What to choose: winter or All-season tires?
Every fall, car owners will have to drive through the muddy, and later through the snow and ice. Snow can arrive at any time, and in a week, the roads become icy. That’s why it’s best to take care of comfort and safety in advance and choose tires for all seasons or winter. So, here the question arises – what is better? let’s figure it out.
What are tires for all seasons?
Tires for all seasons are somewhere between winter and summer tires. They are ideal for countries with mild climates in both summer and winter. They are not so suitable for much colder areas, but lately, winters are heating up and tires for all seasons are increasingly in demand. You can distinguish tires for all seasons from the rest by the following characteristics:
Treads are spaced less frequently than winter
The tread pattern is not so pronounced, not so massive compared to winter
The rubber compound is much stronger than summer tires
Excellent grip on wet and dry asphalt
Low permeability in deep snow
The actual lack of grip on the ice.
What are winter tires?
In turn, winter tires are ideal for severe frosts, deep snow, and icy road surfaces. The model of their protectors is strongly pronounced, which allows you to dig snow underneath. Winter tires are available with or without studs. Studded gum bites into the ice and allows you to move safer and safer in winter. In addition, winter tires are made of a special compound, which allows it to warm up while driving and become very soft and elastic. Thanks to this unique quality, the permeability of winter tires is so high. The price is slightly higher than tires for all seasons, but they are safer and more reliable in winter. The distinctive features of winter tires include the following:
Make more noise
Pronounced tread pattern, presence of tips
Excellent grip
Optimal for driving on snow and ice
The price is higher than that of the whole season
Cannot be used in summer
Summer tire in winter
These are for hot temperatures. They should be hard and relatively light, they should not have a rough and high tread, but they should effectively absorb moisture. A hard tire in summer is salvation because it does not melt, uses maximum hard mixtures, warm up from hot asphalt, the tire effectively engages with the roadside and there is no increase in wear. However, in winter, such gum begins to tan. In addition to the fact that it is “hard” in itself, under the influence of negative temperatures, it becomes harder, the tread can not effectively adhere to the road surface (practically does not wrinkle), with snow or ice, such a tire literally rolls on the skates, the braking distance increases and the grip deteriorates.
Winter tire in summer
The process is reversed here. It’s very soft. Here the task is to ensure that the elasticity of the tire remains at extremely low temperatures. Then, it effectively attaches to the asphalt, fights against snow and ice. Therefore, winter tires have a much higher tread, which is cut by sipes, these wheels are not designed for speed, and in winter, the task is different that is: SURVIVE AND OVERCOME SNOW AND ICE. Due to the high tread – winter options weigh more; this leads to an increase in fuel consumption.
BUT if we take the summer temperature, let’s say + 20, + 30 degrees, then for winter tires, it is simply “DEATH”. The soft composition becomes even softer. It literally begins to “float” and wears out very quickly. If you have a studded tire, then literally in a week or two, you will have many studs flying out.
If we imagine the physical process of working, it turns out that the tire effectively adapts to the surface of the road, but can not take it due to its greater smoothness.
So winter or the whole season?
So let us come to the main issue. What to choose, which tires are better – the cheapest or most reliable ones? In fact, both these and other tires have their undeniable advantages and disadvantages. Everyone has to decide for themselves – which is more important to him – costs or quality. Remember that you don’t ride winter tires in summer (your quality will suffer a lot), but the tires throughout the season are great for that.
In addition, winter tires are distinguished by so-called noise, and seasonally width tires are quieter and do not damage the ears. Seasonal tires don’t suit you if you own a sports car that wants to drive it in winter – these tires are not only not adapted for fast speed, but also not so good in the cold season rather even bad. Therefore, the choice is yours; think and weigh the pros and cons before deciding which tires to buy.
If you live in a place where the winter or summer season is not too severe, you can choose tires throughout the season. They can be used in all seasons, but if you live in extremely cold or hot areas, you need to buy two sets of tires. It is recommended to use winter tires in colder regions and summer tires in hot areas.
