# Summer tires (need answer before Friday's snowstorm) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2016, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677 "2016-01-20T14:46:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/161 "2016-01-30T03:14:57Z")
> [@ZurBob](#): > > Now, some want pictures. What next, an affidavit? > > This level of suspicion is just plain odd. > > I’ll provide no photo to pacify this want… So carry on among yourselves as you wish, and conclude what pleases you. > > Enjoy your tires. I just thought you might want to prove your point. If not, we certainly will carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/162 "2016-01-30T04:44:11Z")
> [@ZurBob](#): > > Now, some want pictures. What next, an affidavit? > > This level of suspicion is just plain odd. > > I’ll provide no photo to pacify this want… So carry on among yourselves as you wish, and conclude what pleases you. > > Enjoy your tires. So you found out you have the A/S tires and don’t want to show us? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/163 "2016-01-30T05:08:38Z")
If you show me your’s, I’ll show you mine. [Here are my all season tires (and one summer tire in the background).](https://flic.kr/p/DuuH1P) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/164 "2016-01-31T12:34:42Z")
Well ya got yer slicks, and ya got yer summers, and ya got yer all seasons, and ya got yer winters, and ya got yer studded, but then ya got yer _Zamboni super-studded_. Zamboni super-studded: every Canadian’s dream. [As kids, we dream of playing for the Habs in the NHL,](https://youtu.be/ZZyDsF-Gp3o) but as we get older the dream fades for many of us. [The Canadian National Dream that we all share, and which never fades, is to drive a Zamboni: a Zamboni with super-studded tires.](https://youtu.be/V0m7G_HJD10) ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2016, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/165 "2016-01-31T15:58:24Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > If you show me your’s, I’ll show you mine. [Here are my all season tires (and one summer tire in the background).](https://flic.kr/p/DuuH1P) Man, the tread on those really hangs onto the snow! ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2016, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/166 "2016-02-01T21:34:09Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > If you show me your’s, I’ll show you mine. [Here are my all season tires (and one summer tire in the background).](https://flic.kr/p/DuuH1P) That summer tire looks 4-5 psi short. I hoping you’re planning on re-inflating them before you install them. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/167 "2016-02-16T15:40:25Z")
I have had a couple of trips on snowy roads this month with my Yokohama A/S tires. I am getting acceptable performance. I do have some trouble on hills but when I keep it slow I maintain traction. The car is pretty stable on slick/slushy roads. (An idiot FedEx driver got stuck on our street because every time he started to move he would give it way too much gas and start spinning the tires. These bozos think that if a little gas is good, a lot is better.) I think any trouble I have is more attributable to the RWD than the tires. Specialized winter tires would probably do better in bad conditions but we just don’t get those kind of conditions much in northern Virginia. The worst situation was getting stuck trying to back into my garage; my driveway has an upward slope towards the garage. When I started over and went it forward it was no problem. I suppose the slope tends to shift the weight to the downhill tires. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/168 "2016-02-16T16:15:29Z")
You took your car from virtually unusable to pretty darn usable by going to all-season rubber, so that’s a major, real-life example of how important seasonal tire compounds and designs are. . ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/169 "2016-02-16T17:53:15Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Very bad: Winter tires in warm weather Oh, and since you’re back, I forgot to ask you about that. I’ve never used winter tires. Why is that so bad? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/170 "2016-02-16T18:16:00Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > The worst situation was getting stuck trying to back into my garage; my driveway has an upward slope towards the garage. The worst situation was a city bus getting stuck backwards in my driveway. :smack: The bus slid backwards down my street (a steep hill), and spun backwards up my driveway (another steep hill), grounding its front bumper on the street such that it had to be extracted by a heavy tow which could not come until after the street had been plowed and salted. This was in the days before cell phones, so most of the evening was spent with bus passengers using my phone and toilet. Fortunately, the fellow who designed and built the house in the 30s was a very practical fellow (a mine manager), who put a toilet beside the front entrance way where any normal person would have put a closet, a few rolls of toilet paper and an extension cord for the phone solved the problem, for it permitted me to leave the front door open and the entrance way door closed, keeping the house warm while still having phone and toilet in constant use. The moral of the story? Get winter tires if you don’t want to stand in line in a snowstorm waiting to crap in some stranger’s house. