Brand guide

Nexen Winter and All-Weather Tires in Ottawa

Nexen runs the widest winter and all-weather lineup of any value brand we fit — studless, studdable, performance, all-weather touring, highway and all-terrain. That breadth is the point: there is usually a Nexen that fits the vehicle and the driver exactly.

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NexenBrand guide

Is there a rebate on this tire right now?

We run the manufacturer programs on these tires as they open, and they change through the season. Current amounts and dates are always on our specials page.

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At a glance

Studless winter	Winguard Ice 3, Winguard Ice Plus
Studdable winter	Winguard Winspike 3
Performance winter	Winguard Sport 2
All-weather touring	N’Blue 4Season 2
All-weather highway	Roadian HTX2
All-terrain	Roadian ATX
Severe snow rated	Yes, across the winter and all-weather lines
Fits	Cars, crossovers, SUVs and light trucks

Why the breadth matters

Most value tire brands offer one winter tire and hope it suits everyone. Nexen offers a studless commuter tire, a studdable one, a speed-rated performance winter tire, two all-weather options and an all-terrain — which means the fitting conversation can actually be about your vehicle and your driving rather than about what is available.

That matters more than it sounds. A speed-rated German sedan and a base-model crossover need genuinely different winter tires, and putting the crossover’s tire on the sedan gives you vague steering and a speed rating that does not match the car. Having the Winguard Sport 2 in the same lineup as the Winguard Ice 3 means we do not have to compromise on one to save money on the other.

The all-weather side of the line is worth separate attention. The N’Blue 4Season 2 and Roadian HTX2 both carry a severe-snow rating and both publish long treadwear warranties, which is the combination people are usually looking for when they say they want one set of tires.

The Nexen lineup, model by model

Everything here carries the three-peak mountain snowflake. The difference is what each is optimised for.

Model	Type	Best for
Winguard Ice 3	Studless winter	The mainstream ice-focused choice for cars and crossovers
Winguard Ice Plus	Studless winter	The companion ice-focused fitment — ask us which covers your size
Winguard Winspike 3	Studdable winter, directional	Rural glare ice where studs are permitted; offered in a very wide size range
Winguard Sport 2	Performance winter, studless	Speed-rated cars — H, V and W ratings, so the tire matches the vehicle
N’Blue 4Season 2	All-weather touring	One set all year on a car or crossover; about 112,000 km treadwear warranty
Roadian HTX2	All-weather highway	SUVs and light trucks that stay on pavement; UTQG 700 treadwear rating
Roadian ATX	All-terrain	Trucks and SUVs that leave pavement — gravel, job sites, cottage roads

The three that come up most often

Winguard Winspike 3 — the studdable one

A directional studdable winter tire offered across a very wide size range. The directional tread funnels water, slush and melting snow out of the contact patch, and the siping is dense. Studs are optional: the holes are moulded in. Ontario restricts studded tires rather than permitting them generally, so check the current rule for your situation before ordering a set studded.

Winguard Sport 2 — the speed-rated one

A studless performance winter tire available in H, V and W speed ratings, using high-density multi-siping rather than studs for ice grip. This is the one for a car whose original tires were speed-rated: fitting a lower-rated winter tire changes how the car behaves at highway speed and can affect your insurance position.

N’Blue 4Season 2 — the all-weather one

Nexen’s all-weather touring tire, three-peak mountain snowflake rated, with a treadwear warranty around 112,000 km. If you want one set on the car year-round and you are comparing against a Goodyear WeatherReady 2, this is the value-brand alternative in that comparison.

Three tread cross-sections side by side: a studded tire with a metal pin seated in the tread, a studdable tire with an empty moulded stud hole, and a studless tire relying on sipe biting edges, with the grip mechanism of each labelled. — Nexen’s lineup covers all three. The Winspike 3 is studdable; the Ice 3 and Sport 2 are studless by design.

Temperature axis from minus 30 to plus 30 degrees Celsius showing the intended operating band of summer, all-season, all-weather and winter tires, with the 7 degree changeover line marked and the eight tire lines Franco Garage runs rebate programs on plotted onto their category. — Nexen is one of the few value brands with a product in every one of these bands, which is why the fitting conversation can stay about your driving.

Sizes, fitment and how we quote

We do not warehouse tires. We order in from our Ottawa distributors — usually the same or the next business day — and you get a full installed quote before we order anything. That quote includes mounting, balancing, valve stems or TPMS service kits, and old-tire disposal, so the number you see is the number you pay.

Bring the vehicle, or read the size off the placard in the driver’s door jamb, and we will confirm it against what your vehicle should be running. If your size is not made in this line we will tell you that rather than substituting something else quietly. More on what we do with the tires once they arrive is on our tire services page.

Every number on the sidewall, decoded. The placard in your door jamb is the authority — not what happens to be on the car now.

