Winter Tyres - What is the Law and What are the Benefits?

Some European countries, such as Austria, have a legal requirement to swap out your summer and winter tyres during certain times of the year. Some motorists in the UK don't give this a second thought, since we don't have a law in place to dictate the change, however is it still worth getting winter tyres for your car?

British winter is relatively mild compared to others across Europe. Therefore, most of us never consider purchasing winter or all-season tyres. However, a common misconception with winter tyres is that they're SNOW tyres, this is not the case. Winter tyres are designed to improve braking distances, handling and general driving control once temperatures drop below 7°C, not FREEZING.

Benefits of Winter Tyres

Winter Tyres do what they say on the tin… they're tyres designed for winter! Their softer rubber compounds and specially designed tread patterns are designed to cope with lower temperatures and driving in snowy and icy conditions.

Tyres contract and harden in colder temperatures, which in turn can lead to cracking and splitting. Winter tyres are typically made from specialist rubber compounds that are designed to withstand the effects of these temperatures. Premium brands like Continental, Goodyear, Michelin and Pirelli invest large amounts of money into researching winter tyres so you can be confident these premium brands will work on snow and ice!

The key safety benefit of winter tyres is Stopping Distances. The treads and specially designed sipes are made to grip the snow and bring you to a stop much more effectively than your equivalent summer tyres! Continental conducted research on their own range of summer, winter and all-season tyres which you can see below!

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that winter tyres offer improved turning and accelerating in cold conditions than summer tyres, which not only improve safety but can lead to a more enjoyable drive!

Sounds Great! So Should I Buy Winter Tyres?

Winter tyres are often more expensive at the time of purchase but will last much longer so potentially cost effective in the long run. As well as purchasing a set of winters, you'll then have the swap over to do twice annually. With Hometyre, that's no burden at all! We come to you to carry out season swaps at your location and convenience. If you don't think seasonal tyre swaps are for you, then you could look at investing in a set of All Season tyres instead!

2 factors to consider are location and annual mileage. For instance, someone who does lots of miles around the Scottish Highlands would benefit more from winter tyres than a town centre Sunday driver on the south coast!

Winter tyres can indeed be used in the summer months but the softer material can cause excessive wear, poor performance and

Winter tyres should be swapped out for your old summer tyres when the weather warms up again. This requires storage, either in a garage or in a 'Tyre Hotel', which again can be costly.

So... What About Those All-Season Tyres?

All-Season Tyres are designed to be used all year round! They offer a compromise between the benefits of both summer and winter tyres and are designed to be driven in temperatures between -10 to +30 degrees. All-seasons offer improved performance in both dry and soggy conditions above 7 degrees compared to winter tyres, and they do not need to be swapped out which saves time and money!

Although All Seasons provide a high degree of safety in the snow, they are still not as effective as winter tyres in freezing conditions. For maximum effectiveness in the cold, we will still recommend winter tyres.

If you have any questions about buying or fitting winter or all-season tyres, do not hesitate to call us on 0333 444 5454

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