Is it possible to drive on dry asphalt with summer tires in sub-zero temperatures? Many people think not – the rubber becomes dull and no longer holds normally. At one time, the experts of “Behind the Wheel”, thinking about this topic, conducted a large-scale experiment. And while some of the tire models in the table below have become obsolete over time, the essentials remain.
From July to November, our tire team measured the editorial Skoda Octavia brakes from 100 to 5 km/h on seven different sets of tires. When the temperature dropped to +11°C, winter studless Michelin X-Ice was added to the summer tires. And it turned out that even winter tires without studs look much worse than regular summer tires under certain conditions.
What are these conditions?
Let’s look at the table above: if we talk about clean asphalt, then even at -5 ° C a winter tire has a much longer braking distance, not to mention positive temperatures.
Expert opinion
Sergei Mishin, head of the tire group “Behind the wheel”:
Not all tires change properties in the same way. One tire simply cannot be the best over the entire temperature range. A typical example are Michelin and Continental: one leads in warm weather, the other when the temperature drops to +4°C.
And another interesting point: at temperatures below + 7 ° C, the grip properties of tires deteriorate. However, not all! In addition, the changes are not so bad that at + 5 ° C it is urgent to “change shoes”. From a temperature of +11°C we have “paired” the winter tires Michelin X-Ice with summer tires. And here’s the result – the deterioration of the braking properties of summer tires is not so bad: winter tires have a much longer braking distance even at -5 ° C, not to mention the positive temperature. And there are no contradictions here – winter will win back on ice and snow.
At temperatures close to zero (on the “plus” side) the grip properties of summer tires remain quite high. If you are sure in the fall that you will not encounter ice and snow on the road, then you can not rush to change shoes before the onset of frost. The temperature of +7°C is indicated by tire manufacturers with a margin, in order to avoid ice formation.
Our expert states: on a clean road surface, winter tires always slow down worse than summer tires. As a rule, the better they behave on snow and ice, the less tenacious they are on asphalt.
Important: all measurements given here mean nothing when driving in snow or ice: we are only talking about clean and dry asphalt! Be careful!
And after all, clean asphalt is also treacherous: in frost below -5 ° C it is particularly slippery, when braking it immediately “sweats” in the contact patch, and a thin layer of moisture in the cold immediately turns into a crust of ice. It gets tricky on summer tires! So if it starts to freeze, we strongly recommend changing winter tires even if the roads are absolutely free of snow and ice.
You can learn more about the properties of summer and winter tires at different temperatures by reading our full test report.
- “Behind the wheel” can be read in Odnoklassniki.
Photos: Depositphotos.com and Driving