Tires. Can you drive with winter tires in the summer?
Some drivers are tempted by the idea of not changing winter tires to summer tires - the apparent savings in time and money make you forget about safety. Such a decision can have tragic consequences - the braking distance from 100 km / h on winter tires in summer is even 16 meters longer than on summer tires.
Winter tires have softer rubber so they don't become as hard as plastic in colder temperatures and remain flexible. This feature, which is an advantage in winter, becomes a significant disadvantage in summer, when the temperature of the hot road reaches 50-60ºС and above. Then the grip of the winter tire is drastically reduced. Winter tires are not adapted to summer weather conditions!
The use of winter tires in summer is also completely unjustified from an economic point of view. Winter tires in the summer wear out very quickly and become unusable. In such conditions, typical winter tires also increase fuel consumption.
– In summer, due to more frequent favorable weather conditions, drivers drive faster. Winter tires wear out much faster on hot and dry pavement, especially at high speeds. Summer tires are properly reinforced during the design phase to withstand higher temperatures. Thus, the use of winter tires in summer is only apparent savings and playing with your own life, says Piotr Sarnecki, CEO of the Polish Tire Industry Association (PZPO).
See also: How to save fuel?
When driving on winter tires in summer conditions, the braking distance increases, the car loses control when cornering and driving comfort decreases. The braking distance of a car on winter tires in summer from 100 km / h to a complete stop of the car can be even 16 m longer than on summer tires! That's four car lengths. It is easy to guess that summer tires will stop the car from an obstacle that it will hit with all its might on winter tires. What to do if the obstacle is a pedestrian or a wild animal?
– If someone wants to drive only one set of tires and mostly around the city, then good all-season tires with winter approval, combining the properties of summer and winter types, will be a win-win solution. However, it should be remembered that all-season tires will always have only compromise characteristics compared to seasonal tires. Even the best all season tires won't be as good as the best summer tires in the summer, and they won't be as good as the best winter tires in the winter. Let's remember that our health and life, our relatives and other road users are priceless, - adds Piotr Sarnetsky.
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