that's why you just run no tires. then save your winter tires for winter, smh

In Canadian cities where it's cold and people do not have room for two sets of tires, people use winter tires all year round.

I like how you approach a problem, do proper experiments, and show us not only the results but also all the data. Much better than speculation or hearsay which seems to be rampant among car enthusiasts.

Tire Rack did the same on ice test years ago. Great to have a test on the oposite temperatures. Eye opening. Thank you, love this channel.

Here in Finland most people drive studded winter tyres during the months that there's snow and have regular tyres to put on in the spring. Very few drivers use all-season tyres for the whole year. It's pretty clear to people here in northern Europe that winter months require a very specific sort of tyres to handle safely...

I enjoy your videos. You don't make ridiculous assumptions or draw conclusions without the data to back them up. You also explain your methods and possible concerns people might have. As an adult who is going back to school (finals this week!! AHHH!!) to study engineering, your videos are always refreshing and not full of facepalm material like so many other KZfaqrs who claim to be sciencing all the things. Thanks, and keep them coming. :)

If you still have that thermal camera I think it would be interesting to see the difference in operating temperature between the winter tires and the all seasons under normal driving conditions. Also curious as to how the winter tires would behave in heavy rain. All those sipes (probably spelled wrong) would have to allow that water to absorb some of that heat

Hey Jason, I hope you read this. Have you considered testing winter tyres in the heat of summer (something like 35°C and above)? Some manufacturers warn that the tyres might start to marble at temperatures above 30°C, under heavy braking (causing little rubber pellets to form beneath the tyre, making the wheel roll on top of them, significantly reducing grip). I've been trying to find examples of that happening on the internet, but I wasn't able to find any convincing data to support it. It would make for a very interesting video topic, I believe.

After watching your video, it reminds me driving in the alleys of Chicago Illinois with treacherous snow conditions.

Can you tell me where (+time stamp) to find your Summer tire data to compare with these numbers ? Thanks.

When on dry road surface, I've noticed a threshold when breaking hard with winter tires where there is a sudden loss of traction/grip. This abrupt threshold isn't so apparent with my summer tires (even in the winter when they are rock hard). My theory for this is that under this threshold (normal conditions), the soft compound with sipes will deform slightly and keep a broad contact patch on the flat portion of tread between the sipes. When at this threshold and above (supra normal conditions, i.e. hard accel/decel), the tread deforms so far that the siping causes extra ridges to form creating a "rougher" surface. This is after all what the sipes are there to do, create ridges for more snow to get caught in/push against and provide better water evacuation. This is good on snow which conforms to the rough tread shape. However when on pavement, with these edges protruding farther than the flat contact patches between the sipes, this raises the flat contact patch and causes the tire to ride on the skinny edges. This decreases the total surface area in contact with the road surface. Less contact between rubber and road means less grip, which means more slippage. I bet that if you took the same compound that my winter tires are made of (michelin x-ice xi3's), and took away the sipes, then they would stop in a shorter distance on dry pavement than the original (siped) version. And quite possibly better than my summer tires if tread pattern was the same and only the compound was different. Though this compound would have pretty poor tread life during the summer.

Can you do a video on cable shift vs direct shift in a manual trans?

Great video! I was wondering if increasing the winter tire pressure will have a better impact on the test. What do you think?

At some point you should do a test where you could try this experiment at a higher temperature in july or something

I didn't even have my speakers on for the first 5 seconds of the video, I just knew what you were saying, and I heard it in your voice.

Hey man I've been watching your vids for a long time. I do like the new format of videos you've done, but when are you going to bring back the white board? 😁

even though winters up here in Alaska can be longer then summer i have separate winter and summer tires on separate wheels for all my cars, well worth the investment unfortunately i see many people still driving with winter tires, studded or sipped in summer , some drivers are either just too lazy or cheap to change over in summer and usually have to end up getting new tires or driving on crappy wheels by winter in glad the police fine people for running studs in summer

As someone who had a complaint about the last tire test, this I feel is a great and very informative comparison. I didn't take that close of a look at the tread patterns, but I wonder if one of the other reasons the all-seasons do better is because of greater surface area. Snow tires are designed to allow snow to pack in (one of the best way to get grip on snow is to use snow) so I figure that would inherently lower surface area.

