Winter tires in the summer

[Mitrovic]

A study of ambulances in Quebec determined that their best option was to run winter tires year round. The study noted that performance wise there was no downside to the winters in the summer, and the only downside to running the winter tires year round was slightly faster tire wear, however the slightly faster wear was cheaper than the labour to swap twice a year and the storage for the extra sets of tires.

What a strange study this is!
Winter tyres are worse then summer tyres in summer.
Numerous tests by many car associations show that in emergency braking you stop much faster with summer tyres in summer. And summer tyres are also much better against aquaplaning.
There are even some countries which forbid winter tyres in summer ( I think Italy )

 

[mknox]

]What a strange study this is!
Winter tyres are worse then summer tyres in summer.
Numerous tests by many car associations show that in emergency braking you stop much faster with summer tyres in summer. And summer tyres are also much better against aquaplaning.
There are even some countries which forbid winter tyres in summer ( I think Italy )

My feeling as well. This is why I wondered if truck winter tires are somehow different than car winter tires, i.e. have the same rubber compound and just a different tread pattern. Years ago that was the only difference with car winter tires, and people used to only switch out the drive wheels with snow tires back then.

 

[bart513]

So the end of the story is that today I am swapping out my winter tires/wheel set for the regular ADO's!
Thanks everyone.

 

[hjr]

My experience in Connecticut is that the winter tire set I bought with the car sat on my car all winter without being driven. I hated having to clean the Roadster constantly and it just was not worth driving in the winter for me. So after 4 years the winter tires have about 1,000 miles on them. So I decided to use their life up a bit through the late winter and early spring. That worked well as we had a late unexpected snow storm.

The winter tires a mushy and do not perform as well as the Yoko 07's... it is the simple truth... but if you have them and they are not used you can stretch the life of your performance tires by using the winter tires in April and November without much penalty.

 

[wycolo]

Has anyone ever fried an egg on Quebec pavement?
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[Roadrunner13]

Has anyone ever fried an egg on Quebec pavement?
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With all the potholes here, it would look more like a poached egg than fried...but yes, it does get hot enough during summer in Montreal... 30C/90F is common in July and August...

I believe Mknox hit on the issue dead on.
Ambulances are truck and winter tire trucks are probably just deeper grooved/threaded tires with similar compounds as summer.
So the study is true...for trucks.

I wouldn't use car winter tires on a performance car during summer heat...even here in the Great White North

(Extending winter by a month or two is probably the best way to get a bit more wear on them without too much risk, as HJR suggest, stretching the cold season to April and starting in early November)

 

[bart513]

Now having the summer tired on the ride is much better with regard to handling. Happy I changed them over
thx all for the input and commentary

 

[wycolo]

Truck tires for BIG pickups, medium (straight) trucks and semi drive axles look like your old fashioned deep-lug snow tires BUT they are made for year-round use. So they are built to take summer heat.

Most likely your typical ambulance with dually rear axle is using these all season tires already, so I wonder what this study is all about. Truckers use CHAINS not snow tires.
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