G: max 59 mph H: max 130 mph J: max 62 mph L: max 75 mph M: max 81 mph N: max 87 mph NHS: Not for Highway Service P: max 93 mph Q: max 99 mph R: max 106 mph S: max 112 mph T: max 118 mph V: max 149 mph W: max 168 mph Y: max 186 mph ZR: over 150 mph So if you’ve been on our website before, you may be well aware of what winter tyres are? But what are all-season tyres? Are my regular tyres not all seasons? I thought what the car manufacturers fitted were all season tyres. What are All season Tyres? So if you’ve been on our website before, you may be well aware of what winter tyres are? But what are all-season tyres? Are my regular tyres not all seasons? Well actually what British motorists class as standard, normal, original equipment tyres are in fact summer tyres. They are designed to offer superb grip and braking performance in the wet and dry, but importantly this performance is only applicable in warmer temperatures.

In the winter the summer rubber compounds become hard and brittle and are not effective. So therefore we have summer tyres and winter tyres, but what are all-season tyres? Well, all season tyres are designed to perform in all conditions whether it is wet, dry, warm or cold. They essentially are a half-way house between summer & winter tyres. They are manufactured from similar compounds to those found in winter tyres, so they remain supple when it’s cold to provide great safety & improved braking distances over a summer tyre. They also have some sipes as found in winter tyres which allow the tyre to bite into any snow that is encountered during the winter. The key part to a ‘true’ all season tyre is that they have a mountain/snowflake symbol on the sidewall. This marking denotes that the tyre has winter driving capability and would be legally fine to use for winter driving in countries where winter tyres are mandatory. So if you needed to drive to Germany or the Alps during the winter months then using this product would be legally accepted.

All season tyres also tend to have part of the tyres tread pattern that looks like a summer tyre; designing in this way allows the tyre to also have good performance during warmer, summer conditions. All-season tyres typically perform well in both wet and dry conditions in warmer climates. There is a common misconception that the compounds in winter and all season tyres causes the tyre to wear out quickly, this is really not the case and an all season tyre should last as long as it’s summer equivalent.Shabby Chic Floral Duvet Cover So they perform in the warm when it’s wet or dry and in the cold, even in the snow – so what’s the compromise?Indoor Accent Lighting Plants Cost – I’m afraid they are slightly more expensive, you should expect to pay around 15-20% more than an equivalent summer tyre.What Color Laminate Flooring Goes With Black Cabinets

Fuel economy – The more aggressive tread pattern that ensures cold weather performance will not be quite as efficient as the summer version. However the difference is not so dramatic that you are going to notice any difference in your frequency to visits to the petrol station. In order to drive safely whatever the weather the only alternative is to have separate winter and summer tyres. To maintain this means either buying a second set of winter wheels, or having the tyres swapped over twice a year. Both of these options have an associated cost which makes all season quite an attractive proposition. In fact many tyre manufacturers and independent testers believe that all seasons are particularly suited to UK conditions. I think they have a pretty compelling case as the ‘norm’ is that UK winters are not overly extreme in terms of lots of snow, it is of course cold for many months. Having an all season would give improved safety during these times without having to swap to a more specific winter tyre.

There are a few all-season tyres that really stand out from the crowd, particularly the Vredestein Quatrac 5, Michelin CrossClimate and the Goodyear Vector 4season Gen-2. If you want any advice on all season tyres, please get in touch Tyremen. Please select your country: The Quatrac 3 is the ideal alternative for motorists in a temperate climate who want to drive all year round on the same type of tyre. The striking asymmetrical, non-directional tread with the separate summer and winter sides offers optimal safety and comfort in all weather conditions. The tyre has excellent handling characteristics that are ideal for driving in summer conditions on dry and wet roads. At the same time, the tyre offers perfect grip and high dispersal capacity in winter conditions. Three longitudinal grooves are incorporated into the tread, providing efficient water dispersion. BFGoodrich Urban Terrain T/A OUR OFF-ROAD EXPERTISE FOR SUV BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO Control on all terrains

Mixed (50% road, 50% off-road) BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2 TOUGHNESS, TRACTION AND TREADLIFE: OUR BEST ALL TERRAIN TYRE. BFGoodrich Mud Terrain T/A KM2 Nothing can stop you now All-terrain (20% road, 80% off-road)As their name suggests, winter tyres are tyres specially designed for cold weather. As soon as the temperature dips below seven degrees, their clever design and construction comes into its own. Despite this, many people think they’re only of real use in the snow. In fact, the way the tread pattern is designed means the surface of a winter tyre is more supple than an all-season or summer tyre. That means winter tyres will grip the road better in the cold – regardless of other weather conditions. Of course, they really do shine in the snow. The tread patterns are designed to shake out snow so it doesn’t get compacted in the tread – as will happen with other types of tyre. Snow is particularly good at sticking to more snow (think about building a snowman), which is a big problem for all-season and summer tyres.

