Hey all....

I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a set of Nokian Vatiiva A/T, 225/70/16 .

Has anybody here ever had experience with them? I've been reading some decent reviews about them...

Here's some info/eye candy:
http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11952&group=2.02&name=Nokian

http://www.badboytires.com/images/products/042408102113s.jpg

-S

I have linked my post from my initial install here
Intsalled Pics of Vatiiva AT (http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=804486&postcount=28)

I have about 10K on 225/70/16 Nokian Vatiiva ATs and I have nothing but good things to say about them. No rubbing issues and I do not find them to be particularly noisy for an all terrain tire. I probably could have gone a size bigger but there is always a next time.

We had a pretty interesting winter in PA and I had no issues getting around in the snow and other east coast muck. I run them at 42psi front and rear and they are barely showing any wear.

Nokian light truck tires sold in the USA are made for them to their specifications by Cooper, so don't be surprised if the tires you get have "Made in USA" on the sidewall. I had to do a little research after seeing this on my tires.

Hey! Thank you for the response! Great to hear that you've had a good experience with them so far...

...cuz I got 'em on today! :)

225/70/16 as well. I had decided on that size the other night just because I could get them with an OWL for that sporty look ;)

I can already tell that the Element is more sure-footed than it was with the stock tires on it. I'll bump up the pressure as well (garage only put 35 all around in them).
I was just about to go outside and clean the blue stuff off the tires, but thought I'd check the forums to see if anybody responded yet... lol

Posting pics soon... :)

I did a lot of research and decided on the yokohama at-s. Rugged but not too rugged, good street performance and reasonably priced. I used 235 70 16.

Here are some quick pics:
http://www.fightingzero.com/element/10.jpg

http://www.fightingzero.com/element/11.jpg

http://www.fightingzero.com/element/12.jpg

http://www.fightingzero.com/element/13.jpg

Looks great! Nice choice of color as well:)

Ok, so I've had the tires for about 1000mi so far and have gone on two small trips, 95% highway miles. Here's what I've encountered gas mileage-wise:

1- Start of trip, fill to top.
2- 35lbs psi in all tires
3- Average highway speeds are about 65-70, no lead-footing it.
3- At half-tank, my trip odometer reads 177 or 178 miles.

So, 15.9/2 = 7.95 gallons used
178mi / 7.95 gallons = 22.3mi / gallon

That's very rough math and I have a feeling that I'm getting a little bit better gas mileage than that. At one point I had about 1/3 tank left and the trip odometer read that I put on about 230mi since fill-up. The 225/70/16 size is only about 1% larger than stock, but also has a more aggressive tread over the stock tire. When taking that into consideration and now looking at the math, this was a solid choice in a tire for a few reasons:

1- Bigger tire fills out the wheel well a *touch* more.
2- Gas mileage is very close to what I was experiencing with stock tires.
3- More aggressive tread without the weight, significant rolling resistance, or "biting/digging" tread patterns like the BFG T/A KO or General Grabber AT2.
4- Sure-footed all-season tire with M+S rating. There's a ton of siping on this tire!

I would love to hear your feedback/comments/questions about it....

Overall, I'm super happy with the purchase and really believe that this actual tire should have been a stock tire or at the very least, a dealer installed option for an "off-road" package.

The best part?
$115/tire installed, out the door price with free lifetime balancing/rotation!

-S

Thanks for the info and glad you like your tires.

FYI when calculating mpg use how much fuel you put in the tank and divide into the mileage. Estimating the half or third of a tank by using the gas gauge is nowhere near accurate.

Thanks for the info and glad you like your tires.

FYI when calculating mpg use how much fuel you put in the tank and divide into the mileage. Estimating the half or third of a tank by using the gas gauge is nowhere near accurate.

Exactly.. that's why I gave the disclaimer that it was a rough guess.. ;)

ps. NBP rules.

full depth siping really helps in the snow as well. we put them on a ton of trucks here in buffalo.