All tires are not created in the same pattern. Carefully-engineered rubber compounds are used to develop tires to get optimal road performance in different temperature ranges. And then, according to different weather situations, their handling ability is enhanced through fine tuning of their tread patterns. Consider these points before you buy tires for your vehicle.
All-Season Tires: The optimal solution
All-season tires are developed to run on the roads in all weather conditions around the year. They are made up of a rubber compound suitable to bear the winter temperatures ensuring handling performance on the roads in hot season. They are designed to disperse water on the roads and handling snow and ice. However, there are some compromises along with their all-season performance.
If you drive in an area with not much snowfall, all-season tires will be a good decision if handling performance is not your primary concern. Install them with confidence, they'll offer you a great road grip in all weather conditions.
Summer Tires: Enhanced Handling performance for passionate drivers
If you have to drive in a warm climate and on curvy roads, go for the summer tires. In summer and especially, temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, their rubber compound gets softer than all-season tires, and their grip gets improved. But if the temperature goes down below 40 degrees, the rubber compound gets hard and is likely to crack.
Opposite to the popular belief, summer tires are not reported to necessarily sacrificing performance on wet roads for the sake of dry-weather performance in summer. The fact is that the tread pattern on the ordinary summer tires is equally efficient at spreading water as the tread on their all-season competitors.
However, summer tires fall into different categories that compromise road grip in rainy conditions. Super-performer summer tires offer an enhanced grip on the dry roads and tracks while maintaining decent performance in rainy conditions. Ultra-high-performance summer tires are more vulnerable to sliding in rainy weather but you will be able to control your car better in dry weather. Go for max-performance summer tires if you have a true passion for driving. Though they're much more prone to hydroplaning and sliding in the wet season but they'll offer you brilliant performance on dry tracks and roads.
Winter Tires: How to survive the snowy and icy conditions
Get winter tires if you live in an area that gets substantial snowfall. Winter tires are made up with a rubber compound that offers maximum grip in the cold weather especially temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. They have a tread pattern designed to tear through the ice, slush, and snow and offer you maximum performance in the most critical places. The fact is that winter tires on many front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive cars will perform better in the snowy areas than all-wheel drive cars with the generic all-season tires installed on them.
Sidewall of your vehicle can be weakened due to repeatedly installing and then uninstalling the same set of tires that can make your tires unsafe. To get the most out of it, you are advised to purchase an extra set of wheels with winter tires installed. By doing this, you can enjoy the great handling performance of summer tires for most of the year, and then, with the drop in temperature, you can swap to your winter-tire wheels.
To those who do not know, tires may seem quite insignificant and simple. But in reality, they're actually one of the most important components on your car where the question of safety and super performance comes. No matter how prepared you are with airbags and electronic stability features, your tires are the only thing that makes the mobility possible. So a carefully consideration is must to get safe, peaceful, and efficient drives.