What this means for an Ottawa driver

Nexen is the brand we most often reach for when a household needs to tire more than one vehicle at once and the vehicles are not alike — a commuter sedan, a crossover and a half-ton, say. Being able to put the Sport 2 on the sedan, the Ice 3 or the N’Blue on the crossover and the Roadian on the truck, all from one supplier order at a value price, is a practical advantage over brands that only make one winter tire.

It is also the lineup that best fits the two Ottawa realities that pull in opposite directions. Inside the Greenbelt, roads are plowed and salted, and a studless tire or an all-weather is the right call. Out past the urban boundary — around Carp, North Gower, Osgoode, or across into rural west Quebec — the roads are maintained less, the glaze lasts longer, and a studdable Winspike 3 starts to make sense in a way it never does on Bank Street.

Match the speed rating to your car. If your originals were V-rated, the Winguard Sport 2 exists precisely so you do not have to drop a rating to get a winter tire.
Ontario restricts studded tires — they are not generally permitted. Confirm the current rule for your circumstances before ordering the Winspike 3 studded.
Ontario insurers have been required since 2016 to offer a winter tire discount, typically 2–5%. It is not automatic; ask your broker.
Quebec requires winter tires December 1 to March 15. Every snowflake-rated Nexen in this lineup satisfies that, including the all-weather models.

What installation includes here

Mounting and balancing

Every tire is balanced on the machine, not eyeballed. An unbalanced wheel shows up as a vibration at a specific speed and chews the tire unevenly.

Valve stems or TPMS kits

Rubber valve stems get replaced with the tire. TPMS sensors get new service kits — the seals and collars are consumables, not permanent parts.

Torqued to specification

Wheels go on with a torque wrench to your vehicle’s spec, not an impact gun. Over-torquing warps rotors; under-torquing loses wheels.

Pressures set properly

Set to the placard, or to the load if you tow. Cold-weather pressure drops are why the light comes on the first cold morning.

Old tire disposal

Included in the quote. Ontario tire stewardship fees are part of the number we give you, not a surprise at the counter.

Seasonal storage

Ask us — if you have nowhere to keep a second set, we can talk about what storage looks like.

Nexen — questions we actually get asked

Straight answers, from the counter at Beech Street.

It depends on the vehicle and where you drive. Car or crossover on plowed city roads: Winguard Ice 3. Speed-rated car: Winguard Sport 2, so you keep the rating. Rural roads with sustained ice, where studs are permitted: Winspike 3. One set all year on a car: N’Blue 4Season 2. One set all year on an SUV or light truck that stays on pavement: Roadian HTX2. Truck that leaves pavement: Roadian ATX. Tell us the vehicle and the commute and we will narrow it in one conversation.

They are a legitimate value-brand option with genuine severe-snow ratings across the winter and all-weather lines. You are generally trading some outright ice performance and some late-life consistency against a premium tire, in exchange for a substantially lower price. Compared with running all-seasons through an Ottawa winter, a snowflake-rated Nexen is a large safety improvement.

The Ice 3 is optimised for ice and snow grip on ordinary cars and crossovers. The Sport 2 is a performance winter tire available in H, V and W speed ratings, using high-density multi-siping, and it is built to keep a speed-rated car feeling like a speed-rated car in the cold. If your originals carried a V or W rating, the Sport 2 is the one to look at.

It is an all-weather highway tire carrying a three-peak mountain snowflake, so it passed a standardised snow traction test. It also publishes a UTQG treadwear rating of 700, which is high. The usual all-weather caveat applies: it is genuinely winter-capable on plowed roads and it is not a dedicated winter tire on glare ice.

Only if your driving is genuinely rural glare ice, and only after confirming the current Ontario rules, which restrict studded tires rather than permitting them generally. On the salted, plowed roads that make up most Ottawa driving, studs are noisier, wear faster and grip worse than the same tire studless. We will have that conversation with you before we stud anything.

We do not warehouse tires. We order in from our Ottawa distributors, usually the same or the next business day, and we quote the full installed price — mounting, balancing, valve stems or TPMS service kits and old-tire disposal — before anything is ordered.

What Ottawa Customers Say About Our Service

4.9/5 from 293 reviews

"I dropped my car off at Franco Garage around 11:15am (no appointment, they took me right away) and by 12:30pm they had already ordered my car battery AND installed it! The cost was amazing. They only charged me for the battery itself (under $200) and $15 for labour. Everywhere else I called prior to Franco Garage was quoting between $250-$432 for the battery alone and a high labour cost, not to mention long wait times. I will definitely bring my car back to Franco Garage!! What an incredible experience. The service was extremely fast and the guys working were honest, reliable and really personable!"

Natasha Ferrill

2 months ago

"Noticed I had a deflating tire and a 6AM trip to Montreal the next day. The guys were already fully booked for the day, but still squeezed me in for a quick fix. I didnt even have to wait anywere, they were done in under 15 minites. Both mechanics were very polite and even offered to walk i to the ahop and showed me exactly what was causing the leak in the tire. They knew I was in a rush, but still charged me a fair price. I couldn't be happier, they actually made my day :)"

Yehor Sanko