All Season Tyres or Winter Tyres?
24 November 2016
Setyres strongly recommends fitting winter or all season tyres to your vehicle when temperatures drop below an average of 7°c.
Summer tyres are designed to provide high levels of performance in warm conditions, but when temperatures drop they tend to stiffen, resulting in significantly reduced gripping capabilities.
Winter and all season tyres are created with this in mind and so provide much higher levels of safety and performance in cold winter conditions, however, it can be difficult to decide which is the best option for you.
What’s the Difference between All Season Tyres and Winter Tyres?
Winter tyres are designed specifically to provide traction on snow and ice, resistance against aquaplaning and enhanced grip on icy surfaces. They are constructed using a specialist high silica compound and this enables them to remain flexible when temperatures drop below 7°C.
Constructed to provide a satisfactory performance all year round, all season tyres are equipped for hot, dry, wet, cold and icy conditions. They are designed with a combination of summer and winter tyre technology and are branded with the same ‘Mud + Snow’ and ‘Snowflake’ markings as is required of winter tyres.
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages?
Winter tyres are the best type of tyre you can choose for winter driving if you live in an area that experiences regular harsh winter conditions. They offer the highest level of safety on winter road surfaces and provide shorter stopping distances in cold conditions than summer tyres or all season tyres.
All season tyres are ideal for motorists who cannot store two sets of seasonal tyres. They do not need to be changed along with the seasons and provide a higher level of safety in winter conditions than summer tyres. Due to their versatility, however, all season tyres cannot provide the same safety and performance that you could expect from dedicated seasonal tyres.
Which Tyres are Right for Me?
Before deciding whether to choose winter or all season tyres, you should consider what you expect from your tyres. For example, if you live in an area that does not experience low temperatures or snow and ice, winter tyres might not be the most ideal choice.
Winter tyres are right for you if…
The area where you live experiences cold temperatures and winter conditions- The journeys you make are usually long
- You frequently drive in rural areas
- You have space to store a second set of tyres
All season tyres are right for you if…
- The area where you live does not experience varying weather conditions
- The journeys you make are usually short
- You drive mainly in urban areas
- You cannot store a second set of tyres
At Setyres we stock a range of winter tyres and all season tyres, simply search for tyres to find the best tyres for your vehicle.
For further guidance on seasonal tyres, contact your local Setyres branch where our tyre specialists will be happy to offer advice.