Rainy summer tires
Did you know that Europe has 140 rainy days a year and that up to 30% of crashes happen on wet roads? Rain tires were designed specifically for these conditions.
What are rain tires?
Rain tires are a special type of summer tire designed to protect drivers during and after rain. It has a directional tread pattern and a slightly different rubber compound than other summer tires. Drivers' opinions show that this type of tire performs well on wet surfaces, protecting against hydroplaning (loss of grip on wet roads) very well. What's more, the material of the rain tires is based on silica, which also significantly improves the tire's behavior on wet surfaces.
Rain tires are a good solution for drivers traveling in climates with heavy rain, who place great importance on maximum safety on any road surface in summer, says Philip Fischer, Account Manager at Oponeo.pl. – If you need a short braking distance in all summer conditions, this type of tire is for you, he explains.
Rain tires versus standard summer tires
Compared to other summer tires, rain tires have deeper and wider grooves, making them better on wet roads than other standard summer tires. Rain tires are made from a soft rubber compound, which unfortunately reduces their durability (especially in the heat of summer). Therefore, this type of tire is best used in moderate climates (eg Poland), where there are few extreme hot days.
Rain tires are primarily associated with the Uniroyal brand (eg Uniroyal RainSport 2 or Uniroyal RainExpert). The very name of the models suggests that the tires are specially prepared for wet surfaces. Uniroyal rain tires have an umbrella symbol to distinguish them from other types of tires. Another popular rain tire model is the Vredestein HI-Trac with a sharp directional tread pattern.
Do you drive on rain tires in the summer? Don't worry, other summer tires will also give you very good protection, provided of course that they have a deep enough tread (minimum safety 3mm). If you are looking for tires with good wet performance, check the tire labels and select tires that score highly in the wet grip category.
