We are now only about a month away from the beginning ofwinter. Indeed, this season normally starts from next Wednesday, December 21, to end only on Sunday, March 19, 2017. As you already know, it’s going to snow and the roads are going to get slippery. That’s why it’s important to prepare your vehicle now and equip it with quality tires to ensure a safe and comfortable ride. In this section, we present you with some tips on how to find the best winter tire for driving in comfort and safety.
The winter tire
As the name clearly implies, a winter tire is specially designed to adapt to and cope with winter driving conditions. It has all the necessary characteristics and technologies to offer optimal grip on snow and ice. Whether it’s the tread compound or the tread pattern, this type of tire is optimized for winter use. To recognize it, we can consider the physical characteristics associated with it. However, this is sometimes misleading and the best thing to do is to always make sure it has the 3PMSF (Three Peak Mountain Snow Flake) logo in addition to the M+S (mud+snow) designation that is also found on some all-season tires.
How to choose your winter tire?
The choice of a winter tire depends above all on the type of vehicle you have and the size of the tires it needs. Indeed, tires intended to be mounted on a 4×4 or an SUV should not be the same as those to be installed on a classic sedan or a small utility vehicle. Each model has its own category of tires, so you will have to find the one that best suits your car. Moreover, the choice must also depend on the type of use of the vehicle. A car that is going to be used on a snowy road often needs studded winter tires or tires with more studs, whereas for a vehicle that is going to be used mainly in the center of France or in places with little snow, this would be useless and simple snow tires will do very well.
Chains and snow socks
Snow chains and socks are an excellent alternative to winter tires, especially when it snows too much or when you go to the mountains. For the former, they are strongly recommended for intensive and regular use in the mountains. They provide excellent grip and are also very durable. There are different types of chains to choose from, such as manual tensioning chains, automatic tensioning chains, textile chains, spider chains, etc.
Snow socks, on the other hand, are mainly intended for occasional or emergency use. They offer the advantage of being easy to mount and also of not damaging the rims or disturbing the electronic safety systems. However, it is good to know that with chains and snow socks, the maximum speed limit is 50 km/h.
