Snow Tires Versus all Seaon Tires
IN WINTER SHOULD I KEEP ALL WEATHER RADIALS OR FIT SNOW TIRES?
All-Season Tires
The majority of modern vehicles leave the makers plant with all-season tires, usually radials, and drivers often ask ‘Can I run all-season tires all thru the year?’
The answer is in most cases is probably, no. As the name suggests, all-season tires are manufactured to give optimum grip in a wide variety of weather conditions. You could say that they’re a Jack-of-all-trades, Master of none.
This is fine if you live in a region that doesn’t experience extreme winter conditions, but if your locale is one of those that have deep snow, or thick ice during the year, snow tires are the way to go during the freeze. According to government statistics, approximately 70 percent of deaths and injuries during Winter occur in automobiles, and are snow and ice related. The safety of your vehicle and its occupants should always be your principal consideration if you are undecided about fitting snow tires, even if you only see infrequent snowfall in your area.
The Only Part Of The Vehicle In Contact With The Road.
I wonder just how many drivers realise that they shouldn’t just rely solely on all-season tires, or electronic aids like traction control, anti-lock brakes and other dynamic stability systems for safe driving on snow and ice. It’s a sobering fact that in reality none of these driving aids creates grip. All that they do is try to limit the vehicle’s acceleration, braking, and cornering forces that are transmitted to the road wheels and, ultimately the tires. And often that is not enough for safe controlled driving in wintry conditions It is the tyres that give traction, grip, road-holding, call it what you will, not the electronic gizmos. Tires are the major factor determining how your vehicle will handle in adverse conditions. Regardless of how many electronic driving aid systems you have on your vehicle, it comes down to this: - the brakes act on the wheels; the tires act on the road surface. If the tires cannot maintain their grip on the road the driver has no control over that vehicle’s progress on that surface and you’re in an emergency situation.
The Scoop On Tires
Tires need to be pliable to do their job properly when the vehicle is accelerating, braking, or cornering and the rubber compound used in the manufacture of all-season tires hardens as the temperature drops, reducing the suppleness of the tire and compromising the vehicle’s safety. On the other hand snow tires are specifically designed and manufactured to operate properly in colder conditions, ensuring the best possible traction at all times.
The Advantages Of Snow Tires
Driving during snow and after snowfalls is totally different from driving in other weather conditions. Roads that are snow packed when the first heavy snow falls can be slippery when the snow melts; and then extremely dangerous if ice results from snow melting then freezing. Heavy traffic can cover the road surface in slush.
The rubber compound used in the manufacture of snow tires is softer than that used in all-season tires, so it stays supple in colder temperatures, and the tread is designed and manufactured allow the tire to dig into snow and ice and create a grip. It is important to remember that vehicle safety features such as anti-lock brakes and all wheel drive will not perform correctly if the tires on the car are unable to maintain a grip with the road.
Don’t Snow Tires Cost More?
No, not really. I agree it is a chore replacing summer tires with winter tires and then back to summer tires again, but actually the only cost incurred is the cost of remounting your tires. Snow tires used only during the months of Winter will last for many years prolonging the life of your regular tires. If you weigh up the cost of replacing a high-performance tire, extending its life by fitting snow tires for the cold months can, in point of fact, save you money. A tip to lessen the changeover cost is to have a second set of rims with snow tires already mounted. The outlay for a second set of rims and the snow tires is a one-shot deal.
Those Sidewall Symbols
A lot of drivers are under the impression that if a tire carries an ‘M+S’ rating (Mud and Snow) on its sidewall it is a snow tire.
This is not so.
M+S rated tires have not passed any type of performance test To get an M+S rating, tires need only be manufactured with an approved type of tread pattern, for example, one in which 25% of the footprint of the tire is composed of slots and grooves.
True snow tires however carry the RMA's (Rubber Manufacturers Association) ‘mountain/snowflake’ symbol, and must pass a strictly controlled performance-based traction test to earn it.
Can I Run Snow Tires All Year?
No. True snow tires are designed and manufactured for the particular purpose of providing grip on snow or ice, and handle differently than all-season radials in ordinary, non snowy conditions. They are manufactured from softer rubber and have deeper, chunky treads which give twitchy handling on dry roads. The increased tread depth makes them noisier on dry surfaces, plus they wear much faster than regular radials.
However the most compelling reason not to run snow tires all year is because snow tires are prone to heat build up when run at constant highway speeds. Heat is a tire’s greatest threat and it’s possible that the tire might catch fire, with all the danger that implies. You have to swap snow tires with regular tires come spring.
Two Or Four? Front Or Back?
For various reasons, cost being one of them, some drivers may elect to fit snow tires on one axle and leave a pair of all-season radials on the other. This is not a good idea. It has been proven time and again that fitting four snow tires are safer than fitting just two.
If you do decide to go with just two snow tires, which axle should you fit them on, front, or back? Each option has its drawbacks, so if you really must fit only two snow tires it comes down to which is the least dangerous.
Whether you have a front wheel vehicle or a rear wheel vehicle it is considered better to fit the snow tires on the rear wheels of the vehicle. This is because the majority of accidents come about when a driver looses control of the rear end of the vehicle, which is far more difficult to control than a front-wheel skid. Losing control of a vehicle typically occurs during an emergency braking situation. This can also happen if the vehicle has to swerve during an evasive manoeuvre. If the snow tires are on the front wheels, and the driver applies the brakes, the front of the vehicle slows down, but the rear of the vehicle will have a tendency to want to continue travelling. It cannot go straight ahead because the solid structure of the vehicle prevents it from doing so, instead, the rear end of the vehicles slides to the left or right, resulting in loss of control. A greater potential danger is when turning a corner. If snow tires are fitted to the front wheels, they will grip the road properly; but the rear tires may possibly loose grip and could send the vehicle spinning into oncoming traffic. If you must fit just two snow tires mount them on the rear wheels.
So, Do I Really Need Snow Tires?
Ultimately it depends on where you live and where you go in your vehicle. If the temperature hardly ever falls below freezing, and you experience little snow, which, when it arrives is probably slushy anyhow, you will probably be ok with all-season tires stamped ‘M+S’.
But, as always there are exceptions. Perhaps you head into the mountains a few times a month to ski. Maybe your home has a long, steep gravel driveway that, even after plowing, always has a layer of packed snow. How about if your work schedule regularly means that you’re on the highway before the road crews are out? In these circumstances the advantages of fitting snow tires should be given consideration.
Howver, if the temperature regularly falls below about -15° C (5° F) and remains there for a spell, you should fit snow tires.
If you think about it, snow tires provide an extra safety margin and increased traction a comparatively low cost; the outlay for a full set makes sense.
