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Drivers Can't Rely on Summer and All-Season Tires, or Electronics for Control on Snow and Ice

The Daily Auto Insider
Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Even with antilock brakes, traction control and vehicle stability systems, many vehicles are not fully prepared to handle winter driving conditions, according to a news release by The Tire Rack, a tire retailer and a source of tire and wheel information.

A demonstration at The Tire Rack's winter tire testing facility in South Bend, Indiana, showed that anti-lock brake (ABS), traction control (TCS), and vehicle stability systems do not actually increase traction, and that all-season and summer-only tires are ineffective on packed snow and ice. About 80 percent of new vehicles are equipped with all-season tires, and the remaining 20 percent with summer-only tires.

Acceleration tests showed that rear-wheel drive passenger vehicles equipped with winter tires benefited from up to 40 percent more traction on ice, and that the capabilities of all-wheel drive sport utility vehicles could be improved by 28 percent over their original equipment summer tires.

"All-season tires are a compromise intended to provide acceptable traction and performance traits under the widest variety of possible conditions," said Matt Edmonds, Tire Rack Vice President. "Drivers falsely assume that this includes sufficient traction for winter weather, but as these tests clearly demonstrate, this is not the case."

All-season tires feature tire tread designs and rubber compounds engineered to provide extended mileages and durability in warm weather, but are less effective in winter's freezing temperatures and on ice. And summer-only tires are not intended to be driven at all in cold temperatures. But winter tires deliver significantly better performance because their tread designs and rubber compounds are specifically engineered to maximize traction in snow and ice, while remaining flexible in colder temperatures.

The Tire Rack said its demonstration complemented tests conducted in Europe. Those tests showed how on snow covered roads, winter tires can cut braking distances by 47 percent when compared to vehicles originally equipped with summer-only tires. While a car equipped with summer-only tires required 367 feet to stop from 50 MPH, the same vehicle equipped with winter tires required only 196 feet. Even when the temperature was above freezing, winter tires were also shown to reduce braking distances. At 44 degrees Fahrenheit, on a road as wet as might be experienced during a snow melt, the braking distance from 56 mph to 0 was reduced by 15 feet — a full car length.

SOURCE: The Tire Rack