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I talked to as many people as I could, geeked out on this way too much, and read way to many articles. And I ended up going with dedicated snows. A lot of tire shop folks liked the "all weather" Nokian WRG4's, and said they were a HUGE upgrade from standard "all seasons" on snow and ice. And that they are even better then many "low end" dedicated snows. But the best dedicated snows are still a notch better then the WRG4's when it comes to winter traction & ice breaking.
It seemed in my research that the Nokian Hakkapeliitta r3 is the best on snow and ice of all the dedicated snow tires. A bit more expensive but many say worth it. Made in Finland and been around for 83 years, the Finns probably know something about driving around in snow. If I thought I was going to keep my car for 3-4 years I would have got those. I think for where I am going to be driving on hilly back roads of NH/VT I need the best.
I talked to as many people as I could, geeked out on this way too much, and read way to many articles. And I ended up going with dedicated snows. A lot of tire shop folks liked the "all weather" Nokian WRG4's, and said they were a HUGE upgrade from standard "all seasons" on snow and ice. And that they are even better then many "low end" dedicated snows. But the best dedicated snows are still a notch better then the WRG4's when it comes to winter traction & ice breaking.
That sounds about like my experience. These tires break the mold, they're in another league for year round performance and for *most* conditions will be fine 365 days a year in New England - they get me safely through winter, no white-knuckled driving like on regular all-seasons, and they still handle well in summer and are reasonably quiet and last for many miles - unlike you'd get trying to run snow tires year-round. That's my point, I am not though trying to say they're just as good on snow and ice as great dedicated winter tires.
people say they don't like to generalize, but i will... if you live in new england and actually need to get places in all weather, you should run dedicated snow tires in the winter.
Lots of people say they get by just fine with "all season" tires and that's fine... Until you don't. I used to say the same thing, until i ran snows one winter and was instantly a convert. Now i've run them on all my cars for 30 years.
A set of dedicated snow tires probably costs less than your insurance deductible. You are keeping miles off your non-winter tires, and most snows are good for 3 or more winters.
Most folks, once they try snow tires, stay with them forever. Why? Because they dramatically improve braking and turning in snow, icy, changing cold conditions.
Also, awd/4wd is no substitute for snow tires. Awd/4wd is a nice help in getting you going or up a hill, but we're all pretty much on the same footing when it comes to the emergency maneuvers that most often result, or avoid, an accident.... Turning and stopping. In that regard, dedicated winter tires make a big difference.
I only proselytize about 2 things... Snow tires, and the ukulele. :d i've run all manner of front, rear, and 4wd vehicles, every one of them got snow tires.
The nice part about running a dedicated winter tire is you can stop running compromise all seasons the rest of the year and run amore summer-oriented tire. Folks in the car community often call "all seasons" "no seasons" since they compromise both summer, and winter traction.
This newest breed of "all weather tires" (the nokian wr was the first of this kind) is an interesting mix. I suspect they mostly just shift the traction from the summer side of the bell curve to the winter side of the bell curve to make them a bit better than your average all season tire in winter. You really can't do that without compromising your non-winter performance though.
I just bought some Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3's for my AWD BMW today. Best price I found in my area was at John and Son's in Manchester, they were $220 each mounted and balanced. I am looking forward to testing them out in the snow Friday!
They might be overkill, but it will be nice having the peace of mind. My car doesn't carry a spare, and these tires are not run flats, but it is a risk I am willing to take. I'll buy a bottle of green slime and an air compressor just in case.
I talked to as many people as I could, geeked out on this way too much, and read way to many articles. And I ended up going with dedicated snows. A lot of tire shop folks liked the "all weather" Nokian WRG4's, and said they were a HUGE upgrade from standard "all seasons" on snow and ice. And that they are even better then many "low end" dedicated snows. But the best dedicated snows are still a notch better then the WRG4's when it comes to winter traction & ice breaking.
It seemed in my research that the Nokian Hakkapeliitta r3 is the best on snow and ice of all the dedicated snow tires. A bit more expensive but many say worth it. Made in Finland and been around for 83 years, the Finns probably know something about driving around in snow. If I thought I was going to keep my car for 3-4 years I would have got those. I think for where I am going to be driving on hilly back roads of NH/VT I need the best.
I've had the Nokian Q, R, and R2 friction tires and the studded Hakkapelitta SUV a few times. I bought the R2 in 2015 and haven't needed to replace them yet with the R3. I ski. I can afford winter wheels & tires. I could certainly get by with the stock all season tires. I lived in Burlington Vermont with a RWD car with summer tires and could get around just fine. I'd rather have the added safety margin.
Personally, the worst winter driving place I ever lived was Portsmouth, NH. I encountered black ice there all the time first thing in the morning from the humid ocean air condensing on cold roads that weren't salted. When the road is snow-covered, you're expecting lousy traction. At 6:30am in the dark before you've had your first cup of coffee, it can be pretty dangerous. I slid through more than one stop sign in November/December before the snow tires went on the cars.
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if you live in new england and actually need to get places in all weather, you should run dedicated snow tires in the winter. 
