Can I drive with all-season tires in the snow?

All-Season Tires

These days, most standard tires are marketed as all-season tires and are designed for a smooth, quiet ride in most driving conditions. You can expect them to offer good traction or road grip in rain and bare pavement throughout the year, and while they offer some traction over light snow and the occasional winter storm, they’re not ideal for deep snow and ice. This is because the treads are shallower, and the compounds stiffen as temperatures drop, therefore offering less traction.

Winter Tires

Winter tires or snow tires are specifically designed for offering better grip on snow, slush, mud, and ice. They use softer rubber compounds mixed with silica for added traction, and the tread compounds remain softer and more flexible in cold weather. Moreover, the treads are deeper, wider, and more jagged, allowing for better road grip even in the harshest of conditions. Additionally, some winter tires come with studs for enhanced traction on ice.

Another advantage that winter tires offer over all-season tires in winter: stopping and handling. While all-season tires are safe when you’re driving on a wet road in the rain, they’re not as efficient when it comes to stopping and handling on snow-covered roads. On the other hand, winter tires help you stay in control of your vehicle even on snow-covered roads.

Should you change to winter tires?

Whether you should stick to all-season tires or get winter tires depends on what kind of driving you do and where you stay. If you drive off-road on weekends or stay in a town that gets hit hard by snow for months at a time, it’s a good idea to install a set of winter tires on your vehicles. Apart from keeping you safe on the roads, changing over between winter and all-season tires helps extend the life of both your tires.