Photo: Changing winter tires on a car (Getty Images) Author: Konstantin Shirokun
Just last week, February was breathing frost in our faces, and today we need to turn on the air conditioner in the car – it's spring! RBC-Ukraine Auto journalists tell us why drivers should not rush to change their tires to summer ones in such a situation.
Read about when to change your car tires if spring has come early in the RBC-Ukraine article
Global warming affects the principles of seasonal tire changes. If earlier motorists were advised to change tires in spring when the average daily temperature stays at +7 + 8 degrees C for several days, now this approach has become incorrect. Because with the same average degrees, it can now be +15 C during the day, and 0 +1 C at night.
How does “winter” behave on warm asphalt
It's never been easy to pinpoint a specific day to change tires in “summer,” especially in the spring when drivers aren't threatened by any clear signal like snowfall or frost during the fall tire change. But the milder climate has deepened our tire fluctuations even more.
Let us recall that there are two fundamental differences between winter and summer tires: the frost-resistant rubber compound of the tread and its pattern. On warm asphalt, the soft rubber of winter tires becomes even softer and begins to make control difficult. A hot winter tire grips the asphalt worse and begins to slide under the slightest load. Even an inexperienced driver will understand that something is wrong with the wheels when, on warm asphalt, normal braking is suddenly accompanied by a squeal and skidding.
In addition, the winter tread pattern, with deep grooves, numerous sipes and wide tracks between the blocks, does not contribute to confident maneuvering.
When winter tires get hot
Yes, experts in tire design and production define the acceptable temperature for winter tires as no higher than +8 degrees C. However, you should not rush to change your tires as soon as the daytime temperature reaches this level. Because even in the current warm March, you cannot be sure that it will not snow at night or that ice will not appear on the road somewhere in the shade. And the rubber compound of summer tires in such situations will behave much worse than winter tires – on warm asphalt.
When to change your shoes in spring
Therefore, it should be understood that at the beginning of spring it is better to drive for several hours on winter tires in warm day conditions than on summer tires on snow and ice. Therefore, in March it is better not to rush and wait until a stable positive temperature is established within the required limits – at the level of +7 + 8 C.
A more convenient option for many drivers would probably be to adjust their tire policy to their car usage schedule. For example, if you drive your car on a more or less strict schedule – say, only during the day or, conversely, early in the morning and late in the evening, you can take this specificity into account when changing tires. That is, for a “daytime” car that drives on already warm asphalt, you can safely have summer tires on the wheels. And since frosts are still quite possible at night and in the morning (it doesn't even matter whether they form slippery sections on the road or not), then you can leave winter tires on a car for an early departure from home and a late return for some time.
In brief
No matter how much we rejoice at spring, and no matter how much we want it to come immediately, we should not rush to change the tires on the car on the first warm days. Winter does not give up immediately and even with global warming has a habit of returning, although not for long. Winter tires will not be a big problem on warm days – at least, it is better with them on a warm road than with summer ones – in the cold.
In preparing this article, materials from Shina Plus, Nokian Tyres and Rosava were used.
Let us recall that RBC-Ukraine recently reported on the types of all-wheel drive available on pickups and SUVs.