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dubbified Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2010 Posts: 1406 Location: Redmond, WA
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Posted: Wed May 31, 2023 9:27 pm Post subject: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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This is a callout on Nokian tires anyone who has them, please check them for safety.
I have a set of 5 ZERO MILE t205/65/R16 Nokian baller ass tires 106/107T load range mounted and.. well I thought they were supposed to be some awesome tire..
They were outside since Aug last year through the winter..
I never added air, the van was on 4 jackstands completely off the ground.
All five did this.
I grew up retredding tires and personally prepping vulcanizing new tred on.. I've never.. ever.. seen a tire do something like this, let alone all 5.
The peeps at Discount tire are totally warranty covering them.. but.. imagine what happened if I hit the road with these?
holy moly.
I chose them for the weight capacity, and the tred design, almost went to Rotiiva.. if I could find a blend between the two styles.. I would have bought it. Being as I had BFG ATKOs I dont like big block tred designs.. I lke the wet/winter siping built into the X patterns all over this sweet design.
Facts: they never rolled under the van, never supported the weight of the van..... freak odd issue.
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ALIKA T3 Samba Member
Joined: July 30, 2009 Posts: 6316 Location: Honolulu,Hawaii and France
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Wildthings Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 50261
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Posted: Wed May 31, 2023 9:48 pm Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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COVID tires!!!!! Some new guy likely forgot to add something to the mix.
For myself, I am trying to avoid buying certain things until the supply chain gets back to normal, in my mind the purchase of anything made out of rubber should be put off for a few years if possible.
Just changed out the 23 year old tires on my pickup today, light checking along the bead, but no serious cranking anywhere. I had had one break a belt last year so well knew I needed to get the others off even if they looked good. |
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dhaavers Samba Member
Joined: March 19, 2010 Posts: 7733 Location: NE MN (tinyurl.com/dhaaverslocation)
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Posted: Wed May 31, 2023 9:52 pm Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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Please check the tire date code(s) & report back…
- Dave _________________ 86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS> |
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jimf909 Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014 Posts: 7404 Location: WA/ID
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Posted: Wed May 31, 2023 11:20 pm Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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Bummer. Glad to hear that you're getting good warranty support.
I love Nokian tires for their snow capabilities, including WRC3s. A few years back I bought three season Nokian Entyre 2.0s for the VW CC. They suffered a similar but less gruesome fate. Nokian gave me a credit and I bought WRG4s for the CC. Two years in and they've been great.
When the failure occurred in 2021 these tires were less than 4 years old and had over 60% of tread remaining:
2017 date stamp:
I'm irrationally committed to Nokian because they work so well and studded Hakkapeliittas have made my plow truck nearly unstoppable.
Regardless, your point to keep a close eye on the condition of tire is well taken.. _________________ - Jim
Abscate wrote: |
Do not get killed, do not kill others.
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Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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pnwkayaker Samba Member
Joined: April 01, 2008 Posts: 918 Location: Sammamish, WA
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:34 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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Could you please post the manufacturing date? It’s the 4-digit number that follows the DOT code. I have Rotiiva installed in my Syncro and they’ve performed well so far (8-year old, a replacement might be due soon), _________________ 87 Syncro Westy EJ25 ("Tardis")
Seattle Meetup at Marymoor (link)
A collection of Simple Useful Mods (SUM) (link) |
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elizer Samba Member
Joined: May 02, 2016 Posts: 1450 Location: Northern Virginia
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:36 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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different size but i have pre covid wrcs on a mini cooper that have no issues like yours.
