Compare

In the tire world, all-weather tires are a fairly recent development, so what’s the deal with them? Do they differ significantly from all-season tires? The answer to that is a qualified yes. All-weather tires are designed to do a specific job whereas all-season tires aren’t always capable. Any driver who’s tried to get from A to B in rough winter conditions when there are 3-4 inches of snow on the road likely has found out that most all-season tires are (in most cases) not going to be able to offer the traction they need for dependable acceleration, braking, handling, and control.

All-weather tire designs are centered around better winter traction, with optimized rubber formulations, redesigned tread patterns, improved, strategically-placed sipe networks, and other features, all of which are intended for reliable traction in snow and slush. In other words, all-weather tires fill a role between all-season and winter tires, without the seasonal process of dismounting winter tires and then deciding a good way to store them once temperatures get above 40-45 degrees Fahrenheit.

Are you familiar with SimpleScore? SimpleScore is a proprietary system the SimpleTire team developed to give you a quick, at-a-glance idea of a tire’s strengths and weaknesses. We take a look at the specs, review information, and other data points for any given tire, then use that information to arrive at a numerical value from 1-10 for traction, handling, longevity, and an overall average SimpleScore. For the Firestone Weathergrip and Nokian WR G4, the SimpleScore numbers shake out like this:

Firestone WeatherGrip

• Traction: 8.7
• Handling: 8.6
• Longevity: 9.2
• Overall average SimpleScore: 8.7

Nokian WR G4

• Traction: 9.6
• Handling: 9.4
• Longevity: 8.2
• Overall average SimpleScore: 8.8

As you can see, the Nokian WR G4 and Firestone Weathergrip compare pretty well with each other in the pertinent SimpleScore categories – any product that gets ratings in the upper 8s or 9s on a 1-10 scale has got to have something pretty good going for it. But as handy as SimpleScore is, it’s still a 30,000 foot view that doesn’t give you a detailed idea of a tire’s capabilities. Let’s get in there and get a closer look at this Firestone Weathergrip vs Nokian WR G4 tire comparison review:

Firestone Weathergrip tires

First out of the gate, let’s talk about the Weathergrip from Firestone, a premium all-weather tire with the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service. Firestone loaded up the Weathergrip with innovative features like their Hydro-Grip Technology Package which includes a contact patch that’s redesigned to put more rubber on the road, chamfered shoulder blocks, full-depth grooves, and open shoulder slots. Put it all together and the Hydro-Grip package is a system that works as a piece to give an edge in grip and performance. In deeper snow and slush, the Weathergrip’s traction is capable and dependable with Firestone’s Snow Traction Claw Technology, high-density zigzag sipes, a network of interlocking grooves, and snow vices on the intermediate ribs.

On wet roads, the Firestone’s open shoulder slots and circumferential grooves efficiently divert water away from the tire’s contact patch to resist hydroplaning. The Firestone Weathergrip is built for stability and durability; internal design details include a single-ply nylon casing capped by a steel belt package and a nylon reinforcement layer. Firestone covers the Weathergrip from the factory with a 65,000 mile limited manufacturer’s tread life warranty. Braking performance, cornering, and steering response are confident, poised, and predictable, and highway noise is muted thanks to the tread pitch arrangement of the Weathergrip, which is randomized and computer-tuned to disrupt certain frequencies and overtones. SimpleTire’s price on the Firestone Weathergrip starts at $125.99 per tire.

Nokian WR G4 tires

Based in Finland, Nokian (yes - the same parent company as Nokia phones) is a tire manufacturer that’s built their reputation on tires designed for the challenges of driving in Scandinavian winters. Indeed, the WR G4 has the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake certification for severe winter service, thanks to a rubber formulation that’s designed for versatile performance in everything from broiling desert heat to subfreezing temperatures.

For performance in snow and slush, the WR G4 is designed with an aggressive, asymmetric all-season tread, and centipede siping that are proven to boost grip and handling. Treadwear properties are first-rate too, thanks to an Aramid-reinforced sidewall that enhances both durability and handling. The WR G4’s shoulder design and tread compound offer even wear, with Nokian offering a 60,000 mile limited manufacturer tread life warranty. Cornering, road manners, and braking performance are all sharp and crisp thanks to the WR G4’s tread pattern, grooves, sipes, Aramid sidewall, and large shoulder blocks all working together to enhance the tire’s rigidity and resist tread squirm. The asymmetric all-weather tread features Nokian’s Blade Grooves, designed to resist hydroplaning by pushing slush and standing water out of the tire’s contact patch. The Nokian WR G4 is also designed to be a great fit for hybrid and EV vehicles with its low cabin noise and low rolling resistance. SimpleTire’s price on the Nokian WR G4 starts at $93.96 per tire.