Another thing when comparing winter tires vs. summer/all-season tires is sidewall rigidity. Winter tires have less rigid sidewalls, and if you use them on a high-gripping surface, ie. asphalt in the summer, the tire will behave quite badly when you're cornering or doing other sudden movements. The sidewall will kind of "bend" quite a bit and you'll lose a lot of grip. This could be tested on a skid pad, trying out for the max v that the tires can handle before you start losing grip.

Interesting results. Another thing to think about may be the tread pattern. The all-season tires probably have a bit more rubber in contact with the road than the winter tyres. I wonder if you'd have similar differences in performance on wet roads or not.

Good info and GREAT looking road to drive!

I ran old snow tires at an autocross once by the end of the runs i was sliding all over couldnt hardly keep it from spinning out. I got the showmanship award but they yelled at me for drifting too much lol It was hot that day too

So how do you find the best tires for your car? I was debating doing some michelin defenders on a subaru.

Hi! Could you do a video explaining how the old Porsche 911 air-cooled engines worked, how the newer water-cooled engines work and the pros and cons of each??

I just ran winter tires for whole summer and no problems with stopping. They are a bit nosier but that's about it. Not much thread lost. Now, when it is raining, it is good to be a bit extra careful, but still it is stable.

how well do the two different tires stop in the snow and ice?

Thanks for this! Kept me from making a bad tire mistake

Can you please do this for dry winter conditions too? Between All Season & Winter?

when i import my 555 sti, i ran the snow tires that the car came with. 0 grip, quite scary when it was raining as well. the good thing is that i knew how to keep control of my car when sliding and understeering

I had wondered this! Good video!

The siping is key with braking tests, the block movement resulting in few clean surfaces on the road are a huge limiting factor. If you'd tested lateral grip you'd have found the results closer which highlights compound is less of an issue (until overheated) If you fancy talking tyres more, I'll make sure I'm visiting Carthrottle next time you're in the UK!

Also...curious what would happen if you used some "performance" winter tires, but burn them down or find a pair of used ones that are worn to the point of the siping being nearly gone.

Another item is that the winter tires have less tread meeting the road - but instead has lots of places for the snow to go and provides that grip on snow. And of course Studs extend stopping (and acceleration) on dry surfaces, kind of like wearing metal cleats on a linoleum floor. I used to run studs all the time, however there isn't enough snow/ice all year around anymore and was noticing how much the wheels spin. My "new" car has all the fancy ABS/ESP features and now I have "studless" tires and haven't looked back. Plus - the winter tire tread wears very fast when it gets warm out..and cornering is squishyier. And it works the other way too.... Years ago I waited too late to swap and tried getting to work on a cold snowy morning. My 3-season summer tires were so hard that I lost control at low speed and hit a curb. I also feel that Directional snow tires make a huge difference when it comes to cornering - having owned both over the years on the same car - I recommend paying the premium.

Yes I totally agree. My 2015 WRX handles and grips wonderfully with winter tires at cold temps but those same tires are really squishy at anything over 50 deg F.

back when I had a cheap econo car, I needed to get tires but couldn't afford good ones. so I went to my local used tire place and got 4 practically new winter tires for $120 installed. wierd part is, how did the shop end up with these tires in South Florida? the tires were loud and did well in the summer rain.

Great video, as always.

