iaink

#27 in our series of popular misconceptions:

Winter tires are just about better grip in snow and ice.



Yes, they do as they have deeper specially designed treads, but its as much to do with better grip in clear conditions when its brass monkey cold too. Cold all season rubber is rock hard and does not grip at all well to clear dry tarmac. How cold? Well, thats a subject thats been debated in the past to no solid conclusion, but alberta gets a lot colder than ontario in general.

Atlantic Xpat

**** me. I can get 4 tires changed over and balanced for $40+tax here, but thats not at a main dealer.

If anyone wants a lightly used (2 winters) set of 225-60-16 Winterforces for a Jeep Liberty then let me know. The Jeep goes back this afternoon but the tires are staying in my garage!

Jingle

Yes you're right Iain - it really isn't just about grip on snow and ice. Winter tires have a much more compliant rubber compound which makes a noticeable difference when you are driving in cold cold weather (-40 in Calgary sun shining and bone dry roads).

Also when you look at winter tires there are hundreds of tiny "cuts" in the tread which go in several directions - apparently this is called siping (sp?) and provides extra traction on slippery icy surfaces particularly when cornering.

We found ours also had the the added bonus of being quiet at highway speeds.

As I said before we drove for two winters in Calgary in our Rav4 before using winter tires this year and what a difference they made even when it wasn't snowing

J

cdntiger

In Edmonton there isn't nearly as much snowover the course of the winter as there are in other parts of the country, and I believe Calgary to be about the same, perhaps even better because of the chinooks. Therefore, most of the winter the main streets are snow free. Side streets are another story...they only get cleared if you can no longer see the neighbour's house. And on the snow-free main streets during the darkest parts of the year a thin film of black ice develops in most intersections as a result of the traffic itself. Winter tires are demonstrably better on ice than all seasons. Yes, slowing down on all-seasons might get you through, but any time I've ever been happy to have the winters on are times when I've already been driving less than 20 kph.

I do my own changeovers. It takes me about an hour...no power tools, just the jack, wheel wrench and torque wrench. And the bagged tires make a lovely addition to my apartment balcony.

Atlantic Xpat

The Sipes carry away water to maintain that all important contact between the tire and the road. On ice, the weight of the vehicle and pressure on the ice turns the top surface to water and thats what you slip on. Siped tires help with this. For really icy conditions studded tires are the thing. They are very popular in this part of the world where we get a lot of snow/ice/rain/ice/snow mix.

iaink

But also illegal in many jurisdictions (The inhabited bits of Ontario anyway)...Something to do with damaging the roads, or not gripping well on dry tarmac perhaps?

Atlantic Xpat

Legal here from end Oct to end April IIRC. Not something I've ever felt the need for although I am an advocate of snow tires.

Bill_S

Studs used to be legal in Ontario - my dad had a set of studded snow tires in the 60s. They tore the striping off the roads, though, and were eventually banned.

Simon Legree

Studded tires are legal in NS but are supposed to be removed in May. Funnily enough I heard a car with them on this morning while I was in town. You can hear the studs on the road. Must be getting ready for an early winter !!! LOL

mandymoochops

just been looking on some tire bumf - apparently winter tires have a different compound which changes when the temperatures get below 7c, along with deeper treads and sipes apparently they are 25% better than all season (granted thats just from 1 manufacturers site).

I managed on all seasons but did drive a friends that had the winters fitted a couple of times and you can tell the difference.

R I C H

Studded winter tires on my Subaru mean I can get to and from my property in the depths of winter (the driveway's long and steep) without drama. On pavement the studs are of particular value during any freeze/thaw cycles, helping reduce sphincter twitch and understeer on icy corners.

rae

i have done 2 winters in my car at work, rear drive only, speed rated tyres all round no issues. how you drive, not whats on the car you drive the real issue i would say.

R I C H

Depends on circumstances.

All seasons, no matter how I drive, won't get me up my driveway in the winter if the snow's been compacted or ice has formed. I've lost count of the times I've had to get the tractor out to tow jack-knifed truck/horse trailers (with all season tires) off the hill.

Studs/winter tire combo make perfect sense - they reduce my chances of getting stuck and increase my safety.

rae

fair point, i just wonder with snow tyres on a 4x4 does that make some drivers feel impervious to the conditions and so they neglect to drive accordingly.

cdntiger

It's possible. But that may be true whether they've got winters on or not. I've made a few winter trips between Edmonton and Calgary in horrible conditions and the only vehicles in the ditches were SUVs.

I've heard the same over-confidence worry expressed over anti-lock brakes. However I believe most people who are thoughtful enough to consider the benefits of winter tires are thoughtful enough to care about driving to conditions. Without evidence I'll call that a hypothesis.

It must be September in Canada; the winter tire/all-season tire debate rages anew.