A Terrible Cocktail Mix of Winter and Summer Tyres

Can you mix Winter tyres with Summer tyres? 

The simple answer to mixing tyres is Do not. But why? Well, there are a few different reasons;

Different grip levels. Imagine diving along in the winter with drag racing tyres on the front and studded heavy duty winter tyres on the rear and turning a sharp corner. Would the vehicle go around the corner? Probably not. Whilst frantically turning the wheel, the rear tyres have the most grip so propel the car forward into the hedge. If the situation were the other way around, the front would turn but the rear would slide around the corner in an uncontrolled drift!

One of the worst things you can do is mix these across the axel. Having two summers on the front and two winters on the rear is bad enough but when you have a winter and summer on the front etc etc this is a cause for disaster as one corner of the vehicle will have grip whilst the other does not. The best way to describe this for a non-tyre person is to image you have an apple on one side and an orange on the other. Yes, they are both round, a fruit and filled with liquid but both have very different characteristic.

One of the biggest negatives of mixing winters with summers is that it may invalidate your insurance. If you were to get into an accident, the insurance company would most likely not pay-out if this ‘modification’ has not been declared.

If you are looking at keeping your tyres on all year round and want the best of both worlds (summer and winter tyres) why not purchase a set of all-season tyres?

If you need advice, or are looking at purchasing a set of all-season tyres, why not give us a call on 0333 444 5454