Although they go a long way towards making your car safer to drive in the cold, winter tyres are something you should speak to your insurance company about. Some insurers, rather bizarrely, consider them to be an aftermarket modification. Image 3 of 4 There’s a continuing debate as to the relative value of winter tyres and four-wheel drive. While they both increase grip, the simple fact is that it doesn’t matter how many wheels are being driven if their tyres are unable to gain traction. According to tyre maker Continental, a car fitted with winter tyres can come to a stop from 31mph in 35 metres on snow – eight metres shorter than if it was running on summer tyres. That’s a difference of about twice the length of a small hatchback, or one-and-a-half zebra crossings. When driving at 18mph on ice, the difference is even more pronounced, with summer tyres taking 11 metres more to stop. That’s the length of a double-decker bus. If you can’t avoid driving many miles throughout the winter, then winter tyres are strongly recommended.

But they don’t come cheap. A set of winter tyres for a small family car could cost over £400 – more if you also buy a spare wheel. Some motorists have winter tyres fitted to their standard alloy wheels, but others buy a second set of wheels to fit them to. Despite this, we’d strongly recommend a set of winter tyres, because they make driving in cold weather considerably safer. Fitting winter tyres to your existing alloy wheels is the cheapest way to get them on your car, but some motorists choose to buy a second set of wheels to mount them on. Either way, as with any other tyre, your winter tyres will need fitting to the wheels and balancing. You need to speak to a specialist tyre fitter or your main dealer about this. Image 4 of 4 It’s worth considering a spare wheel shod with a winter tyre, too, as tyre-busting potholes caused by ice expanding in cracks in the road are a particular problem in winter. Run-flat winter tyres, which remain useable even after a puncture, are also available.

Once you’ve bought a set of winter tyres, you’ll need somewhere to store your second set. Some main dealers and larger high-street tyre retailers offer winter tyre storage – sometimes called 'tyre hotels' – for an annual fee. It’s worth noting that some companies will only store your tyres, not any wheels they’re fitted to. You can store them yourself, but they need to be placed in a cool, dark and reasonably well ventilated room in order to preserve their lifespan. Continental suggests inflating them to 1 bar (about 14.5psi) and hanging them from the wheel spokes. Check with your alloy wheel manufacturer to check this is OK first, as hanging them incorrectly could damage them. If you need to pile up winter tyres, you should restack them every month. If your tyres aren’t fitted to a wheel, they must be stood on a tyre rack and rotated every month.The suitable winter tyre temperature is seven degrees or less. The type of rubber used and the design of the tread patterns means that above seven degrees, stopping distances in the dry are increased.

Plus, grip is reduced when cornering. The safety benefits of winter tyres over summer tyres are well documented, but there are alternatives. Snow chains are compulsory in some parts of Europe, where there’s a high risk of heavily compacted snow and ice. You need to make sure your wheels can be fitted safely with snow chains, as they can damage wheels and bodywork. You need to ensure you fit them at least on the driven wheels (the front wheels on front-wheel-drive cars), but fitting them to all four wheels is better. Refer to your owner’s manual to find this information. You should only use snow chains on compacted snow and ice. Because the UK experiences less of this than some other countries, chains need to be removed them whenever the road surface improves, making them impractical for most UK drivers. Snow socks are a cheaper and simpler alternative. They’re textile covers that might not be as effective as chains, but still offer better grip than summer tyres.

Like chains, you’ll need to remove them when the snow clears, as they’ll quickly wear out on tarmac. Some drivers are four-wheel-drive devotees. Four-wheel drive certainly improves grip – but only when the car is able to drive all four wheels. Clever electronics send power to the wheels with the most grip and in most conditions, this works fine, but in heavy snow and ice, it doesn’t matter how much power is going to an individual wheel – if your tyres can’t grip the road, you’ll find it hard to move. Having said that, the ultimate combination for winter driving is unquestionably four-wheel drive and winter tyres. Pretty much any tyre stockist will be able to sell you a set of winter tyres. But it’s less common that a high-street independent retailer will also be able to supply a set of wheels to fit them to. Larger specialists are more likely to be able to help, but a main dealer will certainly be able to supply the correct wheels you’ll need. You can buy winter tyres all year round, but as you’d expect, many motorists consider them a distress purchase and buy them during the first heavy frost or snow warning of the winter.