Owners of the Nokian WR A4 generally praise snow traction and wet and dry grip, with quiet running another recurring positive. Snow handling also receives favorable comments, although one owner notes understeer and another is less satisfied with snow performance. Ice grip is much less consistent, with both reassuring experiences and reports of limited traction. Most reviews describe initial use, so this is chiefly a picture of the tire when new rather than proof of durability. One person remains positive in a later review, but the later accounts do not establish a shared ageing trend.
What owners mention most counted across 21 reviews
Having gone from a summer UHP tire of the same size exactly i feel this review would be most helpful to those people doing the same as most people I have spoken to have a different size wheel and tire combination during summer to those fitted in winter.
I purposely looked for a winter tire I could fit to the exact same wheel size with the exact same ratios. The Nokian was the only available tire, the tire had a tad less grip on all surfaces for the first few hundred miles that I have put down to any oils and compounds used to separate the tires from the moulds when initially made, however after time this has passed and the tire behaves and stops well and so far I have very little complaints, I'm sure if driven hard in either wet or cold conditions the tire would reach limits quicker than the summer tire normally fitted would, however in the very cold the tire does seem to grip well with very little wheel spin on acceleration.
It could be all in my head, but i do feel as if the behavior of the tires also improves with colder weather, an example been that traction and road holding on cambered roads and rounder-bouts seems better when the temperature is bellow 7 degrees than it would be approaching 10 degrees. I would like to think that come snow I should be in a better position commuting on these tires than I would be on the Bridgestone S001 summer tires usually fitted and so far have yet to see any characteristics of this tire that come across as unsafe, unpredictable or scary.
That's not to say I would necessarily drive this car with these tires on winter roads the same way I would with UHP tires in good summer weather.
Mercedes Viano rear wheel drive Vs 4X4 in the snow no contest Merc wins every time.
These tryres have allowed the rear wheel drive people carrier to drive on roads up hill when a Range Rover and a Land rover got stuck!! I just pulled passed them nd carried on.
Check out how the BEST all seasons tires perform against premium summer and winter tires!
Instant difference to car handling, much much better than stock Michelin tires that where on from new! Much reduced road noise, much better grip in dry and wet conditions than other reviewers had given. I was initially a little sceptical, but really unjustified. A very competent tire in all settings.
Done 3.5k miles in them now and its a joy to drive the car with them on. You can get very leary in them and you know where you stand and what will happen if you push too far, there are no surprises with these tires. Done long motorway journeys in them and well as short hops between local villages. Its going to be hard to replace them with as comfortable summer tires with the same attributes.
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Researching the Nokian WR A4? Rate the tires you actually drive - and help the next buyer choose.
Well, first impressions from pair new WR A4s' on my 2007 BMW X3. Brought the tires about 3 months ago-10000 km already. Pretty quiet for a winter tire. Stability in dry condition up to 200 km/h - car cant achieve higher top speed. Stability of course, easy to control the car and no surprises in torrential rain on highway up to 160 km/h on autopilot. I was affraid to put the pedal to the metal. Stabile in snow up to100 km/h. May be xdrive helps, i dont know. Autobild said, that there is a understeer in snow. Thats true . I think that is the only drowback. It is written that were made in Finland. After this pair is gone, i think that will buy again a new one.
I bought these tires for my 2013 BMW 328i (403m rims). The tires are too soft for 403m rims such that at speeds above 100 Km/h they deflect and the car starts drifting to the sides and I have to continuously steering to make the car goes straight. This also happens when I try to change lane at highways (even at speeds as low as 100 Km/h). I had the car inspected by BMW workshop who did wheel alignment and tire balance, but it didn't help since there was no problem with the wheel alignment and tire balance in the first place. I tried different tire pressures, 2.4 bars, 2.6 bars and 2.8 bars. At highest tire pressure (2.8 bars) there is less deflection problem with the tires and the car keeps going straight at 110 Km/h, but this high tire pressure makes over-streeing problem (the car slides easily at turns). Since there is no policy to return the tires back, I have to live with them for this winter. But I am going to buy a new set of rigid RFT winter tires for the next winter. I do not recommend these tires for high performance cars.
Despite them being released nearly a year before my purchase, there were very few reviews for these tires available online at the time I ordered them. I also struggled with a relatively limited range of tires available in both 255/40/19 for my fronts and 275/40/19 for the rears, and mixed reviews for the few premium brands available in those wide, low-profile configurations. Nevertheless, I took the plunge and ordered these Nokians off the back of reviews for their other tires and the WR A4's focus (according to their marketing blurb) on higher performance vehicles.
