Winter, all-season or summer tyres: which do you need?
Most cars in the UK leave the factory on what the tyre industry calls summer tyres. The name is misleading: they're the standard tyre for most of the year, and they're good in rain. The difference between the three types is really about temperature.
Summer tyres
Summer tyres use a rubber compound that stays firm and grippy in mild and warm weather, with tread designed to clear water fast. They give the sharpest steering and braking for most of the British year. The weakness is the cold: as the temperature drops below about 7°C the rubber starts to harden, and a hard tyre grips less, on ice and snow most of all, but on a cold, wet road too.
Winter tyres
Winter tyres aren't just snow tyres. They use a softer compound, with more natural rubber and silica, that stays flexible in the cold. The tread has deeper grooves and lots of small slits (called sipes) that open up and bite into snow and slush. Below about 7°C they grip better than summer tyres on any surface; above it, the soft rubber wears faster and the car feels less precise.
All-season tyres
All-season tyres sit in between: a compound that copes with cold without going soft in summer, and a tread that handles rain and light snow. Modern all-season tyres have improved a lot, and for much of the UK, with mild winters and the odd cold snap, they're a sensible single set for the whole year, with no swapping and no storage. The trade-off is that they're not quite as sharp as summer tyres on a hot day, or as capable as winter tyres in deep snow or on ice.
The symbols to look for
- Three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF). A snowflake inside a mountain outline. It means the tyre has passed a standard test for grip on snow. All winter tyres have it, and so do the better all-season tyres.
- M+S (mud and snow). The tyre maker's own description of the tread pattern. There's no test behind it, so on its own it doesn't tell you much about cold-weather grip.
Which is right for you?
| Summer | All-season | Winter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best in | Above 7°C | Most UK weather | Below 7°C |
| Snow and ice | Poor | Fair (good with 3PMSF) | Best |
| Hot weather | Best | Good | Wears faster |
| Swap twice a year? | Only if you also own winters | No | Yes |
| Suits | Mild areas, mostly town and motorway | Most UK drivers who want one set | Rural, hilly or northern roads; trips to the Alps |
Do you have to fit winter tyres in the UK?
No. There's no legal requirement in the UK. Several European countries do require winter tyres, or chains, in wintry conditions, so check the rules before you drive abroad in the colder months.
If you do switch
- Fit a set of four. Mixing winter and summer tyres on the same car makes the front and rear grip differently, which can upset the handling.
- Swap around October, and back around Easter, or whenever the temperature is mostly below or above 7°C.
- Tell your insurer. Most don't treat winter tyres as a modification or charge extra, but it's worth checking.
- Set the pressures for the tyre size. Use your car's figures for that size, unless the handbook gives separate winter-tyre figures (some do, usually a little higher). Check them cold, and check more often in winter: cold air lowers the pressure.