The middle of spring is the time to think about changing winter tires to summer tires. The temperature turned out to be a steady plus, and they do not promise snow even in the form of wet. But some drivers leave winter tires for the summer. Can this be done?
The arguments for such a decision come down to the fact that there is no money for the summer tires. In this case, the need to obtain proper winter tires for the winter, no one doubts. But let's see if such savings are appropriate.
You should start with the main one - with the mixture from which the tires are made. For winter, it is different, with a lot of rubber, and therefore softer. And accordingly, this is a mixture designed to work at minus or near-zero temperatures. And when on the street +25 C (and the asphalt is hotter than air), winter tires are excessively soft. Besides, heat and burning sun "dry" faster and destroy winter tires in summer.
The second important factor is the distinctive winter tread pattern. Already as soon as tire manufacturers do not try, coming up with more and more perfect patterns, blocks, lamellas, to provide better traction with snow, ice, wet snow, as well as the effective removal of this wet snow. On the hot asphalt of the summer road, this whole arsenal becomes ineffective, the tire breaks in corners, the tread holds on to the road worse, in terms of driving slang, the tires "float." Accordingly, the braking and cornering performance decreases.
The braking distance is increasing, and quite significantly! On dry asphalt, when braking at a speed of 80 km / h, a car on winter tires may need 7-10 meters more! If you drive slower, at the city 50-60 km / h, the difference in braking distance compared to summer tires will still be about 5 meters. To make it easier for you to imagine - this is the length of the D-class sedan. But sometimes even an extra, extra meter can help avoid accidents. On wet pavement, the situation is even worse - a car on winter tires will need about one and a half times more distance than a car in summer!
The handling of the car is noticeably worse. If you imitate the detour of a sudden obstacle (rearrangement of the "moose test"), then on summer tires, it can be performed at a higher speed. The difference is about 10 km / h. That is, at a speed of 70 km / h, you will not lose control of the car and will be able to safely complete the maneuver, while on winter tires at this speed, this will not work.
Now imagine how the car will behave on the highway, after a long trip at high speeds, if suddenly there is a need to brake intensively?
Well, at the end of the argument about profitability. Because the composition of winter tires is soft, in the summertime they wear out much more than in winter. So there can be no talk of their year-round operation, here even before the fall in their standard form they may not reach.
Therefore, do not try to deceive the laws of physics and expose yourself to excessive risk and danger!
If you have not yet chosen summer tires, then we have just picked up the best tips to buy new summer tires.