But great thing you got discount tire. They are fantastic with their customer service so far. I would also contact nokian directly. _________________ 91 3 knob syncro, fas 1.9tdi |
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pnwkayaker Samba Member
Joined: April 01, 2008 Posts: 918 Location: Sammamish, WA
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:39 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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Wildthings wrote: |
Just changed out the 23 year old tires on my pickup today, light checking along the bead, but no serious cranking anywhere. I had had one break a belt last year so well knew I needed to get the others off even if they looked good. |
My understanding is that installed tires older than 10 years should be replaced (though it might also be dependent on the number of miles, correct me if I’m wrong), never heard of a tire installed 23 years ago still being in use. _________________ 87 Syncro Westy EJ25 ("Tardis")
Seattle Meetup at Marymoor (link)
A collection of Simple Useful Mods (SUM) (link) |
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DanHoug Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2016 Posts: 4717 Location: Bemidji, MN
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:47 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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wow.
date code 3019?
_________________ -dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.
'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd
Past projects can be found at--
www.thefixitworkshop.com |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16474 Location: Brookeville, MD
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Wildthings Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 50261
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 6:35 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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pnwkayaker wrote: |
Wildthings wrote: |
Just changed out the 23 year old tires on my pickup today, light checking along the bead, but no serious cranking anywhere. I had had one break a belt last year so well knew I needed to get the others off even if they looked good. |
My understanding is that installed tires older than 10 years should be replaced (though it might also be dependent on the number of miles, correct me if I’m wrong), never heard of a tire installed 23 years ago still being in use. |
They still held air with almost zero loss over the course of a year which indicates the rubber compound hadn't seen much deterioration and they had quite normal looking threadwear up until last year. I believe the one failure that happened last fall was caused by water having gotten through a fairly minor cut or puncture into the belts and causing the steel to rust, as when the belt broke one could see a line of rust running at an angle across the belt. The truck seldom carried much weight and the tires had probably seen less that 5000 long distance highway miles over their 23 years meaning they had seen little heat. Mostly they just tooled around locally seldom going over 60 mph for more than 5 miles at a stretch. The PNW has nice clean air and doesn't get much super hot weather either which also would have added to the tire life.
They were Avon tires and Avon primarily makes motorcycle tires so maybe the rubber compound that was used is better than that of a typical truck tire? I would certainly have bought another set of the same if I could. The tires on my Toyota mini pickup which are maybe 7 years old at this point look way worse and will likely give me only a third of the miles of the Avons on my full size Dodge did. There is just no comparison between the quality of the two sets of tires. I would not buy the same tires that are on the Toyota again even though I have had good luck with the same manufacturer before. The Toyota also sits in AZ and not the PNW which likely accounts for some of the rapid aging, but I think the rubber compound on the Toyota's tires was sorry from day one. |
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Abscate Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014 Posts: 22573 Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 7:15 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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Rubber can last decades or just a few years. There is a stochastic component to failure that makes MTBF a futile concept.
I had a boat trailer once with dry rotted tires on one side and a perfect tire on the other. Same batch of tire, same date code. Rotted tire was out of sun. Replaced after 5 years, the other one ran 12 with no rot.
Probably something to do with how the rubber lubricants are dispersed in the pot on manufacturing. Pure speculation _________________ .ssS! |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 7:41 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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Nokian tires have been 100% junk for the past 8-10 years in my experience. They simply do not hold up well at all
Use to do a ton of them at the dealer. We finally switched to other brands and never looked back
Also, if you got a 'good' set of Nokians, they wore out REALLY fast in comparison to other brands _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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slownsteady Samba Member
Joined: October 22, 2013 Posts: 49 Location: New Hampshire
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 7:48 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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Over the many years I've been a big fan of Nokian tires, however over the past 2 years I have come to change my mind. I've gone through six tires where the belts have failed requiring the tires to be replaced at my cost. 4 tires on my Audi and 2 on my Vanagon. All were the EnTyre product. I'm currently running EnTyre 2.0's on the Vanagon, however when these wear out and need replacement, I will likely switch brands. On the Audi I've already switched to Michelin Cross Climates with great success - very happy with these. |
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dubbified Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2010 Posts: 1406 Location: Redmond, WA
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:06 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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Thanks for all the help here everyone!
