The Differences between Tire Types & how AutoSock improves the Winter Driving Experience

A tire comes in many shapes and forms and is designed to handle a variety of challenges. Two key areas are important for the performance of a tire – the rubber compound and the tread pattern. Those key areas are determined by the environment and conditions of use. In principle, there are three different tire types: All-weather, summer and winter tires. But what are the differences between the tire types? And how can AutoSock improve the winter driving experience?

Summer tires

The profile of summer tires is clearly designed for higher temperatures. Summer tires have a coarse tread pattern and, unlike winter or all-weather tires, do not have any sipes. The profile of summer tires is not suitable for winter driving conditions. Summer tires, also called performance tires tend to have wider treads. This gives the tire a possibility to put more rubber on the road and lower profiles (the height of the sidewall) to reduce sidewall flex in aggressive cornering. The tires keep firmly planted.

Winter tires

The profile of winter tires is specially designed for wintery road conditions. Winter tires have recognizable sipes across the entire tire tread and on the tire shoulder. The sipes are fine cuts in the tread blocks that ensure optimal grip on snowy and icy roads. They handle well in dry and wet conditions, including snow and ice. The treads are designed to push slush and snow away from the tire while it’s moving down the road.

All-season tires

The all-season tire represents a compromise between summer and winter tires due to the different types of profile incorporated. The profile of the all-season tire was developed for both summer and winter conditions. All-season tires usually have many grooves and sipes (small slits in the tread) that help them deal with a variety of conditions, such as rain, snow or hot pavement. When the snow is deeper or temperatures reach below freezing, all-season tires won’t perform as well as winter tires. All-season tires are the most popular tire type as original equipment on new vehicles and as replacement tires because of versatility and easy handling.

AutoSock improves the Winter Driving Experience

AutoSock as textile winter traction device can be mounted on all types of tires. For winter driving conditions, proper winter tires (not all-season tires) are an excellent choice for the winter months but they have their limitations. Winter tires lose grip when the combination of snow and slope counts against them. Drivers worldwide are using AutoSock on winter tires to e.g., climb steeper hills on icy roads and for making safe descents in loaded vehicles.
AutoSock does meet all performance, safety and durability requirements of any snow chain standard worldwide. AutoSock can be more effective than snow chains in many situations, especially on ice.