Why should you buy seasonal tyres?

Several factors are responsible to affect the health of your tyres, such as road conditions, weather, driving habits, and tyre ageing.

Among these factors, changing seasons have a vital role in affecting the performance and quality of tyres.

Therefore, most drivers like to replace their tyres according to the upcoming season.

In some countries, it is compulsory to use winter tyres Banbury in winter season whereas certain drivers change the tyres as per their own wish.

Actually, these drivers change their tyres according to the weather since they want to protect themselves from the adverse effects of seasonal changes.

Before we talk about the seasonal tyres, let us have a look at common seasonal effects.

Winter season:

Winter seasons are full of challenges and risks as a white layer of snow covers the roads.

This layer makes the surface very smooth to reduce friction. Therefore, it is never easy to maintain proper road-holding for the tyres.

Moreover, events like snowfall are always ready to test the patience of the car drivers.

Summer season:

Summer season is not favourable for the drivers with its scorching hot roads. Extreme heat is said to be the main enemy of your tyres because of increasing the air pressure.

Due to extreme friction on hot roads, tyres often face blowouts in the middle a journey.

Therefore, most drivers like to install specialist tyres in their vehicles.

Rainy season:

During the rainy season, roads are wet due to rainwater. It means you always have a risk of skidding in the rainy months.

In the scientific language, this phenomenon is called hydroplaning when a layer of water eliminates the contact between the tyre and road surface.

As a result, the tyres lose friction and the driver loses the control over the car for a couple of moments.

As you see, these seasonal conditions are not favourable for the car drivers.

Therefore, they have to choose specialist tyres according to related season.

There are three main types of seasonal tyres called winter tyres, summer tyres and all-season tyres.

Winter tyres:

Winter tyres are specially designed for the severe condition of the winter season. The tread pattern of winter tyres supports driving on snowy roads because of the increased number of sipes and deeper grooves.

The design of winter tyres makes them capable of dispersing water and holding snow effectively.

Moreover, these tyres provide optimum grip on the icy roads. It means your car is safe from skidding or hydroplaning in the winter months.

Tyre material used in winter tyres is not going to harden when the temperature is at the freezing point.

Summer tyres:

Summer tyres keep you safe on the hot road surfaces, reducing the risk of blowouts with the help of their tread design.

Reduced number of grooves in summer tyres increases the contact area to improve grip and traction on summer roads.

All-season tyres:

These tyres are said to be effective in different weather conditions. Tyre makers make these tyres with compromising the qualities of winter and summer tyres.

The design of all-season tyres is supportive if the conditions are now severe. It means you may use these tyres on slightly snowy roads but a thick layer of ice will seriously affect their performance level.

Therefore, it is really essential for you to choose your tyres Crawley according to weather conditions.

All-season tyres seem effective in moderate conditions but you have to rethink if you want to use all-season tyres during heavy snowfalls.

In unbearable weather conditions, you must use winter or summer tyres as specialists.

When Is It The Best Time To Fit Winter Tyres

From personal experiences, it has been clear that winter tyres provide more grip, more safety, and stability than conventional tread in lower temperatures. Moreover, there is a question which is stated as “When is it the best time to fit winter tyres?” for which there are specific advice offered.

Slippery trip to Finland

A few years ago, a showroom standard Ford Mondeo which was fitted with winter tyres was driven north through Finland, where the temperature dropped below minus 20 degrees at night. In this region, the road is so slippery that one has to hold onto the bonnet for staying upright.

Winter tyres, when compared to a summer tyre, have just a half of the stopping distance on an icy road. They provide extra support while going up or down a hill, cornering, and accelerating.

As UK winters are cold and damp, there is no need for winter tyres. Now the modern tyres are engineered for various conditions, due to which swapping is considered to be unnecessary.

Working of Winter tyres

When the temperature of the thermometer falls below 7 degrees, the standard rubber begins to lose the elasticity needed to grip the road properly. These tyres have a mix of different ingredients which help them to retain that flexing as they have more silica in their compound.

They have a tread pattern with a different design, which has deeper grooves that `bite’ into the ice or snow. They are combined with sipes and grooves which are wider, and they provide better drainage capability for making a way through slush or puddles.

When should one switch to winter tyres?

One must use the rule of thumb to change to winter rubber when there is a drop in average temperature below seven degrees. The rule of thumb refers to winter tyres being specific to the season and being damaged when is driven on surfaces in warmer weathers.

As the compound wears faster, one will have less gripping and stability during cornering and braking. Hence when the temperature is taken as seven degrees as a guide and is then swapped when the average changes above or below.

Myths of winter tyre

There are some myths about winter tyres, and they are as follows

By fitting only two winter tyres, one can save money, on the axle which feeds power to the road.

It is risky and is illegal to use summer tyres, and by reducing the air pressure in them, they can be used for winter conditions.

Tyres work best in climates for which they are designed for, which means maintaining a pressure that is strictly recommended. When one lets air out, it decreases the grip making the vehicle less stable and leading to premature wearing or damage.

Winter tyres are made and also known as cold weather tyres rather than being called snow and ice tyres. But one does have to remember to use it appropriately and must be guided by an average temperature for some days.

Late 2012 was when Constancy tyres had touched down first in Ireland. These tyres try to take an extra mile with peace of mind.

Some of their varieties are as follows:

Constancy LY688 Tyre

Constancy LY566 Tyre

Constancy Commercial – Van Tyres

Constancy LY788 Tyre

Constancy LY166 Tyre

Phillips Tyres is one amongst the few centres for best tyres Newbury which is specialised in mechanical, supply, and fitting of tyres for vans, cars, and 4x4s to all leading manufacturers like Pirelli, Sumitomo, and others. Its team provides advice on the best tyres for meeting the requirements of driving.