What is the difference between summer and winter tyres?
22nd November 2022Changing from summer tyres to winter tyres can seem like an expensive and, at times, unnecessary task. However, winter tyres have proven hugely beneficial when preventing accidents throughout the cooler months. So, to encourage you to swap out your summer tyres, we created this guide to help you understand the difference between summer and winter tyres and the benefits they individually offer.
What is a winter tyre?
With deeper grooves and thicker rubber, a winter tyre is designed to make your journey on snowy and icy terrain more comfortable and safe. The tread cuts in a winter tyre tend to be in a curved chevron pattern and are much chunkier than a summer tyre. They are designed to brake effectively and efficiently in the snow.
What is a summer tyre?
Summer tyres, commonly known as regular tyres, are designed to perform at 7°c or above. They have fewer grooves to increase their contact with the floor to improve grip and handling, making them the perfect choice for high-performance vehicles looking to maximise speed and agility.
What is the difference between winter and summer tyres?
There are several differences between winter and summer tyres. However, the most notable differences are the density of rubber and grooves. Winter tyres are optimal in icy and snowy conditions due to their thick rubber, dense grooves and flexibility in low temperatures. Alternatively, summer tyres are ideal for wet and dry conditions above 7°c as their treads are far more shallow, and their overall structure is much more streamlined than chunky winter tyres.
Understanding the difference between winter and summer tyres will help you identify which tyres are currently on your car and whether they meet their respective tyre safety standards. So here is a more in-depth overview of the tyres and their differences:
Rubber
Winter tyres have a high natural rubber content, whereas summer tyres have a relatively hard rubber structure. The high percentage of rubber in winter tyres allows them to stay soft in the colder months, unlike the harder rubber of summer tyres which helps them perform effectively in the warmth but harden quickly in the cold. You should be able to spot the difference between the rubber on summer and winter tyres quite easily.
Structure
The structure of winter tyres is slightly different to summer tyres. While winter tyres have a curved chevron pattern, summer tyres have an orbital tread. The winter tyre has more small grooves than its summer counterpart - these grooves are called sipes. Sipes are necessary to expel water and snow and prevent aquaplaning. However, although summer tyres have less sipes, they still have tread bars to prevent aquaplaning.
Tread Pattern
Finally, the tread pattern in summer and winter tyres are very different. While winter tyres have a deep tread - designed to compact the snow - summer tyres have a more simplistic tyre tread. They use an orbital pattern - a simple block-shaped tread - built to have a large contact area with the road positively impacting braking distance.
Can you mix winter and summer tyres?
As mentioned previously, winter tyres are structurally very different to summer tyres. So, we wouldn't recommend mixing summer and winter tyres. Why? Because winter tyres can easily become deformed and misshapen in temperatures above 7°c. As a result, their grip on the road is significantly looser, making it harder to brake and corner. Similarly, summer tyres are far more prone to skidding in icy and snowy conditions due to their harder rubber and shallow treads. In extreme cases, summer tyres can even crack in cold conditions, so we strongly recommend swapping your tyres to suit the season.
Are you interested in having winter tyres on your car? Or are you unsure of which tyres you should have? Contact our expert team today or come and visit one of nationwide garages.
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