Snow Tires: A Practical Guide

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Snow tires or winter tires are tires made to deal with all types of soil: Dry road, wet, snowy or ice covered.

These tires provide more safety and better handling of the vehicle in different weather conditions (rain, sleet or snow).

The use of winter tires is not mandatory in France. Their usefulness depends on your climate and your use of your vehicle.

Benefits

The winter tire has a much better grip on snow and ice.
Gums used in the manufacture of tires snow indeed retain all their performance even at low temperatures, unlike summer tires with gum hardens below 7 °.

Winter tires reduce braking distances on wet surfaces and reduce the risk of aquaplaning.

Note: As with all tires, it is very important to have winter tires in very good condition, because the tires are effective or on snow or on wet surfaces.

In practice

To enjoy the performance snow tires, we must equip four wheels of your car:
• at the front, they improve motor vehicle and reduce braking distances
• the back, they avoid your car from “spun”.

Winter tires are recommended below 7 ° C. Generally, it is advisable to have them pose in late October and early November to keep up to March inclusive.

These tires are not troublesome when the road is dry. It is therefore possible to await the arrival of spring. It will then change to new tires because the tires were better suited to temperatures above 7 ° C.

Socks or winter tires?

Unlike their European neighbors, the French are reluctant to be equipped with snow tires and often wait until the last moment to buy.

Some prefer to be equipped with “socks”, which are strung on conventional tires for better traction on snow. These devices are easy to install and less expensive than winter tires, however, have their limits.

Effective on roads with shallow and snow, the tire socks should not be used on a road sanded or salted. They do not cross roads steeper than 5 to 10%. They must also be removed when the snow melted as they wear out very quickly on dry roads.

They are therefore recommended for occasional snowfall in non-mountainous regions.