Winter tyres
It turns out winter tyres come in more than one kind! They are made for different roads, different climates and different ways of using a car in winter. Types of winter tyre tread, why you might need a studded tyre: everything a motorist needs to choose the winter tyres that suit them best.
Questions you will find the answers to on this page:
- How do winter tyres differ from summer ones?
- Do you need winter tyres for an off-roader?
- Can you drive on all-season tyres in winter?
- Which axle should winter tyres go on (or can you fit just one)?
- What types of winter tread are there, and how do you choose the right winter tyres?
- When do you need a studded tyre, and when is it better to do without one?
From the lead article
Every motorist approaches the choice of tyre their own way: some trust mostly incompetent sellers or advertising in its various forms, some read owners’ reviews online, some search for “independent” tests in various publications, some simply buy the priciest or the cheapest tyre.
Articles in this sectionIn reading order.
- How to choose winter tyres: where to startHow to choose winter tyres: where to start, why not to rely on sellers, advertising and reviews, and how to pick a tyre for your own conditions.introduction, 383 words
- How does a winter tyre differ from a summer one?Most drivers think winter and summer tyres differ mainly in tread pattern. In fact, the key difference is how the rubber handles temperature.345 words
- Does an off-roader need winter tyres?It is a rhetorical question, but, oddly enough, many motorists do not know the answer to it. In fact, winter tyres are needed by any off-roader, and even more so than by a saloon car, and the…279 words
- What is an all-season tyre?What are all-season tyres? The temperatures and roads they are made for, and why they suit neither extreme heat nor hard frost.325 words
- Two or four?Can you fit winter tyres on one axle only? Why summer tyres on the back of a front-wheel-drive car are a recipe for a skid.470 words
- The same or different?Must you fit matching tyres on both axles? How different tyres change braking on each axle, and what that means for a four-wheel-drive car.325 words
- Do you need studs?Do you need studs? Where studded tyres really shorten braking distance and where they reduce grip, and why all four wheels must be studded.576 words
- How to choose winter tyres?How to choose winter tyres: first the tyre type and tread pattern to suit your roads, then the model and maker to taste and budget.350 words
- Winter tyres and the law: Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland and neighboursEvery autumn someone on a car forum is sure to demand: “show me the law that makes me fit winter tyres!” In Ukraine there really is no such law.1,361 words · new article
- All-season tyres today: who they really suit“A modern all-season is no longer a compromise: fit it once and forget the way to the tyre fitter,” the salesmen assure us.1,179 words · new article