First of all, take the choice of winter tyres seriously and do not wait with change of car tyres. There is no need to wait for the first snow or sub-zero temperatures - it is necessary to sign up for tyre fitting line already at an average daily average of +7 ° C overboard. At lower temperatures, summer tyres begin to harden, which leads to deterioration in traction. However, it’s also not worth change winter tyres in ahead of time - if it’s over +10 ° C outside, winter tyres “float”, which affects the deterioration of car handling, and wear out faster.

Maybe all season?

Many car owners naively believe that why spend money on expensive seasonal tyres and stand in line for tyre fitting if there is universal solution for the whole year - all-season tyres.

All-season tyres are by no means panacea, since it is simply impossible to adapt tyres to all the whims of the weather.

Formally, all-season tyres wear out faster, and also do not tolerate frost and intense heat, being many times inferior in properties to specialized winter and summer tyres. It is very difficult to combine diametrically opposite characteristics in one bottle. Just imagine that you need to walk around in one shoe for whole year - both in the cold winter season and in the hot summer heat. It is unlikely that the legs will say "thank you" for such test. The same is true with wheels - each season has its own type of tyres, which is best adapted to the appropriate weather conditions.

The modern market is saturated with an abundance of winter tyres for every taste, size and thickness of the wallet. Our tips on what to look for when choosing winter tyres will help you not to make mistake when choosing wheels.

Popular non-studded winter tyres

Size

There is only one correct answer to the first paragraph of the programme - the tyre size must be the same as it is provided in the technical documentation for the car. Deviations from standard values are allowed within the limits indicated in the description of alternatives for your machine.

Tyre size is defined by three components:

  • tread width in mm;
  • profile height - expressed as percentage of the width;
  • tyre diameter in inches.

For example, tyre in size 195/65R15 has tread width of 195 mm, bead height of 126.75 mm (65% of the width) and must be fitted to 15-inch rim.

Useful advice. For the winter, it is better to get set of stamped wheels - they are easier to repair when hitting obstacles (for example, curb sprinkled with snow), besides, alloy wheels do not respond well to ice bumps, and winter "porridge" on the roads damages their coating.

Remember the main thing, the higher the tyres in winter, the better. But its width should be minimal, which has positive effect on the predictability of the car's behavior on slippery roadway.

Type

The winter tyre family is divided into two broad categories: non-studded tyres and studded tyres.

Friction winter tyres

  • European type. Tyres-"Europeans" have characteristic symmetrical tread pattern with developed network of drainage channels to drain the contact patch between the tyre and the roadway. The tread surface of European-type winter tyres is dotted with numerous zigzag slots (sipes) that work like suction cups.
Winter tyres of the European type are notable for their diagonal tread pattern with developed drainage network.

Tyres of this kind is designed for mild winter climate and is intended for movement on cleared roads. It is the best choice for residents of megacities and nearby suburbs, where it is customary to sprinkle roads with chemicals that prevent the formation of ice.

  • Scandinavian type. Scandinavian-type tyres have more sparse tread pattern with large diamond-shaped checkers. The range of their main tasks is to ensure the best possible grip on snowy or icy roadway, where road services equipment rarely gets. The tread depth of tyres of this type is 9-10 mm, which is done for better cleaning of the contact patch from snow and dirt.
You can recognize the "Scandinavian" in the tyre by the tread of great depth with sparse pattern.

Tyres with Scandinavian tread pattern will delight you with excellent flotation on packed snow and icy surfaces. At the same time, it is inferior in quality to studded winter tyres and is often noticeably noisy.

  • Tyres with asymmetrical tread pattern. Recently, detachment of winter tyres with an asymmetric tread pattern is gaining popularity. Each of its parts plays specific role. For example, the outer side with classic winter tyre structure is responsible for reliable grip on paved roads, while the inner side with an off-road pattern provides contact in case of off-road driving.
The asymmetric tread design is visible to the naked eye.

The actual characteristics of tyres of this kind may differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Nevertheless, despite the reduced usable area of one or another part, this line of winter tyres does an excellent job with the tasks placed on its shoulders and immediately found lot of loyal fans among motorists.

Some models from the non-studded category are devoid of pronounced affiliation - they can be classified as unpretentious "workhorses". These tyres are usually inexpensive and impress with their versatility.

