Winter vs summer tyres - comprehensive review?
Discussion
There's plenty on the forums about the benefits of winter tyres in extreme conditions, but I haven't been able to find any independent tests that cover each of the following scenarios:
1. Â Â Extreme winter conditions - obviously the winter tyre will excel.
2. Â Â Intermediate conditions (normal winter, possibly damp conditions) - what are the actual benefits?
3. Â Â Fine winter conditions (dry roads reasonable temps) - how bad are winter tyres in comparison with good summer tyres.
Seems to me that everything focuses on the extreme conditions, but always ignores the "normal" conditions. Perhaps it's been covered before, but I haven't been able to find anything that covers the above.
1. Â Â Extreme winter conditions - obviously the winter tyre will excel.
2. Â Â Intermediate conditions (normal winter, possibly damp conditions) - what are the actual benefits?
3. Â Â Fine winter conditions (dry roads reasonable temps) - how bad are winter tyres in comparison with good summer tyres.
Seems to me that everything focuses on the extreme conditions, but always ignores the "normal" conditions. Perhaps it's been covered before, but I haven't been able to find anything that covers the above.
I’ve had a good look at all the information and a useful comparison of tyres is provided above. Main considerations seem to be:
Winter tyre pros –
1. Excel in snow, icy and very cold conditions; and
2. Could save wear on your summer tyres in extremely cold conditions (near zero).
Issues and potential cons –
1. Winter tyres are designed to operate in temps below 7c. Using them in warmer conditions could lead to excessive wear (in many parts of the UK, the average daytime winter temperature exceeds 7c);
2. Just because the winter tyres are designed for use below 7c, it doesn’t mean that summer tyres are unsuitable. Any performance benefits in non-icy / snow conditions appear to be marginal (at best);
3. Winter tyres are softer and you need at least 3mm of tread depth, you will need to change them more often than summer tyres.
4. In warmer conditions, winter tyres perform significantly poorer than summer tyres. This could be a safety issue.
So if the temperature isn’t rising above 7c and there’s a significant snow / ice risk, then winter tyres may well be worth the investment. But the possible negatives are rarely discussed.
Sorry for multiple threads, can they be merged?
Winter tyre pros –
1. Excel in snow, icy and very cold conditions; and
2. Could save wear on your summer tyres in extremely cold conditions (near zero).
Issues and potential cons –
1. Winter tyres are designed to operate in temps below 7c. Using them in warmer conditions could lead to excessive wear (in many parts of the UK, the average daytime winter temperature exceeds 7c);
2. Just because the winter tyres are designed for use below 7c, it doesn’t mean that summer tyres are unsuitable. Any performance benefits in non-icy / snow conditions appear to be marginal (at best);
3. Winter tyres are softer and you need at least 3mm of tread depth, you will need to change them more often than summer tyres.
4. In warmer conditions, winter tyres perform significantly poorer than summer tyres. This could be a safety issue.
So if the temperature isn’t rising above 7c and there’s a significant snow / ice risk, then winter tyres may well be worth the investment. But the possible negatives are rarely discussed.
Sorry for multiple threads, can they be merged?
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