Firestone Weathergrip vs Nokian WR G4 tires on traction

Traction is the #1 job with the Weathergrip and the WR G4; both tires have aggressive all-weather designs with carefully laid-out sipe patterns, circumferential grooves, and angled grooves. Both tires do a great job of resisting hydroplaning on wet roads, While the Firestone and the Nokian have tread patterns that differ pretty significantly from each other, both tires excel in winter conditions and both are certified with the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rating for severe winter service. Both tires also perform well on dry roads, with short braking distances and composed, confident grip on corners and during acceleration. Still, with all that going for it, the Firestone Weathergrip falls behind the Nokian with a SimpleScore of 8.7 vs the very strong score of 9.6 for the Nokian. Our call is:

ADVANTAGE: Nokian WR G4

Firestone Weathergrip vs Nokian WR G4 tires on handling

When it comes to handling, it just would make sense that traction is going to be tied in pretty closely with the tire’s handling properties and cornering ability. If your tires aren’t getting a good grip on the pavement, whether the roads are snowy, wet, or dry, then your front wheels might veer outside of your desired path for a turn (understeer) or the rear wheels could kick out and fishtail (oversteer), both of which could lead to a skid and momentary loss of control.

With a SimpleScore of 9.4 for the Nokian and 8.6 for the Firestone, it’s pretty clear that both tires perform well in terms of handling as well as traction, but the Firestone trails the Nokian just like it did in the traction category. Any tire’s handling properties are going to be affected by its rigidity; as a vehicle enters a turn, the weight and inertia of the vehicle try to keep it moving forward, which puts a lot of stress on the tire’s shoulder blocks and sidewall and can lead to deformation of the tread, sometimes with the inboard side of the tire leaving the pavement completely. The reinforced sidewall and shoulder blocks of the Nokian are stiff enough to resist that deformation (also known as tread squirm) for handling and braking that are composed and confident. In this case, we defer to customers, and our call is:

ADVANTAGE: Nokian WR G4

Firestone Weathergrip vs Nokian WR G4 tires on longevity

In the longevity category, the Firestone and the Nokian both have pretty generous limited manufacturer’s tread life coverage, with a 65,000 mile warranty for the Firestone and 60,000 miles worth of coverage for the Nokian. It just stands to reason that in most cases, a tire’s SimpleScore for longevity is going to be tied straight in with its tread wear coverage, and sure enough, the Firestone turns in a SimpleScore of 9.2 for longevity vs 8.2 for the Nokian.

ADVANTAGE: Firestone Weathergrip

When to use each

The Firestone Weathergrip and Nokian WR G4 are both top-notch choices in all-weather tires, the kind of tires you can rely on for dependable traction year-round. As we noted, all-weather tires can be an ideal solution for anyone who has to contend with challenging winter weather every year but doesn’t want to deal with the headache of specialized winter tires. A big part of the traction of winter tires comes from a softer, more pliable tread compound that stays flexible in subfreezing weather.

The downside of that is that a winter tread compound is soft enough to wear quickly on warmer days. When temperatures get above 40-45 degrees, tire manufacturers recommend dismounting your winter tires and exchanging them for all-season tires again - which means you have the yearly headache of finding a place to store them for the next nine months until next year when the weather gets cold and the snow starts flying again. With a 3PMSF rating and true year-round performance, all-weather tires are a great, versatile way around that; if that sounds like your situation, you can’t go wrong with the Firestone or Nokian.

Which one should you choose?

In these head-to-head comparison reviews, the two tires are usually pretty closely matched with each other, making the “Which one should you choose” question a rather sticky one. That’s not really the case with the Firestone Weathergrip and Nokian WR G4, though. While the average SimpleScores are pretty close with 8.7 for the Firestone and 8.8 for the Nokian, the Nokian clearly outclasses the Firestone in terms of traction and handling and only loses ground in the longevity category (even though there’s only a difference of 5,000 miles in warranty coverage between the two).

With the WR G4, Nokian leverages decades of innovation, experience, and design know-how for high-performance winter tires, and that all informs the direction they’ve taken with this all-weather tire. So let’s take price into account as well: SimpleTire’s price on the Nokian WR G4 starts at $93.96 per tire, vs $125,99 per tire for the Firestone Weathergrip. After figuring price into the equation, the Nokian looks like an even better value, so our recommendation here at the SimpleTire team would have to be for the Nokian WR G4 in this matchup.

Still not sure which tire to buy? Fortunately, SimpleTire is here to help as our helpful agents are more than happy to assist you in selecting the right tire for your ride and budget.