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Winter Tires

Winter tires are special tires made for cold weather performance. Manufacturers combine the tread design and the rubber compound used to ensure the tire’s surface gripping ability when driving on ice- and snow-covered road surfaces and in colder temperatures. Winter tires should not be used in warmer weather as their compound and tread design are not suitable for such performance.

All season and summer tires use compounds that stiffen in colder temperatures, making them unsuitable for winter driving. Winter tires, on the other hand, use compound elements that maintain their flexibility in freezing conditions. This allows the compound to optimize the tire’s traction during its cold weather performance, without sacrificing the tire’s controllability or driving safety levels.

Among all the tires, winter tires feature the most detailed tread pattern. Winter tires usually sport a directional or an asymmetric tread pattern to increase the tire’s surface contact and grip. These tread patterns, along with the deeper tread, enhance the tire’s performance on ice and snow, while they also prevent snow packing into the tread area. The tread design is also highly siped. The high-density siping pattern provides additional biting edges, which grip the road surface in winter weather situations. Winter tires come in three types: studless, studdable, and studded. Tires with studs provide better ice and snow traction, but the use of studs is highly regulated by the states.

Tread Pattern

The tread of winter tires is typically directional with a larger tread depth to boost the ice and snow traction and to keep the footprint clean.
Studs

Some winter tires use studs to maintain traction, while the ones without studs optimize their tread design and compound to ensure driving safety.
Compound

Winter compounds utilize rubber elements, which maintain their flexibility in colder temperatures, preventing loss of traction during their performance.