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Head-to-head Updated May 2026

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV vs Nexen WinGuard — Compared (May 2026)

Our Relative Score blends 60% objective test data with 40% owner-review signal — so any two tires can be compared even if they were never tested on the same day.

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV tread pattern
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
89/100
Owner ratings
Dry
87
Wet
89
Snow
91
Comfort
84
Noise
80
Treadwear
86
Handling
86

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VS
Tire B Nexen

Nexen WinGuard

Winter Touring tires

Nexen WinGuard tread pattern
Objective (60%)
–/100
No test data yet
User signal (40%)
73/100
6 owner reviews
Dry
67
Wet
65
Snow
100
Comfort
72
Noise
–
Treadwear
80
Handling
60

Prices change daily — check the retailer for your size.

VerdictWinner: Firestone Winterforce 2 UV — better handling, wet and dry. Pick the Nexen WinGuard if snow matters most to you.
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Category breakdown

7 categories, side by side

Each bar is the Relative Score for that category. Expand a tile to see the test results and owner ratings behind it.

Dry

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Winterforce 2 UV leads by 20
A — Firestone Winterforce 2 UV
87
B — Nexen WinGuard
67
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVWinGuard
Tire Rack owners 89 –
Tyre Reviews owners – 67
SimpleTire owners 93 –

Wet

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Winterforce 2 UV leads by 24
A — Firestone Winterforce 2 UV
89
B — Nexen WinGuard
65
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVWinGuard
Tire Rack owners 89 –
Tyre Reviews owners – 65
SimpleTire owners 91 –

Snow

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) WinGuard leads by 9
A — Firestone Winterforce 2 UV
91
B — Nexen WinGuard
100
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVWinGuard
Tire Rack owners 89 –
Tyre Reviews owners – 100
SimpleTire owners 94 –

Comfort

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Winterforce 2 UV leads by 12
A — Firestone Winterforce 2 UV
84
B — Nexen WinGuard
72
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVWinGuard
Tire Rack owners 83 –
Tyre Reviews owners – 72
SimpleTire owners 88 –

Noise

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100)
A — Firestone Winterforce 2 UV
80
B — Nexen WinGuard
–
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVWinGuard
SimpleTire owners 80 –

Treadwear

Weight: Important
Score (0–100) Winterforce 2 UV leads by 6
A — Firestone Winterforce 2 UV
86
B — Nexen WinGuard
80
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVWinGuard
Tire Rack owners 85 –
Tyre Reviews owners – 80
SimpleTire owners 83 –

Handling

Weight: Neutral
Score (0–100) Winterforce 2 UV leads by 26
A — Firestone Winterforce 2 UV
86
B — Nexen WinGuard
60
Why this score
SourceWinterforce 2 UVWinGuard
Tyre Reviews owners – 60

Scores at a glance

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV vs Nexen WinGuard: scores by category (0–100)
CategoryFirestone Winterforce 2 UVNexen WinGuard
Relative Score 87 74
Dry 87 67
Wet 89 65
Snow 91 100
Comfort 84 72
Noise 80 –
Treadwear 86 80
Handling 86 60

Higher is better. The Relative Score follows your weights below; category scores do not change.

Personalize

Weight the categories that matter to you

Wet grip and treadwear start at “Important” — the two things buyers rank highest. Move the sliders and the scores update instantly.

Neutral
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Important
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Neutral
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Neutral
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Recomputed
Headline score

Tire A

Tire B

Only categories both tires have data for count toward the headline score.

From owners

Pros, cons & observations

Themes extracted from owner reviews across retailers and review sites — not the opinion of TireWheelGuide.

Tire A Firestone Winterforce 2 UV

Not enough owner reviews yet to extract themes.

Tire B Nexen WinGuard

The Nexen WinGuard is generally regarded as a capable budget-friendly winter tire that provides a significant performance upgrade over summer tires in cold and snowy conditions. While most users report reliable traction and confidence-inspiring handling in winter environments, some reviewers note that its performance on ice and in warmer temperatures is limited compared to premium alternatives.

Pros

  • Strong traction and handling in snow-covered conditions
  • Noticeable improvement in grip over summer tires in cold weather
  • Confidence-inspiring braking performance on mountain passes
  • High value-for-money proposition

Cons

  • Mediocre performance on ice
  • Poor dry-weather handling when temperatures exceed 10°C
  • Occasional difficulty with uphill starts in deep snow

Observations

  • Users report that the tire performs best when temperatures remain consistently below 4°C.
  • Performance is noted to be highly effective for mountain driving and steep inclines, though traction can be inconsistent during initial acceleration from a standstill.
Specifications

Specs side by side

Attribute A · Firestone Winterforce 2 UV B · Nexen WinGuard
Category—Winter Touring tires
Vehicle type—Passenger Car / Crossover
Sizes available30—
Rim diameters15″ – 18″—
Tread depth12/32″—
SidewallBlackwall—
Max pressure44 psi—
Final verdict

Which one should you actually buy?

Firestone

Nexen

Winner: Firestone Winterforce 2 UV — better handling, wet and dry. Pick the Nexen WinGuard if snow matters most to you.

Pick tire A You enjoy sharp, responsive handling

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV scores 86 vs 60 on handling.

Pick tire A Your priority is wet-weather safety

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV scores 89 vs 65 on wet.

Pick tire A You want the most grip on dry roads

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV scores 87 vs 67 on dry.

Pick tire A You want the most comfortable ride

Firestone Winterforce 2 UV scores 84 vs 72 on comfort.

Tire A · Firestone Winterforce 2 UV
Tire B · Nexen WinGuard

How do we compare tires?

Every category score blends two independent signals. 60% comes from professional tire tests (braking distances, lap times, noise measurements) normalized against the best tire in each test and weighted toward recent tests. 40% comes from thousands of owner reviews collected from retailers and review sites. When a tire has only one of the two, we use what exists and say so.

Community buzz from Reddit and forums is shown for context only — it never changes the score.