All-weather tires: not a good idea in winter
With the return of colder weather, it’s time once again for Quebec drivers to get their winter tires installed. It’s the law—between December 1 and March 15 inclusive, only tires approved for winter use are allowed on the road. Look for the mountain snowflake emblem.
But a snowflake on your tire wall is no guarantee of optimum performance when road conditions worsen. The mountain snowflake appears on “real” winter tires designed for sub-zero driving, but also on all-weather tires. And although there are advantages to all-weather tires, they’re designed for milder weather conditions and have drawbacks.
What exactly are all-weather tires?
Canadians have had a broader selection of winter tires to choose from in recent years. All-weather tires are all-in-one solutions—tires designed to be used twelve months a year. The problem is, their rubber is stiffer than in conventional winter tires and less effective on icy surfaces. In other words, when it gets really cold out, all-weather tires don’t grip as well.
Inadequate performance
As CAA-Quebec automotive research analyst Sylvain Légaré points out, these tires are approved for winter driving based on snow traction, which partly explains why they perform poorly on ice. And even those that pass the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada test very often have a less aggressive tread pattern than winter tires generally, which reduces their traction in snow. So far not so good.
But there’s more. When warmer weather returns, all-weather tires wear faster than summer tires because they’re designed to be used all twelve months of the year. Their road grip is also less than optimal in summer—to get approved for winter driving they’re made using a softer rubber than regular four-season tires. So you get a tire that barely makes the grade in pretty well all weather and driving conditions.
Sylvain also points to a few other drawbacks, with their longer braking distance definitely the scariest according to him. “When it’s cold out, it’s a disaster,” he says about the tests he performed in winter. “And it’s not much better in summer.”
Summertime wear and tear also has an impact on tread life. When you compare two identical cars with the same mileage and that travel the same route every day, there is usually more wear on tires you keep on all year long than two sets of tires alternated by season. One reason is the drivers tend to forget to have the tires rotated regularly since they no longer have to take them on and off every six months.
So, what are the benefits?
What makes drivers pick tires that deliver such disappointing performance in so many different conditions? A big motivator is not having to switch tires twice a year—you save money and time, although the tires still have to be rotated once in a while. The initial cost of a set of tires—one set instead of two—is another reason. But do bear in mind that two sets of tires will last longer than a single set you use all year—your tire treads won’t wear as quickly as time goes by, thereby offsetting the higher initial layout.
Not the tire for you
When it comes down to it, all-weather tires are really only a good idea for people who drive very little or who never go out in cold weather or snowy or icy conditions. There aren’t many people like that in Quebec. That’s why CAA-Quebec Automotive Advisory Services doesn’t recommend all-weather tires at all. Even the cheapest winter tire is better than any all-weather tire in winter.
In Quebec, winter tires are the always the best—and the safest—choice when it comes to keeping your car on the road.