Jason I would agree with you on this but I would propose a follow-up question and experiment. What happens when the winter tire is nearly worn out? Having very little tread depth the tread blocks, I would think, wouldn't move and shift around as much when they get warm and thus I don't think it would have the adverse effect they do when new like you experienced. And if that's the case, would it actually improve grip? I moved from North Dakota to Phoenix, AZ in January and I have a pair of Nokian Hakka R2's on the rear (drive wheels) of my 2000 Lexus LS400. At least in accelerating I have to say I can't get the car to break loose on dry pavement even if I powerbrake the thing. However when I had all-season tires I could do donuts all day when the temperature was around 50-60 degrees. What do you think?

One question: the rubber of the tire hardens as they get older. Suppose you have old winter tires but use them in the summer. Wouldn't that be roughly the same as having a new summer tire in the first place? The initially softer rubber that was too soft for summer but just right for winter is now harder but used at higher temperatures. Reason I'm asking: I just purchased a 27 year old car that needs a bit of treatment in order to be in perfect condition when it turns 30 in 2020 and then will be registered as an "oldtimer". It came with almost "new" winter and summer tires that practically have no wear at all. But they were manufactured 12 years ago, so time wise they are way overdue. Could I use the winter tires in the summer and focus my money on the repairs of the car first, or is it still essential to get new tires ASAP? Of course I will get new tires eventually, but since this car will only be used in the summer anyways and will probably not see more then 2.000km/year, these new tires would soon be "old" again, since they always expire due to date instead of wear. Also consider, that this is an old car that doesn't break like more recent cars (has no ABS, for instance), so it's hard to tell what makes sence and what is just plain overkill.

I would also be interested in vehicle manufacture recommended tire pressure vs a random 32-34 psi (as an example) on all four corners. Does the non manufacture recommended pressures dramatically effect performance, wear and fuel mileage? Something along those lines.

really liked this test but could you do same test but with bald tires to try test just the compounds? great vids

How do you think how the results would be if you made the test in the wet condition?I belive the winter tires will be more efficient that the summer tires,mainly do to the winter tires profile.

Very good video! What do you think about the All Weather Tires? A technician recommended me the Toyo Celcius all weather tires, arguing that I can use them all year round, they last longer than the winter tires, and they have great grip during winter as well as summer. I have All Season Tires on my Subaru Forester and impressively it handles snow well. To get to my home I have to drive through a very steep hill and the Subi handles the snow well with a little bit of slippage. I was thinking that getting the All Weather Tires might be a good idea to get a little better performance on snow and I will have no need to exchange tires every winter.

Have wondered about using snow tires running the 1/4 mile in a 4x4 truck with traction issues. thanks! would love to see you do a video on micro siping. a nascar team was recently caught doing it. so something must be there.

I know this video's old, hopefull you'll respond. So what do you think about a winter tire like the goodyear winter command compared to an all terrain like the bfg at ko2? Both are 3-peak with snowflake rated and the all terrain is way more aggressive. Think they'd last the same amount of time on pavement? I want at tires for my dodge journey but they only have wimpy all season and than winter.

good question, I have the same crosstrek and I live in Dubai where the winter is a wet week and dry summer all year, also I have the same geolander g95, what shall you recommend a better tiers?

Always educational ! Thank you. RS. Canada

You should do a test on how tires change as they age. I have a pair of old Blizzaks which are about 8 years old and they have become so hard they are pretty well useless in the snow now (with minimal wear).

What about all-weather or 4 season tires?

Norway here. We all use Summer tires during the summer and proper winter tires during winter. Nokian Hakkapelita are a favorite among many northern folks.

Beautiful roads! I can only watch you drive and dream I was there on an old bike or Morgan 3-wheeler....

Once we had a very warm winter where the temperature rarely went below 8C° and i noticed that my wintertires felt sort a like "chewinggum" in corners on february. Thing was, due to the warm remperatures the profile on the tires literally "offset" of the tire

You can run winter tires year-round your MPG will reduce with winter tires. Sumoto Ice edge are very good on traction all year. The grip of the winter tire holds traction and does not lose traction in the summer. My car stops shorter in distance with the Sumoto Ice Edge in the summer than the Good year Eagles in the summer.

how did you remember all of that and say it all while driving, skill right there😂

If you like excessive wear, less grip and squealing tyres in corners by all means use winter tyres in the summer.