Studded tyres

The element of studded tyres is ice and snow crust. They literally bite their “claws” into the icy roadbed, providing full control over movement and stopping. There is no better option for driving on ice and rolled snow. However, this is where the charms of studded tyres end.

It makes sense to purchase studded tyres if you often have to drive on icy or snowy roads.

Studded tyre is not panacea and does not guarantee safe driving on winter roads, as is commonly believed. Firstly, the spikes reduce the area of contact between the tread and clean asphalt, which leads to an increase in the braking distance. Secondly, in the snowy "porridge" the car obeys the steering wheel worse. And thirdly, studded tyres are often very noisy and often have speed limit of 130 km / h. In many European countries, the operation of such tyres is completely prohibited, because. they ruin the asphalt.

Good to know. On the market are models of winter tyres "stud ready". They cost less than similar studded tyres and give the owner the choice of whether to stud or not. On the other hand, the performance of such tyre without studs is worse than that of regular studless one, and the studs installed after purchase are weaker than the factory ones.

For the city, studded tyres are useless, but for the countryside or rides on uncleaned roads, studded tyres remain unrivaled. In cross section, they are round and multifaceted, as well as combined, but this is topic for separate discussion (see the article "Claws for your tyre. The world of studded tyres").

Popular studded tyres

Speed and load indices

Important points when choosing any tyres, whether it be summer or winter, are the values of the speed and load indices. The first value describes the maximum speed at which the tyre maintains its performance and provides safe movement. For cold season, there is no particular point in chasing high numbers, since in winter few people accelerate faster than 130-140 km / h.

Speed Index Definition Table
Index J K L M N P Q R S T U H V W Y
km/h 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 240 270 300

The second parameter characterizes the maximum load that the wheel can withstand when driving at the maximum allowable speed. The choice of winter tyres, taking into account the specified parameters, can be carried out in the full catalog of tyres, using the appropriate search filters.

Ratings

Determining really worthwhile winter tyre among huge variety of offers is not so easy. All kinds of tyre tests are called to help in this matter, which are carried out by authoritative experts from major automotive publications and organizations (ADAC, Autobild, Autoreview, etc.). During testing, tyres are tested on various road conditions (dry, wet, snowy and icy), their noise level is assessed, wear resistance is determined and the fuel consumption of car is measured. Based on all the collected indicators, the final verdict is formed.

Winter tyres are usually tested at special test sites.

Using the TOP-3/5/7 filters, you can select only those winter tyres that participated in the tests and, according to the results, entered the top three, five or seven winners. Anyhow, to whom the top lines of the podium are not awarded, so tyres of the highest quality without compromise are assembled here.

Top 3 rated winter non-studded tyres

Release year

It is believed that in year lying on the shelves, winter tyres lose about 10-15% of their grip, regardless of whether they were used or not. Therefore, preference should be given to "fresh" tyres. In this case, we are talking about the production date of particular tyre, and not about the release date of the model as a whole. It is often stamped on the sidewall with four numbers:

The combination of these numbers encodes the date of manufacture of the tyre.

The first two digits encode the week of release (there are 56 of them in year), and in the combination of the second - the year of production. For example, "0418" means the 4th week of 2018.

Important. It is recommended to install winter tyres on all four wheels of the machine. Otherwise, due to the difference in the tread pattern, the distribution of braking forces is disturbed and the likelihood of skidding increases even in harmless situation.

Is the brand really that important?

The names of sharks in the tyre industry are constantly revolving around the public: Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Hankook and others. Their products have proven themselves in the best way not only abroad, but also in our realities. If the price of these brands goes beyond the planned budget (and tyres from top manufacturers cannot be called cheap), it makes sense to find out about the “Subsidiary brands of leading tyre companies”(as part of the article of the same name).

Another good reason to save money is to buy tyres not of the latest developments, but of past seasons. Although they are not so perfect in terms of implemented technologies, which are often marketing ploy, however, they do not lose as tyre. In addition, for tyres presented on store shelves for more than year in a row, you can find lot of reviews on the World Wide Web, which allows you to weigh the pros and cons even at the stage of choosing winter tyres for car.

It is highly desirable to look for winter tyres before the onset of frost and the first snowfall, so that bad weather does not cause unpleasant incidents on the road. Have a smooth ride!