Nexen Winguard Winspike tires: reviews. Nexen Winguard Spike: description, specifications

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

Among the winter car tires presented in domestic stores, there are both favorites proven over the years, loved by motorists for their reliability and safety, and new items that many people buy because of an attractive price or as an experiment. One of the models belonging to the first category is the Nexen WinGuard Spike. Reviews about it are easy to find due to the fact that it is popular as an affordable, but at the same time reliable solution that ensures safe driving in the harsh Russian winter. They will help you make the final decision whether to buy these tires for your car. However, for starters, it would be nice to get acquainted with the official information provided by the manufacturer and authoritative automotive publications.

Model in brief

For the first time the novelty saw the lightback in 2011 and immediately attracted the attention of motorists. The fact is that it is produced by the well-established Korean tire corporation Nexen, which in itself guarantees acceptable quality. Another positive side was the relatively low price of tires. The basic sizes are displayed in stores with a price tag of 2300 Russian rubles. This suggests that not only drivers of premium cars, but also owners of “classics” who cannot afford to invest too much money in a car can afford a set of Nexen WinGuard Win Spike tires.

Purpose of the model

Paying attention to the name, you can see that the rubber belongs to the class of winter models. The manufacturer during the development process tried to bring the testing conditions as close as possible to real winter roads, which made it possible to create a product that can cope with most of the negative manifestations of adverse weather conditions in the cold season. This list includes work with a tread pattern, derivation of an improved rubber compound formula, thinking over the location of the spikes and much more. Thanks to this approach, Nexen WinGuard Spike tires are recommended in many stores as one of the best, regardless of the region of residence.

Tread pattern

In the process of placing tread blocks, engineers came up with the idea to take a risky step, which not every manufacturer dares to take. It's a V-shapedlocation of individual elements. In fact, it was a very successful move, which allowed to improve directional stability, provide higher dynamic performance, and also make the tire brake as efficiently as possible.

As shown by the results of factory testing of experimental Nexen WinGuard Win Spike models, due to this arrangement of tread blocks in the central part of the working surface, rubber is able to keep the car well on snow and ice surfaces even in the absence of spikes. And by increasing the distance between the blocks by cutting wide lamellas, it was possible to achieve good self-cleaning and raise the rowing characteristics, which are so necessary when driving on loose fresh snow or slush.

In order to prevent the blocks from connecting to each other under high loads due to wide lamellas, zigzag bridges were placed between them, which do not adversely affect the performance, but at the same time allow the tire to always keep a given shape, even when hitting a major obstacles.

Spike placement

Because in today's realities, each manufacturer strives to establish a minimum, but at the same time effective number of spikes, the designers from Nexen had to pretty rack their brains. As a result, it was decided to arrange the spikes on the Nexen WinGuard Spike in 12 separate rows, each of which works in conjunction with the others as a single mechanism. As a result, on ice, rubber is able to hold the car both duringmaneuvering, and when starting/braking.

Another nice feature is the well-developed stud fastening system. Thanks to the use of two-component rubber, they are securely fixed in the seats and do not fall out even with an aggressive driving style.

Variety of sizes

If the manufacturer had not taken care of the availability of the model for a large number of different car designs, it would hardly have received the popularity that it has now. That is why on the shelves of tire stores it is easy to find specimens with an inner diameter of 13 to 18 inches, as well as a wide variety of sizes. Tires also differ in speed indices, which you should pay attention to when buying. It is worth noting that often options with a higher allowable speed are preferred, because they have increased strength.

Judging by the presented sizes, this rubber can be used on a large number of modern cars, ranging from simple sedans to small light minibuses, minivans and even SUVs. For larger vehicles, there is a separate line of Nexen WinGuard Spike SUVs, featuring a reinforced structure and larger diameters.

Positive feedback about the model

It's time to analyze the opinions of drivers who have already operated this rubber model for some time. In their reviews of the Nexen WinGuard Spike, they indicate the following positive aspects:

• Acceptableprice. Compared to models from other manufacturers that receive similar high ratings from users, the rubber in question is quite cheap and is an example of good value for money.
• Reliable fastening of the Nexen WinGuard Spike. Tires do not require maintenance after each season, even if your driving style is quite aggressive.
• Low noise level. Of course, the presence of spikes provides for some noise and rumble when driving, but it is much lower than in competing models.
• High wear resistance. The well-thought-out formula of the rubber compound and the effective arrangement of the tread elements made the tire durable and resistant to abrasive wear. According to reviews of the Nexen WinGuard Spike, this allows you to drive more than one tens of thousands of kilometers with their help.
• Good flotation on loose snow. Proper arrangement of the tread elements significantly increased rowing performance, allowing you to easily overcome snow obstacles, as well as drive a car during thaws, minimizing the effect of aquaplaning.

As you can see from this list, tires have every chance to be called one of the best models presented in auto shops. However, do not forget about a few of their disadvantages.

Negative sides

Among the disadvantages, users most often name too deep landing spikes. Because of this, two problems arise at once: firstly, the spikes do not have enough contact with the ice and do notcan work effectively in emergency situations; secondly, after a while, a number of owners have a problem of air etching from the place where the spikes are attached. Otherwise, no critical issues were found among the reviews of the Nexen WinGuard Spike.

Conclusion

This model can be called quite successful. It is especially suitable for those in whose regions heavy snowfalls are far from uncommon. Its rowing characteristics allow you to ride on fresh snow without any problems. And the low cost is an additional factor that speaks in its favor. If you are not embarrassed by some of the negative aspects, you should definitely consider purchasing a well-thought-out and good model that can last several seasons.