Well,

My wife and I came to an agreement to go with dedicated winter/ summer tires. I was going to mount up a set of Michelin Latitude Alpins in 255/55-18, but by the time we came to the agreement, Tire Rack was sold out of this size for the season. I was unable to find them anywhere other than at one Canadian dealer, which would have been cost prohibitive.

So we went with the Nokian WRG2 SUVs in 255/55VR-18 (on Style 131's). They've only been mounted up for a short time so far. They have a rather 'beefy' appearance, and a somewhat aggressive looking tread next to the summer tires we've grown accustom to.

I haven't had a chance to really drive them in anything other than dry conditions so far, but they have a notably softer ride and reflexes (to be expected), but are not objectionably numb. Aesthetically the greatest impact is how small they look coming from the 19's, amazing what a one inch larger diameter wheel will do for the appearance).

I'll try to write an update on winter weather performance when I have more information..

Now I have to start thinking (and saving) about what Summer tire to purchase in the spring to replace the 4x4 Diamaris on the 19" wheels (63's) we have. They are old (over six years) and the tread is thin, so I'm not going to go another summer on them. Apparently Michelin just brought the 4x4 Diamaris back in the rear size (UTQG is still pending), and also makes the Latitude Diamaris in the correct staggered fitment, but I'm not clear on the difference between the tires (tread looks identical and the specs are very similar, anyone know?)..

Tire Rack has a few options, but other suggestions for 19" staggered spec summer tires are welcomed, thanks..

I'll try to remember to add a couple of photos of the WRG2's on the truck in a day or two..

Any update on your experience with these? Hit the snow yet with them?

I just bought a set and will get them installed this coming Saturday. I have the standard 17" inch 235/65/17's.

Unfortunately I haven't had enough snow driving to form a solid opinion. I've driven it once with about a 1" on the ground, and the only real indication of the tires performance I had during that drive was that it took a good deal of braking effort to bring the ABS alive, but it was a short trip, and not much snow. Be interested to hear your impressions as well..

Ok cool. I'll definitely be posting an update/review on the forum. We're expected to get some snow this weekend too.

Well, we've put enough miles on ours to weigh in with our opinion. So far they have been great, extremely competent in wet weather conditions, never any hint of hydroplaning or loss of control, even when driving elevated speeds in horrible downpours..

Dry Performance is on par with the stock Michelin Energy MXV4's in warmer temperatures, slightly better in bitter cold winter temps. The sidewalls are a bit soft (as where the stock Michelins) next to the 19" Diamaris, and you can feel them roll a bit when pushed in the corners, but this was to be expected, and is not objectionable enough in a winter tire for me to complain..

Snow Performance was good to very good, enabling us to comfortably make progress without issue in the storms we saw, though the biggest one of the season (14"-16") the X5 sat in the driveway for. A few days later we were able to 'brake trail' up a long (close to a 1/2 mile), slightly inclined driveway covered in about 10-12" of undisturbed (which had been melting down from the 14-16" total a few days before) snow with little drama, no wheel spin, and no traction control lights. This was done at slow speed, without a momentum start.

Stopping distances in snow were definitely shorter and more confidence inspiring than the stock Michelins, as was ice performance, though ice performance I would rate as marginal to good verses a dedicated winter tire (remember the WRG2 SUV was designed to be run year round as an all season, complete with a 460 UTQG tread wear rating).

Now its time for Summer tires to replace the Michelin Diamaris junk on our 19's..

Seeing as you decided to go with both a winter and a summer set, why didn't you go with a 'true' dedicated winter tire for the 18's?...just curious

A couple of reasons. The first being that the 'true' winter tire I was looking for was no longer available for the season (see first post in this thread). This may have been a blessing in disguise though when I look back on it. We rarely have the need to deal with true ICE driving, which from all the reports I've read is really where the advantage to what you would call a 'true' dedicated winter tire.

Snow performance of the Nokian WRG2 is pretty strong, and it carries the severe service rating (snowflake on the mountain). We get a couple of decent storms a year, but we don't get upstate NY type annual snowfalls in our area. My primary goals for the winter tires were a rubber compound that is designed for winter temperatures and tread pattern designed for snow traction. THE WRG2 seems to have both.

Additionally, the more 'dedicated' winter tires seem to give up wet and dry traction (particularly in the form of stopping distances) in multiple tests (see this Car and Driver test from 2009 to see what I mean). Wet/Dry and Snow traction have been excellent throughout the winter, and in my opinion probably better than we would have had with the Michelin Latitude Alpins I was originally considering fitting.

Finally, I liked the idea that if I didn't get around to fitting the summer tires soon enough, that the winter tires would 'hold up' well enough to warmer temps that we wouldn't loose signifigant tread before next seasons need, and as it turns out, here we are in April and I'm still trying to decided on new summer tires to put on the 19's..