Winter Tyres - The Arguments For And Against

"Speedmonkey" (Speedmonkey) 10/19/2013 at 11:07 • Filed to: Winter Tyres

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Over in Europe winter tyres have become popular over the past few years. In the UK we've been talking about them for a couple of years. I have no idea if winter tyres are used much in the US and Canada.

I posted two articles written by two people on the subject, one for and one against winter tyres.

Budda, a Volvo test driver from Sweden, reckons winter tyres are a necessity. Here's Budda's article, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , in which he says:

Regarding cost, it is, over here, not that big of an issue. When you buy a new car, it will be an additional investment of course, but after that, the car will, throughout it's life, have "two pairs of shoes" provided it's driven all year round. One pair for summer, one pair for winter. If you drive the same mileage, the sum of money will be the same or even lower.

Tash, a mechanic and car enthusiast, reckons we don't need winter tyres. Here's Tash's article, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , in which she says:

A technical downside that I cant find any reference to, but seems blatantly obvious to me from my time in motorsport, is due to the extra tread movement of these tyres an excessive level of vibration must be originated from the tyre, vibration the suspension and drivetrain was never designed to cope with yet it still absorbs, this must accelerate wear to components like ball joints, suspension bushes and CV/UJ joints, thus increasing servicing/MOT preparation labour.

What is your opinion on winter tyres?

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Speedmonkey 10/19/2013 at 11:13

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It never snows enough where I live, so I just run all seasons.

Hoccy > Speedmonkey 10/19/2013 at 11:18

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I agree with the Swede. The benefits with two sets of tyres are huge, if you're in a climate that has sub zero temperatures more than a month a year. They don't need to be studded, but I would recommend that on cars without ABS, TC and ESP in areas with snow-covered roads.

Klaus Schmoll > Speedmonkey 10/19/2013 at 11:28

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This Tash guy seems a bit odd. What utter BS!

I've always had winter tires in winter, even before it was compulsory, and I never experienced any vibrations that come from the tread.

Sparf > Speedmonkey 10/19/2013 at 11:34

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Here in Sweden it's been compulsory for ages now and it's exactly the way Budda says. Anyone driving on summer tires in the snow and ice is a foolish asshat who's just asking to end up in a ditch (or smashing into another car).

dogisbadob > Speedmonkey 10/19/2013 at 11:35

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They probably use snow tires in Canada, but nobody really uses them down here (I think winter tires only account for about 3% of the US tire market)

Don't they use all-seasons in Europe? There are a lot of really awesome all-season tires available over here!

Does anyone have experience with the Hankook icept Evo, or its predecessor the Icebear?

WorldRallyBlog > Speedmonkey 10/19/2013 at 12:38

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Tread movement? Vibration? What the? I am not sure when was the last time that 2nd person saw or used modern winter tyres, but I don't think tread movement and vibrations are any issue. Also what is the connection between tread movement, vibration and his time in motorsport, unless his time in motorsport > everything else?

Milky > Speedmonkey 10/19/2013 at 13:12

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In all honesty I know I should have 2 sets of tires being a michigan resident, and idealy some day I will. For now however, being a college student its not worth the investment, for the maybe week full of days where all seasons don't cut it.

Besides I can still go out and do this ...

BJ > Speedmonkey 10/19/2013 at 13:44

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In the province of Quebec, Canada, winter tires are mandatory between December 15 and March 15. This is absolutely necessary due the large amount of ice that is created every winter, and the relatively heavy snowfalls that we experience as well. I don't know if the other provinces have winter tire rules as well.

Unfortunately, the law is too narrow in its focus and simply lays out requirements for a short winter period, leaving the rest of the year open to run whatever you want. So, naturally, many people take the cheapest short-term option and run winter tires year-round. This is dangerous for everybody because of the decreased performance of winter rubber compounds, especially w.r.t. speed braking distances, at 30C + summer temperatures.

I would prefer to have a law that follows the German model, which mandates "appropriate" tires for the season and conditions. If you live around Munich in the south, you'll need to put winter tires on - no doubt about it. If you live around Hamburg in the north and don't stray far, you can get away with all-season tires. If it snows and you have summer tires on, best take the bus or train because you're gonna get in trouble when you have an accident!

If you haven't guessed it yet, I am strongly in favour of winter tires in cold, snowy, and icy winter climates. The business about "excessive tread movement" sounds like BS, and I've never heard of any scientific research into the effects of winter tires on the lifetime of drivetrain/steering/suspension components. Sounds like a potential Ig Noble prize winner, if you ask me...

Eazy-O > Speedmonkey 10/19/2013 at 14:41

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I'm for. There's places that will store your tyres around here for 15eur/20$ until you need them again. The period of mandatory winter tyres here is November 15th - March 15th. In this case, it's the damn right thing to do anyway.

McLarry > Speedmonkey 10/19/2013 at 17:30

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I certainly wouldn't dismiss winter tires simply because they're a rougher ride...Seems like a bad reason. To me, it seems more an issue 'how bad do you need them?'. Were I living in Sweden I'd probably have winter tires too, but I don't. It barely snowed at all here last year, and we only get enough snow to really shake things up once every few years so there's no way I'm shelling out for snow tires that I'm just going to wear out on dry roads most of the time anyway.

Squid > Speedmonkey 10/19/2013 at 17:57

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If I lived somewhere where it actually got to be winter I would run winter tires. It just seems like a no brainer. All-seasons can cut it for the occasional snow flurry but I wouldn't trust them for shit with daily use in below zero conditions with snow and ice abound.

That mechanic is full of shit too.