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/171 "2016-02-16T18:23:09Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Oh, and since you’re back, I forgot to ask you about that. I’ve never used winter tires. Why is that so bad? The softer winter tire compound wears down faster than the harder summer tire compound. The summer tire compound and the summer tire tread pattern are made for grip in summer temperatures, whereas winter tires are not, so you will skid on turns less and stop faster in the summer if you use a summer tire. Winter tires used in the summer make more noise, do not ride as smoothly, and do not perform as firmly and responsively as summer tires. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/172 "2016-02-16T18:24:09Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Oh, and since you’re back, I forgot to ask you about that. I’ve never used winter tires. Why is that so bad? Winter tires use very soft rubber and have a more flexible tread pattern. At sub-freezing temperatures, they have good traction but handling is noticeably squishy. A little above freezing they’ll still have adequate traction, but handling is even worse, and the soft rubber will wear somewhat faster. At normal summer temperatures the rubber will be so soft as to seriously compromise handling, and the tread will wear down extremely rapidly. You could probably destroy a pair of winter tires with several months of warm weather driving. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/173 "2016-02-16T18:35:37Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Oh, and since you’re back, I forgot to ask you about that. I’ve never used winter tires. Why is that so bad? Looks like it’s been answered, more or less, but the tire will deteriorate rapidly and feel ‘greasy’ or slippery, and the very compliant and flexible compounds will make the tread squishy and unresponsive. Tread depth is usually very important to a winter tire, so even if you eventually get them off, but have used them in hot weather, you’ve seriously worn them down and/or chunked them up a bit. . ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/174 "2016-02-16T18:40:34Z")
From the pros: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laDBPMEYwlo) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/175 "2016-02-16T20:25:45Z")
We have a Saab 92-x, which is essentially a Subaru WRX. It has all wheel drive, and we run summer tires in the summer and winter tires in the winter. This year we had an early snow before we changed over, and I took a slow drive around the neighborhood on the summer tires just to see what the handling was like. It was crazy. It felt like I was driving on a skating rink. It was definitely NOT safe to drive that car in traffic with those tires, so I eased it back into the garage and waited for the snow to melt, then we got the tires changed. The difference between summer tires and winter tires on snow and ice is dramatic. And this is one of the best handling cars around, with all-wheel drive. My advice: don’t drive on roads that are icy or covered in packed snow with anything less than all-seasons, and preferably with winter tires. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/176 "2016-02-16T20:33:16Z")
When did the name change from snow tires to winter tires? I never heard of winter tires in my youth. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/177 "2016-02-16T22:51:37Z")
They’re not the same thing. Winter tires have a softer compound and are designed to be more responsive in colder conditions in addition to siping and different tread pattern. Snow tires had more siping and tended to be blockier (like light truck tires) than summer or all seasons but didn’t use radically different rubber in the manufacture. It’s a subtle but noticeable difference. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2016, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/178 "2016-02-16T23:36:34Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > It was crazy. It felt like I was driving on a skating rink. It was definitely NOT safe to drive that car in traffic with those tires… Wow, maybe you’re not as good a driver as **gogogophers** 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/179 "2016-02-17T01:15:25Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > When did the name change from snow tires to winter tires? I never heard of winter tires in my youth. Modern compounds, with things such as silica added, made massive leaps forward in the 1990’s and 2000’s. It went from tread pattern and studs (for winter and snow tires), to sophisticated siping patterns (tiny grooves in main treads) and sophisticated chemical compounds that bite, remain flexible AND last a long time. Modern tire compounds are one of the most under rated advancements in automotive technology. _Of silica and siping_… A very good read… > **[Of Silica and Siping - Tire Review Magazine](https://www.tirereview.com/silica-siping/)** > > In the past decade, tire engineering has seen two new technologies overtake the industry in the form of brand new ways of cutting sipes and a brand new . ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677/180 "2016-03-16T03:55:23Z")
A little late for this winter, maybe, but Consumer reports just reviewed two tires that might be a whole new class – “all-weather tires”. At least I haven’t heard the term before. They are all-season tires but with very good snow and ice performance. [CR has released a brief video describing their test](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JfEcVZvQEA&list=TLhIzB_fQZvYQxNTAzMjAxNg), and say both have better snow and ice performance than many winter tires they’ve tested. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-tires-need-answer-before-fridays-snowstorm/743677.md?page=10)