People living in countries with extreme weather conditions know the importance of having different kinds of tyres in store. Harsh winter conditions, as well as summer conditions, deteriorate the state of the tyres. As the road suffers due to the weather conditions, the direct impact causes the tyres’ wear and tear more frequently.
One might wonder which type of tyre to be used in their vehicle. There are three significant differences between winter Tyres Lincoln and summer tyres. These are their structure, their rubber compound and their tread pattern.
In this article, we are going to discuss what are winter tyres, summer tyres, and the differences between them. It might help you choose the best kind of tyres for your vehicle so that your drive can be smoother and safer.
Winter tyres
Winter tyres, also known as snow tyres, are the type of tyres that are used on snowy roads or roads with ice in winters. Their tread design has larger gaps between them as compared to conventional tyres. It helps in increasing the traction in snow and ice. Snow tyres are designed for winter conditions optimised to be used at less than 7° C (45° F).
Some of the winter tyres have ceramic or metallic studs that project out from the tyre to increase friction on high packed snow or ice. Winter tyres have to pass a particular winter traction performance test to fall in the category of fit for winter tyres. They are entitled to show the “three-peak mountain snowflake” symbol on their sidewalk so that people can know their use and category.
Summer tyres
Tyres that can be used in the summer season without decreasing the tread size of the tyre are known as summer tyres. Summer Tyres Lincoln is made to perform well on a wet and dry road. They can be used in warm as well as cold weather. However, they can not be used on roads covered with ice and snow.
In countries where snowfall is experienced rarely, summer tyres are also called all-season tyres. It is because summer tyres can not be used on roads covered with snow only. Apart from that, they can be used on every kind of road, and weather conditions, having a temperature of more than 7° C.
Major differences
- Winter tyres have higher natural rubber content. It helps them maintain their suppleness in cold weather conditions. Having higher rubber content helps them reduce the speed of wear and tear. Because of the tenderness that the rubber contains, it makes it easier for the tyres to have a proper grip and handling on snowy roads.
Summer tyres, on the other hand, have harder rubber content. This rubber content softens with warmer conditions making it easier for the tyre to have a good grip on dry and wet roads.
- Winter tyres contain in their tread blocks thousands of tiny grooves, also known as sipes. Sipes are used for dispersing water and for avoiding aquaplaning. It helps in having a good grip of tyres over snow.
Summer tyres have lesser sites on the tread blocks but have specially designed tread bars to minimise aquaplaning. These tread bars are designed to provide good grip both longitudinally and laterally. They help have a good grip on the dry and wet roads.
- Strangely, nothing grips snow better than snow. For the same purpose, winter tyres have deep tread patterns, which provides a cavity for snow. The compacted snow in the deep tread pattern intensifies the grip effect. It helps in adding traction to push the vehicle forward on the snowy and icy roads.
Summer tyres have a simple block-shaped tread pattern. It provides a more significant footprint with the roads as compared to winter tyres. It helps summer tyres to have a good handling of the vehicle, along with the impact on reasonable braking distance.
