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We hit the hockey rink to find the best tires for Winter

By Gary Grant RSS feed

Posted Dec 12th 2011 8:59AM

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Back in the day, when we still used bias ply tires, we didn't have much choice when it came to seasonal tires. Then came the advent of the snow tire. Still made of hard rubber compounds, they offered deeper treads with open tread blocks that allowed the tire to bite down into the snow, more like a tractor tire than a car tire. Then, in 1977 Goodyear changed the game when they introduced the first "all season" radial tire to the market. That revelation began a cycle of misinformation and misguided practice that has lasted three decades.

"I don't need snow tires, I have all seasons" is a statement that has been heard by every service facility and tire installer in Canada. The reality is that all season tires are by their very nature a compromise in all seasons! They aren't as good on hot, dry pavement as full Summer tire, nor can they cope with the extremes of temperature and texture that come with a Canadian Winter. As some tire manufacturers started to step up their marketing of snow tires in Canada, others took to adding the letters M & S to their all season offerings. This Mud & Snow designation was not one developed by any governing bodies, it was just a marketing tool. These all season tires were still just that, a compromise.

The biggest challenge with All Season tires was that they were marketed as a year round tire, which meant they had to use rubber compounds that were robust enough to last through the Summer heat. That means that at anything below 7 degrees Celsius, the rubber becomes less pliant, meaning that braking and cornering performance is sacrificed.

More after the jump.
To distance these M & S pretenders from real snow tires, Transport Canada and the Rubber Association of Canada worked with other governing bodies to create the snowflake on a mountain symbol. That symbol has allowed for a couple of new breeds of tires.

Winter Tires

These are the closest to the traditional view of "snow tires". Winter tires are built with special rubber compounds that allow them to retain more elasticity in cold temperatures. Their technical tread designs prevent snow build up and allow the tires to grip more confidently on ice. For driving in a Canadian Winter, Winter tires are the best choice.

All Weather Tires

The appearance of All Weather Tires has the potential to muddy the waters a bit, as they are a hybrid of All Season tires and Winter tires. They have the same cold weather ability as a full on Winter Tire, yet have a less aggressive tread design that more closely resembles an All Season.

All Season Tires

All Seasons provide a good compromise of comfort, fuel economy and handling. They do not however, have the cold weather properties of an All Weather or Winter tire. These tires are best left sitting in the corner of your garage during the Winter.

Recently, Canadian Tire invited us to take a drive on a local hockey rink to experience the difference between Ford Focus shod with All Season Tires and another with Winter Tires. The results were drastic.


Category: Canada, Winter Driving

Tags: all season tires, canadian tire, snow, snow tires, winter driving, winter tires

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Economist_101

I do not buy into the marketing of snow tires - not totally - here's why.

I wonder if a RWD in domestic use (so plowed roads) is more unsafe in winter then a FWD or an AWD? RWD accelerate slower and will not build up on the speed as well because the driver has less traction at their disposal -- they drive to the automobiles abilities.

So when you get better traction you can keep your driving speeds and habits the same and trade off the better traction into safer driving. That is what the marketing people tell us.

But I find that people will always drive at the same "risk" level. So give them ABS and they will reduce the amount of time they give themselves to stop, and will follow closer etc. With tires, what I see is that people with snows drive faster (so need the traction to maintain their old stopping distances) and take more risks then they would would with all seasons.

Think about this too: if you increase everyone's speed on the roads (by regulating snow tires or AWD) -- are your raising the chance of accidents -- speed reduces the time you have to "think" and speed (momentum) is the major cause of higher injuries.

So do I support winter tires -- I'm not crazy, of course I do -- but I also think people are crazy to have RWD vehicles in Canada. So do you regulate no RWD vehicles in Winter? Or regulate AWD only? Again, for domestic use wisdom is the key and that is not something that your can regulate -- it comes down to the people and their driving habits and abilities.

December 13 2011 at 1:44 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply