GET YOUR DEDICATED SNOW TIRES NOW !!!

I run all-weather tires 3 seasons and then snow tires during the winter. That is a good combo but its not for everyone. If you live in the city and have no place to store or switch tires there are all-seasons that approach snow tire levels of grip. Everyone needs to decide what is best and works for them. When it comes to a one tire solution Michelin's cross climate tires stand out. They look like they have moved the needle further with their new design.

Michelin CrossClimate Plus Tires | Michelin

 

Just to clarify, all-weather tires are all-seasons that have passed a snow traction test ASTM F1805. They carry the snowflake on mountain symbol for severe winter service. They are considered true 4-season tires.

Winter tires will have the snowflake-mountain symbol and offer superior snow & ice traction. These also have passed the snow traction test. These are 1-season tires.

There is no traction test for all-season tires with the M+S symbol. They have a tread pattern that meets certain specs for void space as a percentage of the tread surface and other specs. Some are pretty good in snow when new, and some are scary.

ASTM F1805 is a straight ahead snow traction acceleration test. There is no standard braking or cornering snow traction test. Tires that pass ASTM F1805 may carry the 3 Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol for severe winter service.

 

Interesting. Thanks for the explanation on the testing. I knew about the All-weather tires being All-season tires for severe winter service with mountain peaks and a snowflake but did not know what the testing entailed. I would think the braking would be a more important test than the acceleration test. BTW, even though snow tires are designed for low temperature and for 1-season only, I have seen many who use studless snow tires like Xice-3 year around. I almost thought about doing that with mine, but I still had a good tread left on the all-season OEM tires when I put on the Xice, so I didn't.

 

I wonder how many all season tires could pass ASTM F1805? I bet more than just the ones with the 3PMSF rating, but for whatever reason manufacturers choose not to test them. Maybe to sell more snow tires or maybe to be conservative and not advertise something as a snow tire unless they designed and tested it sufficiently.

Some all season all terrain SUV tires have the 3PMSF rating, but they aren't advertised as all weather tires. For example BFG KO2 or Goodyear (wrangler) Duratrac. I'm convinced the Michelin Defender LTX is as good as either of those in snow (the older LTX MS2 is amazing in snow), but it doesn't have the 3PMSF rating.

 

I think snow tires get run year ‘round in particular when owners have decided they won’t be good for another winter, tread getting low.

 

In our region, snow tire season extends from Nov to Apr. That's half of the year. But actual snow on the road is only ~10 days out of 6 months. That's why the year-round all-weather tires are very attractive. But, if snow tires require 6/32 to be effective, I wonder how much tread all-weather tires have to have? If it has to have more than 6/32, I may have to change them every two years. Now, it may not be very attractive.

 

Up here, Kal Tire, a big advocate of all-weather options, makes a point of calling all-seasons “three seasons”.

 

Current snow conditions in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Had my snow tires on since early November:



(Arrows flag snowman remnants)

 

In Colorado, you need 3PMSF tires to allow you to drive on I-70 in winter (actually Sep-May, and without the need to carry chains/snow socks in your car). These are winter tires that also perform well in summer. I'm on my 3rd winter with General Altimax 365 AW - reasonably priced vs. other 3PMSF, like Mich Cross Climate. CR tested them as good or better for snow + ice than many "winter" tires, and certainly better RR. But anytime you replace worn down tires with new ones, you WILL notice a hit on EV miles. Simple physics (more mass, worse aerodynamics, and bigger wheel circumference, which messes with your spedometer on top of that too).

 

Tyres Explained | Snow Tyres.

 

I can't imagine the mass of a new tire is significantly more than the mass of a used tire. Slightly more but not a huge amount. The other issues wouldn't be issues at all. increasing the diameter by 5/32 of an inch is insignificant. New tires have the same aerodynamics as old tires. Your speedo is designed for new tires already. When worn they would have a negative impact if the speedo is correctly calibrated but again we're talking minimal.

 

True of the weight if the new tire is the same model as the old. Otherwise, there can be a decent difference between models.

New tires do penalize efficiency even with the same model. My understanding is that is has to do with the manufacturing process leaving the outer layer of rubber with higher rolling resistance. Or it could be because of greater squirm within the tread blocks when they are larger. That is a reason while efficiency can improve as the tires wear. EPA testing allows tires to be 'broken in' of the new tire penalty, but not used; the amount of wear allowed is about 4000 miles worth.