Winter Tires vs. All-Season Tires

Many of the cars that you buy from Sport Cadillac near Baltimore, MD, are fitted with all-season tires. This article details the advantages of these year-round performers and when and why you should change them for winter tires.

All-Season Tires

As the name implies, all-season tires are good for the entire year.

• Whether the roads are wet or dry, and even if there’s light snow, these tires offer good performance and a quiet ride. They’re generally less noisy on asphalt roads.
• They provide sufficient traction on wet roads because of complex tread patterns that remove water from the underside of the tire.
• They typically work in temperatures as low as 40 degrees Fahrenheit and have longer lifespans than season-specific tires, sometimes up to 80,000 miles.
• They are also less expensive than season-specific tires and you don’t have to spend money changing them when seasons change.

However, their versatility means that they don’t offer the maximum traction and handling of a summer tire in dry weather. And they cannot handle extreme winter weather. They’re primarily made for those who drive in moderate climates with rare extremes of ice, snow, and cold. Because all-season tires stay on your car, you drive on them constantly and wear down more quickly than season-specific tires.

Winter Tires

Winter tires are specifically designed to brave the harsh conditions of the year’s coldest season and will outperform all-season tires when it’s icy, snowy, or rainy. They deliver the best traction whether you’re driving on black ice or heavy snowfall. Among their unique features are the following:

• Tread Rubber. Extreme cold weather can stiffen the tread rubber of all-season tires, reducing their ability to provide enough grip even on dry surfaces. The rubber in winter tires is formulated from softer compounds that remain flexible enough to provide good traction even when the temperatures drop.
• Tread Patterns and Depth. The unique tread patterns of winter tires are designed to channel away snow, slush, and water. Deeper treads minimize the build-up of snow while providing optimum traction on snow.
• Biting Edges. Thousands of tiny saw-toothed slits (sipes) on the tread provide plenty of biting edges. The result is better traction on ice because these small holes suck water from the road and expel it as the tire moves.

The design of winter tires holds on to snow because contacting snow with snow provides more grip than rubber on snow. They can provide up to 33 percent better acceleration over all-season counterparts, especially with an all-wheel-drive vehicle. They can also stop 30 feet shorter than all-season tires.

What to Choose

The type of tires that you choose depends on the environment that you live in. If ice and snow are rare where you live, then go for all-season tires. When a snowstorm does hit, you can attach tire chains to your wheels to provide better traction through snow. These chains provide necessary traction by preventing wheel spin and improving control. But you shouldn’t drive faster than 30 MPH and avoid driving on bare asphalt, which can diminish the durability of the chains.

If you live where ice and snow are a regular occurrence during winter, then opt for winter tires during the season. This more expensive option, which also costs to have swapped from all-season tires and vice versa, can prove to be a lifesaver.

Always install a full set. If you only change your front tires, the rear tires can skid. Putting it only on the front can make it impossible to steer your vehicle due to loss of traction. When spring comes around, switch back to all-season tires and store the winter versions for next season. Otherwise, warm weather and dry pavement can wear down your winter tires more heavily than usual. A set of winter tires can last for 35,000 miles or about five years.

If you're looking for more information about which tires your vehicle should have for the winter months, contact the experts at Sport Cadillac today!