What tires to put in the winter: wider or narrower?
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What tires to put in the winter: wider or narrower?

Every fall, several million drivers living in the middle latitudes face the same dilemma: is it worth investing in winter tires or is it better to stay on an all-weather season.

Many are convinced that the so-called all-round tires are simply the best solution, which makes it easier to operate the machine at any time of the year. This is absolutely true if you drive only in the city, your area is not characterized by high hills and, as a rule, refuse to ride when it snows or ice on the road.

What tires to put in the winter: wider or narrower?

In all other conditions, the difference between all-season and winter tires is at least 20% more grip. And 20% is a big difference between a timely maneuver or a stop before the car collides with the bump stop.

What is the reason for this difference?

Why are manufacturers, armed with all the means of modern science, still unable to produce tires that work equally well at all times?

The answer is very simple: because it is impossible to combine mutually exclusive things from the composition of tires. Basic requirements for tires:

  • so that they are hard enough;
  • to withstand high speeds;
  • to wear out slowly.

But we also want them to be soft enough to have better grip. We want them to have as large a dry contact surface as possible, as well as large enough channels to drain water and dirt during rain.

What tires to put in the winter: wider or narrower?

It's like making a shoe suitable for a summer beach, for hiking in the mountains and for a sprint race. Modern technology can offer you a reasonable compromise between these things. But he still remains a compromise.

All season tires are a great solution for countries like Greece. But for countries with a continental climate, their use in snow and ice is risky.

Main differences

The first is obvious: all-season tires have a slightly simpler tread structure and deeper drainage channels.

Winter has incomparably more slats - and each of them is designed for maximum grip on various surfaces. The channels here are designed to collect snow, and often their bottoms are polished, which ensures that sticky snow is ejected from the cavity.

What tires to put in the winter: wider or narrower?

All-season (left) against winter tires. In the second option, the tread structure is much more complicated to provide better grip in frosty weather.

EACH MANUFACTURER also has his own original solutions. For example, the drainage system at Continental Winter Contact.

What tires to put in the winter: wider or narrower?

The idea is that from the friction itself, the upper layer of ice melts and forms a water layer between the tire and the road. These grooves under the tread are specifically designed to remove moisture to prevent the wheels from slipping.

At the same time, the tire provides the maximum contact surface, which in summer analogues is reduced due to grooves.

By the way, experts advise using slightly wider tires in winter than in summer. It is true that the wider width makes the tire a little more susceptible to aquaplaning and a little unstable with a standard gauge. But on the other hand, such tires have significantly greater grip on dry roads, on compacted snow or ice, and stops better on wet roads.

What tires to put in the winter: wider or narrower?

In this case, it is worth considering the characteristics of the car. For example, in winter, the snow freezes on the wingers and turns into porous ice with sharp edges. If the rubber is installed wider than the manufacturer recommends, it will cling to this layer.

As a result, the turning radius is noticeably reduced (the wheel begins to rub against the fender liner). Also, constant friction on the ice will quickly disable the tire. Some motorists find a compromise: they put the one that is narrower in front, and the one that is wider in the back.

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