Tyres

Winter Tyres

At Selecta Tyre Ltd we recommend that if you want to get out and about whatever the weather, you should consider switching to Winter tyres around October and then switch back to Summer tyres around April, although it is perfectly ok to run on Winter tyres all year round.

Why Use Winter Tyres?

Drivers in many Northern European and Scandinavian Countries are well aware of the benefits of Winter tyres with legal requirements for them in many countries, however, the UK is just beginning to appreciate the benefits of switching from a ‘Summer’ tyre to a ‘Winter’ tyre as the temperature begins to drop below 7ºC.

Below 7°C a conventional (Summer) tyre loses GRIP, PERFORMANCE and EFFICIENCY

Tyre technology and manufacture has advanced over the past 25 years and these advancements, combined with other vehicle concepts have made driving considerably safer.

It would be unreasonable, however, to expect one tyre type to provide high safety levels with temperature ranges varying by more than 40ºC as has been experienced in Britain recently. This is why specialist tyres have been developed for differing conditions, such as the Winter tyre which contains a higher proportion of natural rubber and a special silica compound, which minimises the hardening effect of the tyre thus providing more grip at lower temperatures and damp surfaces and a different tread pattern which gives extra grip in cold weather and therefore increases SAFETY , HANDLING and PERFORMANCE in not only the snow and ice but in all driving conditions.

The British Tyre Manufacturer’s Association has carried out research on comparative braking distances at different temperatures.

Braking on wet roads

On damp or wet roads, tyres grip differently - and the braking distance is substantially longer. Which means the question of the right tyres and the temperature is even more important.

Over 7°C - between April and October — traditional summer tyres are truly in their element. Between October and April — winter tyres show distinct safety advantages.

Comparison of Temperature Dependent braking distance

Braking on dry roads from 62 mph (100 km/h) to rest

Braking on wet roads from 62 mph (100 km/h) to rest

These illustrations show clearly that below 7°C, whether the roads are covered in snow, ice or simply damp or wet, winter tyres provide a clear safety advantage.

Data reproduced by kind permission of the British Tyre Manufacturers' Association