I bought a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta NRWs for my wife's car (1998 Honda Civic sedan). These puppies are loud and got louder after time. We rotated the tires last week, after putting 10,000 miles on them. Now, they are super-noisy and sound like they're cupped (the tire monkey at Tires Plus said they were cupped, too). There isn't visable camber wear, though.

Her car is lowered, no camber kit (H&R Sport springs), but the camber isn't bad, and the car had an alignment shortly before these tires went on.

I understand that snow tires are going to be noiser and softer than an all-season tire. However, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta NRWs claim to be an all-season tire that'll last 60,000 miles.

My questions are, should you rotate snow tires (or these tires) more often than typical all-season tires? If so, how frequently?

Secondly, these tires sound like their now oblong! Is there any way to "un cup" the tires?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sushiboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">We rotated the tires last week, after putting 10,000 miles on them.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You're not using them all year round, are you?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sushiboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My questions are, should you rotate snow tires (or these tires) more often than typical all-season tires? If so, how frequently?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not necessarily. The purpose of rotation is to even out the wear. You shouldn't need to rotate tires more often than 10 percent of their treadlife - which means, if you're only using them for the winter months, you probably don't need to rotate them at all, in between swapping them on and off at the start and end of the winter.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sushiboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Secondly, these tires sound like their now oblong! Is there any way to "un cup" the tires? </TD></TR></TABLE>

I suppose you could get them shaved at your local race tire shop. (FWIW, I use Frisby, which can shave tires and is just over the state line from you.) However, that will reduce the tread depth (and tread life and snow effectiveness) and probably void your warranty.

Have you tried contacting Nokian customer service to ask them about it?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

You're not using them all year round, are you?

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, I am. The Nokian NRWs, which were replaced by the WRs, are actually an all-season tire, or "four-season" tire as Nokian called them. However, they look much more like a snow tire. The often referred to them as a four-season-plus tire, meaning they were good in all four seasons, PLUS being excellent in the snow.

I think a call to Nokian will probably be my next step.

And if you're wondering why I'm running these instead of a traditional all-season tire, it's because I bought them mounted, balanced, on 15" alloys for $200.


Modified by Sushiboy at 3:04 PM 11/23/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sushiboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think a call to Nokian will probably be my next step.</TD></TR></TABLE>

According to their website, you can reach them at 1-800-565-2525.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sushiboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">And if you're wondering why I'm running these instead of a traditional all-season tire, it's because I bought them mounted, balanced, on 15" alloys for $200. </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Stupid question but........most snow tires are directional, you wouldn't have 2 on backwards by accident would you?

another stupid question.....are you running the right pressure?

 

Those are good questions, not stupid ones...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by old man neri &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Stupid question but........most snow tires are directional, you wouldn't have 2 on backwards by accident would you?

another stupid question.....are you running the right pressure?</TD></TR></TABLE>

They are at the right pressure now; they were down quite a bit last week. The increased pressure (about 40psi) has actually made the noise worse.

I'll have to check if these are directional or not and if the monkeys at Tires Plus rotated them properly or not. (I usually would never bring our cars there, but we had the wheels balanced and rotated for a good price and the place we used to have tires balaneced (which was run by a friend) is no longer in business). I do know that before we rotated them there were still kinda noisy, though.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sushiboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">They are at the right pressure now; they were down quite a bit last week. The increased pressure (about 40psi) has actually made the noise worse. </TD></TR></TABLE>

40 psi is NOT the right pressure. What does it say in the owner's manual of your car, and/or on the door jamb or glove compartment door? It should be anywhere from 28 to 35 psi.

Overinflated tires (and, at 40 psi, they ARE overinflated) will indeed increase the amount of tire noise and the harshness of the ride, and may contribute to cupping as they wear.



Modified by nsxtasy at 6:10 PM 11/25/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

40 psi is NOT the right pressure. What does it say in the owner's manual of your car, and/or on the door jamb or glove compartment door? It should be anywhere from 28 to 35 psi.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Max psi on the tires is 44. With the cold weather, they had come down to 25 which is too low. I'll have to check the owner's manual. Although, the car came with 14s, not 15s (I'm not sure if that'd make a difference or not).

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Overinflated tires (and, at 40 psi, they ARE overinflated) will indeed increase the amount of tire noise and the harshness of the ride, and may contribute to cupping as they wear.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

If max psi is 44, how can 40 psi be overinflated?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sushiboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If max psi is 44, how can 40 psi be overinflated?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Your question is a lot like telling a policeman, "If my car is capable of going 120 mph, how can 110 be speeding?" Just because your car is capable of going 120 mph, doesn't mean that that's the best speed to be driving in a residential neighborhood.

The proper tire inflation has NOTHING to do with the maximum psi that the tires are capable of. The proper tire inflation is designed for the best combination of grip, comfort, treadlife, noise, etc. The proper tire inflation is usually what is recommended for the car, and has absolutely nothing to do with the maximum capability of the tires themselves.

Inflate your tires to the psi that your owner's manual tells you to. Which will be MUCH less than 40 psi.

Incidentally, you should also check your tire pressures more often (at least once every few weeks), so you can maintain them at the proper pressure.

 

I'll have to check the optimal psi, then.

 

Seriously do what NSXTASY says, he has schooled me a few times when I needed it.

Inflated you tires to what it says on your door jam/glove box. If it exceeds what it says on your tire side wall then you have a problem but that has never happened in the history of the world. In normal driving there is no real "optimal" pressure, just the right one.

You should check you PSIs ever 2 weeks or so. It changes drastically when the temperature changes. Remember that it is cold pressure, that is to say what is your PSI when your tires are cold and have not been driven.

By The Way running the right presure will save wear on your tires, make it safer to operate your vehicle, and increase your fuel economy. That should give you extra incentive. This is all,of course, in case you didn't know. I do not wish to insult you intelligence by any means Sir.


If you have the right pressure, correct alignment, and the correct directional setting on your tires then maybe contact customer services. When they ask you if you have done all of these you will be able to say "yes".


Cheers! and good luck my friend.