I've now had the tires fitted for about 1,000 to my 5.0 liter V8 2015 Mustang, which I use as a daily driver, primarily around town but with the occasional early morning thrash through the countryside. I've been really impressed with the performance offered by these tires. Despite the mid-level price point, they've proved adept at dealing with the slippery conditions of a coldish winter in the UK. Wet grip is excellent, with a reasonable level of feel and a very progressive breakaway at the limit. Dry grip also seems good from the few drier days there have been since I had the tires fitted. These tires are a world away from the OEM fit Pirelli P Zeros, which were good in the warmer months but hopeless as soon as the temperatures dipped in November - the compound becoming so hard that the tires were constantly overwhelmed by the power and spinning at the slightest provocation.
It's too early to assess wear or form a conclusion on whether I'd buy again, and likewise I haven't yet had chance to test them over a proper covering of snow (which will, I suspect, be 'interesting' in a 415bhp RWD car regardless of how good the tires are...), but my initial impressions of these tires are very positive. The Nokian WR A4s have allowed me to go back to enjoying the drive at the limits rather than nannying the car around on the summer tires. If these are on your shortlist and suit your budget, then I doubt you'll be disappointed with them.
I replaced my very old WR ZG2's with this tire because I was very happy with ZG2 model. I bought them online and barcode indicated that they are made in Finland, but country of manufacturing is Russia.
My summer tires are Conti Sport Contact 2 and when I mounted these winter tires it was like "WOW, my car can be quiet!" Very happy with road noise, even it is stated 72 dB
Dry handling is excellent compared to the old summer tires: no more "power slides" of my Audi A4 quattro
After 6K kilometers I am still very satisfied:
- no vibrations
- there is snow now in Bulgaria and driving is a pleasure: no ABS while braking, no sliding in sharp turns, no problems while maneuvering on snow or ice
- I was impressed from these tires when there was a mist and temperature was - 3 degrees Celsius. Roads were covered with "black ice" but feeling was like driving on a summer day.
Definitely a good tire for a good price. Hope it will stay that way next winter
Today i have climbed to a ski center which was around 2500 meters above sea level. I have a rear wheel drive car. the roads are so curvy and covered with all snow and ice. i didnt even had a small problem on the roads. the tires grip is at highest level on the snow and ice. it is really a reliable tire on every type of roads. So in my opinion it is one of the best winter tire you can get to your car.
This year I took the plunge and bought a set of WR A4s despite the lack of online reviews. I was attracted by its assymetrical design and overall inclination towards wet&dry conditions, as Romania only has snow for about two-three weeks a year. After driving a few hundred miles with them on my Mk5 GTI, I have to say they match the character of the car very well.
I have to start by saying these didn't give me the impression of an expensive premium tire without drawbacks, but I think they are a good choice for people who drive fast and/or have "sporty" cars.
In terms of grip there is nothing bad to say about them, I've driven on both dry and wet roads (no ice/snow yet) and they had no problems coping with some very spirited driving. I enjoyed my car both in high-speed driving on mountain roads and under heavy rain with these tires. The best thing about them is that they made the balance of the car very pleasant, as it has moved from heavy, eeek, horrible, hateful understeer to a small amount of safe FWD understeer which can be easily overcome if you know what you're doing. Back to the Nokians: as they are winter tires, they are very soft when compared to a summer tire (local temperatures are at about 5-10 degrees Celsius) and this results in the chassis having a lot of small movements from the tire flex. At first you think this isn't a good thing for a sporty car, but it turned out to be a lot of fun without affecting stability or road feeback. Of course, this softness also increases the roll in corners, but it also makes the car become very progressive. I'd say in the dry and wet they are very good indeed for a winter tire.
Except the extra tire flex, the only drawback so far is the extra noise compared to my summer tires (Dunlop Sport Maxx RT). This might be or might not be related to my wheel alignment; I'm saying this because I didn't hear as much tire drone at constant speed, as I heard a high-pitch sound when applying torque (accelerating) to the tires at speed. This also varies with the surface you're driving on, but overall these are definitely not the least "vocal" winter tires out there.
Overall I am very satisfied with the performances of these tires. They aren't the most silent and they are quite soft at higher temperatures. However, having good road feedback and grip, allowing some little movements of the chassis thus making the car more playful and having a good balance between understeer and oversteer, make me recommend these tires to anyone passionate about spirited driving.
These might be one of the best choices for spirited driving in countries with changing weather, except the expensive premium options (of which there is a complete lack in this size). The WR A4s are fun and they give you confidence, the most important two things for a hot hatch like a GTI. I'm waiting for the snow to hit Romania to see how they handle the white stuff.
