When is it cold enough for Cold Weather Tires…?

When you think of “Winter Tires” (or Cold Weather Tires as we prefer to call them here!), you often think of ice, snow, and quite possibly visions of Santa (if you’re very young of course!), but that would be a mistake.

As we’ve already discussed, once the temperature drops below 7 degrees Celsius then it’s time to think of switching over to your Cold Weather Tires – simple as that.

The reason is that at this temperature, the rubber in “all weather” tires hardens and loses it’s elasticity – and that is not a good thing!

Cold Weather Tires in the UK?

It might surprise you to know that even in the UK – where the weather is far more moderate when compared to some european climes, that the temperature averages out at below 7 degrees Celsius for 5-6 months of the year (November to April) and has done so for quite some time now as the figures below show:

*source: Bradford Long Term Weather Averages.

So – when is it cold enough for “Cold Weather Tires”?

For nearly half of the year in the UK it seems – outside of there you should check your local weather reports and fit cold weather tires based on your seasonality.

Be Careful When Thinking of Winter Tires…

Winter Tires is a bit of a misleading name, but unfortunately one that’s in fairly common use.

You see, when most people talk or think about Winter Tires – they actually mean “cold weather tires” – there’s a subtle but important difference.

When you think of Winter Tires – you think of the Winter months, and no other time of year.  But cold weather can come at any time of the year – and when it’s cold enough, for long enough, then you could get vastly improved performance by fitting these so called “Winter Tires” then – even if it’s in the middle of Spring!

Why use Winter Tires anyway?

As we’ve already said – cold weather tires offer great performance improvements for braking and traction once the temperature reaches 7 degrees Celcius or below, which is why many insurance companies offset the cost of switching over to them during the colder months.  And if safety and cost savings aren’t enough of a reason to consider switching to “Winter Tires”, then remember that it’s a legal requirement in many countries in Europe.

While insurance companies may not offer discounts for fitting “Winter Tires” outside of that period (check with your own company for clarification), it’s still worth thinking about making the change anyway.  If nothing else than for the added performance and safety benefits you can get by having better grip and braking ability.

So try and think of them as “Cold Weather Tires”, and not just “Winter Tires”.

Cold weather tires – why bother?

If you live in a country that regularly suffers from cold weather then the chances are that you’ll have heard of cold weather tyres before now (they’re also known as “Cold Weather Tyres”, or “Winter Tyres” depending on where you live).

But why would you, as a driver, go to the added expense of removing perfectly good “All weather” tires and replace them with these “Cold Weather Tires”? Isn’t it just an added expense?

In some countries, no – the cost of switching over to these types of tire is often easily offset by the savings that drivers get from insurance companies* for doing just that.

The reason that these insurers give motorists a discount for switching to cold weather tires is simple – they know that they’re safer in cold weather.  Less accidents obviously means less payouts for the insurance companies and so those savings are passed on to the consumer/customer (or part of the savings – they are after all in business!).

So why are Cold Weather Tires “safer”?

The amount of traction (or grip) a tire gives is obviously a key factor that influences braking and handling of a vehicle.  Cold Weather Tires have a higher percentage of silica than “Summer/All Weather” – and it’s this that prevents the tires from hardening once the temperature goes to 7 degrees Celsius or below. This means the tires deliver a significant improvement in braking and traction when driving.

The tread pattern for Cold Weather Tires also helps by moving snow to the side.

So all in all – yes, they can offer significant benefits – not just in terms of safety, but potentially cost savings too.

*obviously not all insurance companies offer such discounts, but the number appears to be growing, so it’s well worth asking if they offer a discount for you switching to cold weather tires.