All-season or summer tires: which one to choose?

General concepts

So, we open the owner's manual to find out what tires we need to buy. Here we find tire options for different conditions. They depend on the following indicators:

• Season – tires are available in summer, winter and all-season;
• Engine – type of power plant and its power;
• Discs - rubber is selected depending on the material from which the discs are made.

Tire markings are applied to all tires. From it you can find out the size, speed and load index, as well as the manufacturer. A tire consists of a bead, carcass, side part, tread and breaker layers. If you turn the side of the tire towards you, you will see the markings on the tires in the following sequence: width, profile and diameter. The example below shows a tire with a width of 225, a profile of 45Z and a diameter of R17:

All-season tires

If winter tires are so different in performance from summer tires, how are all-season tires made? These tires are always a compromise between summer and winter tires. As a rule, their tread has elements characteristic of both types of tires - we find both sipes on it (but usually fewer than in conventional winter tires), as well as wide circumferential grooves for water drainage and, for example, one row of larger ones. This tread design provides stability in dry and wet conditions.

Note! The composition of the rubber mixture would also have to be a compromise, but most modern all-season tires are made from a mixture that, in its physical and chemical properties, is closer to winter tires than to summer tires. Let's draw conclusions!

Differences in tire markings depending on the season

Let us immediately point out the differences in the markings of winter, summer and all-season tires. You can determine which season you belong to by the following signs:

• Summer tires - summer tires do not have special markings indicating that they belong to the warm season;
• Winter tires - the index “M+S” is marked on it, and the tire may also have an image of a snowflake or the word “Winter”;
• All-season tires - they can also have designations for winter tires, but there are also distinctive abbreviations “AS” (all seasons, All Seasons), “R+W” (all-season for cold regions, Road + Winter), “AW” ( all-season for any conditions, Any Weather).

Labeling tires and deciphering their designations is important, but first it’s worth spending a few words on the types of tires. Tires can be winter, summer or all-season. The main difference between them is the tread pattern. When you pick up summer tires, you will see well-defined grooves for water drainage; there is also no micro-pattern on the summer tire. Such design features make it possible to ensure reliable wheel grip on wet or dry road surfaces. Velcro markings on winter tires are no different from regular winter tires; you can notice the studs themselves visually.

It’s quite easy to distinguish winter tires from summer tires; you don’t even need to decipher the markings of winter tires. Winter tires have a pronounced tread pattern. Tires of this type ensure safe movement on icy and snowy roads. Using the summer version can cause a serious accident. As for all-season tires, they demonstrate high-quality grip on dry, wet, icy and snowy asphalt.

Science: Here's the difference between summer and winter tires.

Now the winter period has arrived in most of Russia, which, as always, brings an increase in emergency situations on the roads of our country, and with them the average speed of vehicles changes. Unfortunately, not all motorists change summer tires to winter tires on time when winter comes. Moreover, many drivers know very well that in this way and through inaction on their part, they deliberately ignore and violate the law, jeopardizing not only their safety, but also the safety of other road users. Such unfortunate motorists are in no hurry to change the shoes of their cars; they believe that in winter they can safely use summer tires.

In our material today, we will not once again scare those drivers who have not yet changed their summer tires to winter ones. There are many other materials for this on our resource. There is also a lot of information about replacing seasonal tires on the Internet itself.

Today we will briefly try to tell our readers how summer tires differ from winter ones, naturally from a scientific point of view, that is, to tell our readers about the main aspect of this problem, namely what happens at the molecular level with summer tires in cold weather and vice versa, what can occur with winter tires at high positive temperatures.

We hope that our story will not seem too boring and complicated to you. We also think that this editorial material will still convince many car enthusiasts and will force them to ultimately abandon the use of summer tires in the winter.

Many car enthusiasts assume that summer tires differ mainly from winter tires only in the tread, which is intended for use of tires at certain times of the year. This is partly true, but not completely. After all, tire tread plays an important role in traction at different times of the year.

But you need to know that the tread itself is not the main difference between summer and winter tires. What is most important for tires here is in what temperature range they maintain their efficiency and their technical characteristics. After all, many people probably know that summer tires become very hard at low temperatures. Do you know why this happens?

Yes, many car enthusiasts know that this happens due to the different rubber composition used in summer and winter tires. But few people know what process occurs in summer tires in the cold, and even more so, few people understand what chemical process occurs in winter tires when positive temperatures rise.

Let's try to explain.

To begin with, we recommend watching a video clip of a foreign video blogger who, in his traditional manner, decided to scientifically explain to his subscribers the existing difference between summer and winter tires:

Analysis of markings

Now we know what the markings of all-season tires look like; deciphering the remaining abbreviations is no less important for the motorist. The image below details each index and designation:

Let's look at the markings using the example of a 175/70 R13 91T tire:

• "175" indicates the width of the profile, the size can be specified in millimeters or inches;
• “70” indicates the percentage ratio of the tire profile height to its width;
• “R” denotes the type of frame, in this case it is radial;
• “13” indicates the diameter fit, measured in inches;
• “91” indicates the degree of load on the tire, expressed in digital designation;
• “T” indicates the maximum speed limit for this tire.

