Riding in summer with winter tires. Why is this a bad idea?
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Riding in summer with winter tires. Why is this a bad idea?

Riding in summer with winter tires. Why is this a bad idea? Getting into the habit of riding the right tires is like brushing your teeth. You can neglect it, but sooner or later it will show up. At best, it will be a cost.

Both on dry and wet roads, at an air temperature of +23 degrees Celsius, summer tires have significantly more grip than winter tires. With heavy braking from 85 km / h, the difference is 2 lengths of a small car. On a dry road, the summer tires braked 9 meters closer. In the wet it is 8 meters closer. This number of meters may not be enough to slow down in front of other vehicles. In the case of driving at motorway speed, these differences will be even greater.

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Usually winter tires have a rubber compound adapted to colder temperatures. It has more silica, so they don't harden below -7 degrees C. However, riding them in the summer also means faster tread wear - meaning faster replacements, more frequent refueling or battery charging, and more volume. Winter tires in such weather are also less resistant to hydroplaning than their summer counterparts.

- The soft rubber compound from which winter tires are made is not able to work normally when the asphalt is heated to 50-60 degrees. This temperature range is not unusual on hot days. As the test showed, even when the road is warmed up to only 40 degrees Celsius, the advantage of summer tires is undeniable. And this is only 85 km / h. The TÜV SÜD test was carried out on premium summer and winter tires, which, unfortunately, only 1/3 of drivers use. In the lower segments, the difference will be even greater. It doesn't matter if the surface is wet or dry - in both cases, braking will be spread over several meters, and each of them is at a premium. Either we slow down or we don't, says Piotr Sarniecki, CEO of the Polish Tire Industry Association (PZPO).

Winter tires in the summer are like wearing fur when the thermometers are above 30 degrees Celsius. Therefore, people who drive around the city and cover short distances may consider buying all-season tires.

– People who are not convinced of the need for seasonal tires should consider installing all-season tires, especially if they have ordinary city cars and do not drive them tens of thousands of kilometers a year. However, you should remember to adapt your driving style to the slightly weaker performance of all-season tyres, which are always a compromise compared to seasonal tyres, Sarnecki concludes.

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