The Case for Winter Tyres

Winter tyres seem to engender opinions in the UK which are diametrically opposed. The most general arguments against seem to be:

• Our weather is seldom bad enough.

• You should be able to drive to the conditions (especially if you are an advanced driver).

• I’ve managed perfectly well without them for all these years...

Point 1 can be easily argued against due to the experience of the past 2 years, where prolonged periods of bad weather have caused chaos on our roads. One serious misconception is that winter tyres are meant only for snow, whereas they are much more efficient than summer tyres at any temperature below 7۫ Celsius.

Point 2 is essentially correct, but it applies ONLY as far as the limit of physics – it has been proven that on snow, winter tyres can slow the car in around half the distance of summer tyres and will allow the car to handle twice as well.

For point 3, one can only retort that there is always a first time! (Even Formula 1 drivers, supposedly the best in the world, get it wrong on occasion, especially in slippery conditions – if the cars are not fitted with specific wet weather tyres they become virtually uncontrollable).

A number of points need to be made in favour of winter tyres:

• Winter tyres really work. Tests in the November 2012 issue of Which? Magazine showed that a Skoda Octavia, fitted with winter tyres, braked from 19 to 3 mph on compacted snow in less than half the distance taken when fitted with summer tyres (8.9m as opposed to 20.7m).

• Winter tyres could save you money. It is normal to fit winter tyres of a smaller section than the expensive summer tyres, and to often use steel wheels. It is known that summer tyres wear at a faster rate in cold conditions than in warmer weather (although the actual difference has yet to be measured), so once the cost of the steel wheels has been taken into account, the winter tyres, while not only being cheaper to buy than the summer tyres, will save additional wear on the latter, which can in any case be refitted once the temperatures increase.

• Cars handle much better in cold weather on winter tyres. It is a fact that handing improves markedly in cold weather on winter tyres. This could, and often does, make all the difference between missing the hazard and causing expensive damage or worse.

In the UK, the temperatures tend to fall to lower levels around the beginning of November, and increase to the “summer” level around the end of March. Which? Magazine carried out a test on a number of different manufacturers tyres in the November issue, and found the three outstanding tyres (205/55) to be Continental WinterContact, Michelin Alpin A4 and Goodyear Ultragrip 8. All are available for between £85 and £90, a far cry from the amount which would be needed for the summer replacement 255/40s. It is submitted that not only could winter tyres (potentially) save lives; they could also save the operator money.

Denis Moss, October 2012