I know this must have been covered here before but all this tire talk
is making my brain ache. What I'm really looking for is comment from
Az, Mike and any other tire gurus in the group, especially anyone
that's had experience with the tire I have in mind.
Background: My 2001 EVC came with the standard Dunlop SP Sport 2000 E
225/60 R16 102H Reinforced tires. I got the winter tire "deal" which
consisted of Dunlop SP Winter Sport M2 205/60 R16 C 100/98H Radial
M+S tires. I'm going to start using the EVC as a daily driver for
the duration of the winter and I need a more aggressive tread than
the Winter Sports offer. Also, I really need studs for winter
driving here in Alaska.
A fellow Alaska driver and group member has put Nokian Hakkapeliita 1
225/60 R16 98T tires with studs on his EVC and likes them a lot. I
am considering getting the same tires. I know I can't run chains
with this tire but that's not an issue. A speed rating of T gives me
a max. speed of 118 mph and Az probably won't be driving my van so
that's not a problem. So, my remaining concern is load rating. My
winter driving will typically be less aggressive and at lower
speeds. Plus, the van will be carrying less load (no middle seat, no
food or camping gear, only one or two passengers) so I think this
should be just fine. BTW - A load rating of 98 gives a capacity of
1653 lb. per tire or 6612 lb. for four which is a little more than
the GVWR of 5997 lb. shown on the Winnebago data plate.
Which bring me to my question: am I missing something here? Also, if
there are group members that have experience with the Hak 1, I'd sure
like to hear what you think of this tire. I've run Nokian tires on a
couple of other vehicles and am very satisfied with them. Also, I
really like the idea of matching the size of the OEM tires.
Thanks for you comments and Merry Christmas to all,
WS in AK