The code is 1819!
I'm hopeful to get a replacement set of these tires but.. am also weighing out goig to a alternative tire that is closer in load range 106/107.
Calling Les schwab they cant get anything over 99.
Money isnt the issue when considering tires for this camper, for evident reasons being gear, 4 passengers (I am a strapping thick german guy 270lbs), 37 gallons of fuel, 30 gallons of water, a portapotty, multiple onboard upgrades that add weight, steel bumpers front/rear, side runner steel impact bars. This does not include the food, and lets not forget the the biggest bag of weed you'd ever seen.. Gowesty stash knob just will not do.
Last edited by dubbified on Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:28 am; edited 1 time in total |
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ilocan Samba Member
Joined: March 31, 2010 Posts: 6 Location: Kirkland, WA
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:22 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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I'm currently running a set of Nokian WRG3 and they are okay. My next set of tires I'm planning on trying are the Milestar WEATHERGUARD AW365 215 /65 R16 102T XL.
Last edited by ilocan on Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:43 am; edited 1 time in total |
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jimf909 Samba Member
Joined: April 03, 2014 Posts: 7404 Location: WA/ID
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:32 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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dubbified wrote: |
Thanks for all the help here everyone!
The code is 1819!
I'm hopeful to find a similar tire if you guys have any suggestions here. |
Those 4 year old tires look worse than the 18 year old tires I took to the dump last week.
A few years back I went from 16" GW MB lookalike wheels to 15" steel wheels. I also wanted to try a different tire so I put the 16" WRC3s on the shelf (about 50% tread left) and installed 15" BFG KO2s.
My impression is that the Nokians are slightly better in snow (all that siping) and a bit quieter but they're both good tires (if the Nokians don't self-destruct). If you're done with Nokians I support the choice of the KO2s.
15" KO2s, edit: load range 100/97 - my van is heavy too (typically 5,000 to 5,300 pounds) and the stout load ranges of the Nokians were another attraction but I find these BFGs to handle well.
16" WRC3s
FWIW, YMMV. _________________ - Jim
Abscate wrote: |
Do not get killed, do not kill others.
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Current: 1990 Westy Camper - Bostig RG4, 2wd, manual trans w/Peloquin, NAHT high-top, 280 ah LFP battery, 160 watts solar, Flash Silver, seam rust, bondo, etc., etc.
Past: 1985 Westy Camper - 1.9 wbx, 2wd, manual trans, Merian Brown, (sold after 17 years to Northwesty who converted it to a Syncro). |
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dubbified Samba Member
Joined: March 03, 2010 Posts: 1406 Location: Redmond, WA
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 9:45 am Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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Jim, if you're looking for a compliment for your van....
I'm giving it! I like that color! Looks good!
Also on that Milestar suggestion
I checked the milestar oem site that model is a XL load.
The Nokian WRC3s are a 106/107 index.
I'm waiting for a call back on what Discount tires is going to do, the manager sent Nokian pictures and they have zero issue with replacement.. but also I hear that tire is no longer made.. same with the Rotiiva. Maybe thhey have a better model.. or comparable.
On the callback from the tire shop, they have Nokian Hakkaplita CR4 which actually is an improved version of the WRC3, and it does have characterisitics of the Rotiiva. Hah. If you are one to study hydrodynamics, tires/grip, and things like slushplane/hydroplane.. their tred pattern is spot on.
Sold. I will keep Nokians, and apparently they're offering a credit on the issue. Win win. |
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dobryan Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006 Posts: 16474 Location: Brookeville, MD
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shadetreemech Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2005 Posts: 777 Location: Claremont, CA
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Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2023 5:22 pm Post subject: Re: Zero mile Nokian WRC3 tires did this?.... check your tires! |
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It's a plot. Saw this on my Nokians a coupla days ago.
_________________ '84 GL 1.9
'01 Volvo V70 T5
'88 Westy - "MZDRTHY" |
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