
Now that we know more about the features and benefits of Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8, let’s also take a look at some of the pros and cons of the tire.
- Built using flexible materials for consistent grip and performance.
- Shorter braking distance using Brake Booster technology and tread blocks.
- A fuel-efficient tire.
- Studdable tires for increased grip in heavy winter weather conditions.
While these pros make a good case for the tire, also consider these cons.
- The tread can wear irregularly.
- Winter tires are generally noisy and do not offer excellent ride comfort.
- Winter tires cannot be used in temperatures consistently above 45 degrees.
- When studded, the tire cannot be used in all locations at all times due to local laws.
SimpleTire’s view on Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 tires
If you are looking for a set of winter tires that can deliver good performance for your coupe or sedan while ensuring good fuel efficiency, shorter braking distance and is also Three Peak Mountain Snowflake Certified, Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 might be the right choice for you. Designed for safety and optimized performance, these tires can also be studded, where permitted, for increased traction.
Also, take a look at the Nexen Winguard Ice Plus if you want better longevity at a slightly higher price. However, the Nokian tire does offer better durability and traction.
Vehicles the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 is a good replacement tire for
As Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 tires are available in a variety of tire sizes, it can be used as a good replacement tire for a range of vehicles such as 2015 Audi S3, 2011 Cadillac CTS, 2011 BMW 1 Series M, and more.
66 reviews
6 on SimpleTire60 from Google Shopping4.5
overall rating
100%
Would you buy again?
Review breakdown
- 47 out of 100
- 17 out of 100
- 1 out of 100
- 1 out of 100
- 0 out of 100
Scorecard
Dry
4.2
Wet
4.3
Winter
4.8
Comfort
5
Noise
2.8
Treadwear
3.4
6 SimpleTire reviews
Remember the TRIX cereal commercial where it goes, "Silly rabbit, TRIX are for kids"? Well, look at the review categories and figure out how ANY dedicated winter tire, let alone the top of the line winter tire - before studding - and then stud them and what do you get? You get the "8". Dry handling is mushy, wet handling OK, rides fine, tread life as expected for the soft compound and studs are noisy. If you bought this tire considering those criteria YOU made a MASSIVE mistake. I bought the "8" because I MIGHT have to travel in the winter in situations where I don't have the option to wait for fairer weather. On the several occasions I have actually used this tire, the experience has been outstanding. I have total confidence in this tire to augment my limited snow/ice driving abilities, since I now reside in the South - tidewater Virginia, but travel North when needed. I must add that I have the tires mounted on spare rims and only use them when necessary.
Ride noise was not a fair question, as I ordered these snow tires studded. This quality of a tire for the price is exceptional.
Studded tires are noisy but are the absolute bomb on ice! Nokian makes the best winter tire out there. Can recommend
Nothing really comes close to these tires for winter driving, studded tires outperform everything and by a very large margin
waiting on the colorado rocky snow at 8600 feet to test them out this winter