What Makes All-Season Tires So Great?
So your
closet has a pair of flip-flops for the summer, a pair of heavy boots for the
winter, and a comfortable pair of sneakers for most of the rest of the year. If
you live in a climate that doesn’t have harsh winters, you might just be able
to wear those sneakers year-round...and all-season tires are the equivalent of
your comfortable sneakers.
So what makes all-season tires so special?
Winter
tires are excellent for severe conditions like heavy snow and even ice. They
feature specially-designed tread patterns and “sipes”, hundreds of tiny slits
which offer biting edges for traction in snow. This means shorter stopping
distances, better handling and better control in winter weather. Winter tires
are not designed for temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The downside of
winter tires is they use a tread formulation which stays softer in cold
weather...but that means the rubber will also wear much faster in warmer
conditions. In addition, winter tires, while a far cry from the “snow tires” or
“mud grips” which might have been on your dad’s station wagon, tend to be
noisier and have clumsier handling on dry pavement.
Summer
tires are designed with shallower tread depth and more aggressive tread
patterns for excellent steering response, handling and performance on wet or
dry pavement. They also use a soft tread formulation for extra “stickiness” and
traction in hot weather. The combination of tread design and rubber compound
adds up to a tire with outstanding cornering ability for spirited driving.
Unfortunately, that same sticky tread formulation stiffens up at temperatures
below 40 degrees, resulting in lousy traction on snow or wet pavement.
All-season tires, attempt to offer the best of all possible worlds. This means
a moderate tread depth which splits the difference between summer and winter
tires, with a pattern of sipes and extra gripping edges for extra traction in
wintry conditions. Typically, all-season tires might be designed with
circumferential grooves at the center for straight-line stability, and a groove
pattern that evacuates water from the tire’s footprint to help prevent
hydroplaning on wet pavement.
Engineers
design all-season tires with a computer-tuned tread and rubber compound to keep
road noise low and provide a supple, forgiving ride on most pavement types.
It’s this combination of qualities which make all-season tires an excellent
choice for most drivers, and it’s why most sedans, minivans and SUVs come from
the factory with all-season tires as original factory equipment. For most
drivers, in most parts of the country, all-season tires truly are the
equivalent of those sneakers you can wear year-round!
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