We have discussed the main markings, but there are additional symbols that you also need to know. The inscriptions “Left” and “Right” indicate which side it belongs to; the left tire can only be placed on the left wheel, and the right tire, respectively, on the right. There are tires that need to be installed strictly asymmetrically; on such tires there will be the inscriptions “Outside” and “Inside”. The side panel with the inscription “Inside” should be placed on the inside, and the side panel “Outside” should be placed on the outside.

IMPORTANT! If you need to install a tubeless tire, then you should look for tires with the suffix "TL". We have already figured out what the markings of tubeless tires are; as for models that are used exclusively with a tube, they will have the letters “TT”.

Pros and cons of operation

Each kit has its pros and cons. All-season tires are no exception.

Advantages:

• allow you to save money by purchasing only one set of wheels;
• feel good at zero temperatures, on wet or snowy asphalt.

Flaws:

• significantly lose to profile tires, subject to seasonality. At high temperatures the tire “floats”, and when the thermometer table is lowered, it becomes tanned. In winter the car must be on winter tires, and in summer - on summer tires.

Parameters and characteristics of rubber

All-season tires can be designated differently. There is no single designation, so manufacturers can use one of the following markings:

• inscription “All seasons”;
• M+S;
• M&S;
• MS;
• mountain with a snowflake inside and three peaks.

One of these designations must be present on all-season tires. Now that we have sorted out the markings, we can move on to studying the characteristics by which you need to choose tires for a car for year-round use. We will talk about this further.

1. You need to choose the manufacturer carefully, without being tempted by cheap offers from little-known brands and domestic companies. Products from well-known brands mean quality and reliability that will be at a high level. Such manufacturers care about their reputation and will not allow themselves to release a low-quality product onto the market.
2. The tread must be selected in accordance with the conditions in which the rubber will be used. There are several types of protectors:
   small tread with additional sipes - these are more summer tires;
3. a pattern with a large number of bends is designed for suburban use, such rubber will effectively cope with water, snow mass and dirt;
4. the third type of tire provides high grip and excellent conductivity, but at the same time it is noisy.
5. The index can be recognized by the marking of all-season tires, which is present on each model. When choosing, you must take into account the load capacity, speed limits and compliance with quality standards that are international in nature. There should be a small margin left for each index. We have already considered all these indices and the rules for choosing tires in accordance with each of them.

How to distinguish winter tires from all-season tires

Whatever the conditions of air temperature or the presence of precipitation on the road, the car must in any case clearly maintain contact with the road in winter, summer, and during transition seasons. This is extremely important in order to achieve a normal level of security. The limit of 7°C, which all drivers are guided by when “changing shoes” of a car, can protect themselves from most road troubles associated with the change of seasons. But here one important additional point should be noted: among the tires for some time, summer, winter and all-season tires were distinguished. Today, the Regulations of the Customs Union, which also apply in Russia, no longer recognize such a thing as “all-season tires”. In Europe, to which Ukraine and the Baltic countries are actively reorienting, there is also no such concept. By and large, practical analysis shows that the features of tires that are presented as “all-season” are simply a reduced version of either summer or, more often, winter ones. Thus, the task comes down to understanding very clearly the difference between these basic types, then even on an off-season tire it will be possible to distinguish which type it actually gravitates towards.

Winter tires are softer - just touch them; their rubber content is much higher. When it’s frosty outside, winter tires retain their temperature from friction on the road, as a result of which they become more elastic, resulting in an order of magnitude denser and better grip on the road. But if you use it in the summer, it simply melts, quickly wears off, and even spoils the road surface.

Stiffer summer tires, on the contrary, cool down when driving on hot asphalt and retain the shape and degree of rigidity required for the road. But in the cold, such rubber becomes hard to the point of brittleness, its contact area with the road decreases, the stability of the car also decreases, and the risk of an accident increases if control is lost. A distinctive feature for a winter tire may be the presence of studs on the tread. By definition, there can no longer be any doubt about the seasonality of the tire. But if the winter tire is friction, there are no studs on it. However, the patterns on the tread can tell you here.

Summer tires have a deeper tread pattern. Whereas a similar pattern for the winter version has a characteristic diagonally oriented structure, on which there is a very developed network of channels through which water is drained from the tread. In general, this pattern strongly resembles a herringbone (this is a European type of tire). Or there are many diamond-type figures on the tread, which are placed at a noticeable distance from each other (this is the so-called Scandinavian type).

If there are problems with the constant velocity joint, it does not always require replacement. Quite often a repair kit is sufficient. At the link https://www.trialli.ru/catalogue/transmissiya/remontnye-komplekty-shrusa/ you can find CV joint repair kits for VAZ cars of different models.

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