At my dealer, I was told the rear diff (wrx) could get extra wear if I don't exchange tires when it warms. I change for safety in the winter and performance in the summer. In Cleveland it may snow or be 80 degrees through April so it is tough to decide when to swap.

Great! been waiting for a honest analysis like this. I have a 2012 Range Rover Evoque that I take off-road frequently and would love to have the extra grip but I live in California a d worry about heat. Just not sure if the trade off is worth it. The car has a stopping distance of 113' which is great on All-season tires (Michelin) but wonder how much difference I'd have with soft rubber. But in 35000 miles I've never been in a lockup situation.

I would like to see a similar test on wet surface ... summer tire vs rain tire vs all season vs winter.

What about winter tyres having a smaller contact patch due to all the extra tread patterns and siping? That sounds like something you could calculate 👍

Even F1 teams dont really use ultra soft tires on hot tracks as the tires overheat and the tires dont last very long.

You should send your video to the Government of Quebec! Since they put a law that requires winter tires from December 15 to April 15 some people decided to run on winter tires all year long. So they end up running on almost flat tires the next winter!

Winter tires being bad in the summer is common knowledge nowadays, I've heard theories of the material gelling over under high heat braking. However I'd like to see a test using 3/5/7/10 year old winter tires, because people are being told by "tire experts" to basically throw away their winter tires after 3-5 years as the compound has hardened up and are basically useless as winter tires. However seeing as how people only use them for a few months of the year, they could very well still have 90% of their tread left by that point. So by listening to them, you would need to buy a new set of winter tires that often to appease them, because according to those same experts you can't use them in summer either. However, taking into account the natural drying and hardening they've gone through year after year sitting in storage in the off-season, I'd be curious to find out how their performance is affected, in summer, at let's say 10 years old - which is my current case, driving a car in winter, fall, spring and yes summer, with hardened up 10 year old winter tires with 90% of their tread left, unwilling to throw seemingly "perfectly good tires" in the trash.

I live in Michigan, on my 06 Crown Vic Interceptor I run General Altimax Arctics in winter and General Gmax AS03 in summer, both the same size. The difference is amazing. The winters are very surefooted in snow and slush but are very squirmy when pushed just a little. When I change wheels from winter to summer it feels like a different car, handles MUCH better and feels much more surefooted on the highway especially at speeds over 70.

What tires and rim size do i use to lessen road noise? Live in Florida so I only need summer tread

What about bold winter tyres that are semi slick on dry summer roads? If it's the thread that's breaking off and over warming rubber would a semi slick be better?

Very interesting information, I like it

I ride a motorcycle with knobbies, and you can feel how each knob flexes a little when turning hard, allowing the tyre to effectively slip a little. This probably happens with winter tyres as well, as you describe

I've had several scary with winter tires and aquaplaning in the spring if winter's are left on a little too long.

Excellent video

what do you use to check the time and distance ?

I am curious then what the difference between all season and summer tires during the summer. thanks for the video

Would be great with a video about 15, 16 or 17 inch winter tires.

What about over heating ? Can winter tires dissipate the heat of regular highway driving or are they in danger of blow-outs in the heat of summer ? (California summer or Alaska summer?)

Whats with all the freedom units, I thought you were an engineer!

What about the size of the sidewall? I feel that the large sidewall of the Subaru might have lead to a different result than of you had a smaller side wall

I know this video is almost a year old but I found it trying to answer a question I had. I was wondering because of the softer compound of the winter tires if they would actually work as a budget friendly solution for rally cross racing in the summer. Mainly because of the softer compound, the more aggressive tread and the availability of cheap slightly used winter tires in the late spring and summer months. What do you think?

