![]() Why use winter tires? If you live in the northern states, we recommend purchasing a set of winter tires. We fit all of our long-term test vehicles with winter tires and they've proven their worth many times over. They should be considered as a second set of tires for your vehicle if you live where snow flies annually. Winter tires are designed to work well in the cold-weather months, but they don't handle or wear as well as all-season or summer tires once the weather warms up. ![]() Even an all-wheel-drive vehicle on all-season tires cannot match the stopping or turning capability of a similar two-wheel drive vehicle fitted with four winter tires, a point we have proven in our own winter-tire testing. Winter TiresĬalled "snow tires" in the past, winter tires are designed to provide maximum traction in snow and in slippery winter conditions-and the traction they provide in those situations is not matched by any other category of tire. Summer tires come on cars such as Porsches, Corvettes, Mercedes-AMGs, and Mustangs. Tire Rack divides these tires into three main groups by escalating capability: ultra-high performance on the bottom rung, followed max performance and extreme performance. More than one driver of a powerful car, unaware of the temperature sensitivity of its summer tires, has lost control and crashed on a cold day.Īs with all-season tires, summer rubber comes in several varieties. As outside temps fall toward freezing, the tires can feel skittish and behave inconsistently they lose a large portion of their grip to the point that they act like they are on a wet or even icy road. But they do so at a cost: most summer tires only work well at temperatures of about 40 degrees Fahrenheit and above. They sharpen steering response, increase cornering traction by an order of magnitude, and stop your vehicle in much less distance. Summer tires are designed specifically to deliver dry- and wet-weather traction in moderate or warm weather. This term is a misnomer, as this type of tire should rightly be called "three-season" rubber. They are designated by a snowflake-within-a-mountain symbol on the tire's sidewall. These tires feature snow traction that almost comparable to that of pure winter tires while offering similar performance in other areas as conventional all-season tires. Recently, a subset of grand touring all-season tires has emerged that we call “all-weather” tires. Grand touring all-season tires have the lower-profile look of high-performance all-season tires but ride better at the price of some handling ability. These tires are intended for sportier cars and more-aggressive drivers. They grip the road more confidently and feel more sporty to drive-usually at the expense of some winter-weather traction. High-performance all-season tires provide sharper handling than "standard" all-season tires. There are now two main sub-categories of all-season tires: high-performance all-seasons and grand touring all-seasons. But most all-season tires are marginal in snow dedicated winter tires, also known as snow tires, provide far better traction when the snow falls. Given their all-season designation, most car owners leave them on in winter and expect that their tires will deliver all the traction they need on snowy, icy roads. That means a reasonable ride and respectable handling, quiet running, good wet-weather grip, and some capability in snow. The vast majority of vehicles today come with all-season tires, which are designed to provide acceptable all-around capability throughout the year and in all weather conditions.
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