Nokian Vatiivas Installed

[dustino8]

Hey Guys

I had a set of Nokian Vatiivas installed a couple days ago. The Tripletreds were getting a bit worn; down to 3-4 32nds all around, so I figured it was time for a new set. I probably would have gone another 10k kms with them if we were in the summer months, but its full blown winter up here, and I was noticing reduced traction compared to other years (as you would with any tire).

I had my choices narrowed down to three. Either stay with the tripletreds (which I have been happy with), the Nokian WR SUV, or the Vatiiva's. I chose the Vatiivas over the tripletreds just b/c I wanted to try something new, really no other reason. I chose the Vatiiva over the WRs b/c the Vatiivas are a more heavily constructed. I tow a trailer in the summer months and a stiffer sidewall is beneficial. I could tell just by looking at and feeling the sidewalls on the Vatiivas and WRs that the Vatiivas had a stiffer sidewall.

That being said, I am very happy with my choice thus far. The first thing I noticed over the tripletreds was an improved ride. I guess I really didn't realize how stiff the sidewalls on the tripletreds were until I got the Vatiivas. However, we'll see if I can notice a change while towing in the summer.

The Vatiivas are definately more noisy than the tripletreds, with a slight howl at highway speeds, but I don't find it intrusive. I figured they would be more noisy as they have a heavily siped and slightly agressive tread pattern.

Which leads me to their grip on ice and snow. The roads around here are covered in ice and snow except for the main arterials. The grip is excellent on these surfaces. I can't really say if they are better than the tripletreds, as I had 70k km on them, but my guess would be yes, mainly due to how heavily siped they are. I am actually really surprised that these tires don't have the servere winter service rating like the tripletrds do. Maybe Nokian hasn't applied for this rating on the Vatiiva yet.

Dry pavement and rain observations are going to have to wait until we get some warmer temps.

I do have a question for some tire experts on this board. The tires have a load service index of 106 and have a marking of 940kg max load @ 35psi on the side of the tire. Does this mean that 35psi is the max pressure I can run? My tripletreds had a max psi stated of 44psi with a load index of 104. The Vatiiva don't really state what max pressure is (or I'm just missing the marking), so do I take the 35 as max? While I tow, I usually air up the tires to near max (once again for a stiffer sidewall) but if its only 35psi max, that doesn't give me much room.

[bigdadi]

I think the number on the side-wall is the MAX one.

[andyschneider]

I considered the Vatiiva's back when I needed to replace the tires on my '06 for about the same reasons you've stated - but I was concerned about the noise from the tread in the non-winter months - it's a pretty agressive tread, that's for sure - lots of open blocks. But you're also correct about the max psi. Best I've been able to tell over the years, some tires allow a max PSI of 44, while others of only 35, to get their maximum payload rating. My only conclusion is that it has to do with construction of the sidewalls and speed rating. The 106 rating is what I have on my Michelin LTX M/S tires (as opposed to the 103/104 for the standard load), and the 106's have a max PSI of 44 while the 103/104's have it at 35. Not sure why the Vatiiva's are at 35 with a 106 rating - perhaps due to the speed rating...

Let us know how they do once the snow clears up.

andy

[xGS]

Originally posted by dustino8


I had a set of Nokian Vatiivas installed a couple days ago.

The tires have a load service index of 106 and have a marking of 940kg max load @ 35psi on the side of the tire. Does this mean that 35psi is the max pressure I can run? My tripletreds had a max psi stated of 44psi with a load index of 104. The Vatiiva don't really state what max pressure is (or I'm just missing the marking), so do I take the 35 as max? While I tow, I usually air up the tires to near max (once again for a stiffer sidewall) but if its only 35psi max, that doesn't give me much room.

Some time ago, the US Department of Transportation amended the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to allow standard load (SL) tires to be marked with 44 PSI maximum inflation pressure (instead of 35 PSI) WITH NO INCREASE IN LOAD CARRYING CAPACITY. This was an acknowledgement of the fact that improved fuel economy may be achieved through the use of higher inflation pressures.

So, even if the tire manufacturer allows pressures up to 44PSI, as indicated on the sidewall, the maximum load rating is still met at 35PSI.

[dustino8]

Thanks for the info guys. I did find this information on the tirerack website:

NOTE: P-metric and Euro-metric sized tires' "maximum load" inflation pressure may be, and often are, different that the tire's "maximum inflation pressure".

Link