This video educationally enlightened me

My brakes grind when I come to a stop on a snowy road, but otherwise, they don't make noise. Is it the brakes or the tires?

Fitting, I just changed my dad's tyres last night.

Great video. I have always wondered about this. Result is a little surprising, though your hypotheses make sense.

how bad is it if the front and the rears dont match in tire type for a rwd car? ie. michelin in the fronts and continental in the back? thanks!

Some years I drove about 5k miles a year and kept the winters on. They were noisy, I kept my speed down driving the highways, but were great handling wet. I had them on a small awd suv. When my wheels needed aligned they wore out incredibly fast in a couple months fast. On my turbo awd suv I change seasonally between all weather and winter for best handling.🌦❄️🌬

it is not a big deal but on mobile your end card overlays your correcting annotation information on the error you made on naming tyre you made a point about. This was also something I wondered. Thanks for investigating.

Would you do some testing on the "all weather" tires that are marketed for all year use? Specifically the Nokian WR G3 and the Toyo Celsius. The manufacturers claim that they are better than all season tires in the winter but still match the performance in the heat and wet. I'd be interested if these claims are really true.

would a good test to prove ur theory that the compound is just coming away from the winter tyres under braking be to disconnect the ABS and slam on the brakes and see how dark the lines are for each tyre

I've heard that winter tyres are a lot more prone to aqua-planing than summer tyres. I have also experienced aqua-planing with winter tyres in conditions where I think the summer tyres would have done better. You can also tell by the threading on summer tyres that they are designed to eject water away through the curved canals, while winter tyres don't have threading designed especially for water dispersion.

Finnish engineers have a lock on cold weather compound formulation. I would recommend that you do the same testing on Hakkapeliitta manufactured tires.

how about running a test with summer tires, slick tires, and every tire with mild rain and heavy rain

WGRs are likely the oddball exclusion. Basically winter tire tread and bite, but made of a harder compound so it's allowable as an all-season. It's also one of the few all-seasons that don't suck in winter. Trade off is a bit more road noise, but doesn't seem all that terrible other than that.

I'm still on my winter tyres sadly. April was quite crazy and we still got snow. So there was no point of changing in April. But my PS4S will go on soon.

Can someone answer as to why saying shifting from anything higher than 4th gear to neutral and then braking is a bad idea?

such interesting. much knowledge.

genius... ive been asking myself the same question. thanks:)

unrelated question but hopefully you can answer. is it "okay" to throw your car into neutral and rev it. more specifically when the car is in drive and moving then put into neutral, reved higher, dropped back down to a lower rpm then put back into drive while moving. (this is an automatic) thank you!!

I've done some testing just now on Michelin PA4s and while the braking isn't great, the outright grip at 7c vs my MPSS is night and day in favour of the PA4. I can accelerate like it is 35 Celsius on a dry day on MPSS

Now for all season tyre vs race tyre? Given the fact that a race tyre uses a softer compound.

I think that the following things occur when you use winter tyres in the summer - After exposure to high summer temperatures the compound of the winter tyres actually cooks itself and it becomes very hard so you have less grip and even if you consider re-using the tyres in the winter they won't have the same grip, because they are already "cooked".

It would be very interesting if you could take the tire tread pattern out of the equation, so a winter compound vs a summer compound with the exact same tread pattern so we can see how much of a difference the compound aswell as the tread pattern make. But i guess that will be very hard to achieve/get.

How do all season tires compare to winter tires in the rain?

I have some really old winter tires, they are solid as rock, prolly harder than my summer's. They still have a lot of tread on them, so I was thinking should I just use them for the summer, as my current summer tires are in a pretty bad shape and I bough new winters anyway.

What wears winter tires more: Higher temps? or dry roads? I'm guessing that colder temps protect the softer tires because they are harder in winter = less wear. I also think that snow on roads causes less wear than dry roads. What Im wondering is if dry roads in winter are much of a concern for wear of snow tires? or is temperature the main concern?