It's never too early to be prepared for unpredictable road conditions, that's why tires that help you get through the winter season safely should always be considered.
To help you with this decision, we wanted to share with you the difference between winter tires and all-season tires.
Winter Tires Are Best For you if you live in a colder climate that experiences a lot of snow every winter with icy and snowy road conditions.
All-Season Tires Are Best For you if you live in a warmer climate that occasionally sees some flurries every year but icy and snowy road conditions are rare.
Buying winter tires can provide enhanced braking performance in snowy & icy conditions. These tires perform well in all types of winter conditions, such as snow, ice, sleet, slush, wet and even cold dry roads. Why is that?
Winter tires feature tread designs made specifically for ice, snow and other severe winter conditions. Winter tires also a have specially formulated tread rubber that stays flexible at low temperatures for better vehicle control, as the aggressive treads reduce snow build up. Because of this, most drivers find that winter tires provide a sense of confidence and control in challenging winter weather conditions.
Recent studies show that winter tires can improve breaking and stopping performance by up to 5 to 20 percent. Winter/snow tires will wear more quickly than all-season tires, and their performance in winter will decline as they wear. As a best practice, replace winter/snow tires before they are worn out, and if you remove them at the end of each winter, you may get three or four seasons of good use out of them.
Purchasing all-season tires means getting tires designed to help provide traction and grip in wet and snowy conditions. All-season tires provide stable handling, and even treadwear, in both wet and dry conditions. Although all-season tires offer traction in a variety of different weather conditions, winter tires surpass them when it comes to traction in snow and ice. On the other hand, the tread life for all-season tires is usually longer than winter tires. All-season tires can have low rolling resistance which sometimes saves energy and gas. All-season tires are often more comfortable and quieter, as well.
Winter tires are meant for snow and ice with deep treads for greater grip. However, the tread rubber on winter tires is softer than regular tires and wears out faster on warm pavement, leading to more frequent replacement and less precise handling on dry pavement.