Delusions About Winter Tires
We all know that in winter one should use winter tires. It allows to minimize the effect of adverse weather conditions. Winter tires provide easier start, better steering control and more confident braking performance. But are You sure that You know everything about winter tires?
The use of winter tires is good even on one axle.
This is the most common mistake among drivers. On rear-wheel drive cars the use of two tires will solve only the problem of easier start. Such equipment will badly affect cornering stability and braking performance as front wheels will remain “slippery”. But the worst thing will happen if the drivers of front-wheel drive cars mount winter tires only on the front axle. At first it may seem that the problems of steering, braking and start will be solved as all this is provided by front drive wheels. And You feel calm and relaxed. Then suddenly on one of slippery turns rear axle skids and the car makes an U-turn! The only way out is to step on the gas pedal to make the car straight.
Do not spare on winter tires especially when You have a front-wheel drive car as the consequences can be quite sad. Mount winter tires on all four wheels.
Studs work only on clean dry ice with a 0,03-inch sickness.
It is also a very common delusion. Studs work always – on snow and thin ice as well as on wet ice covered with water film. But in the last case its effectiveness considerably falls. But any car without studs will be handled much worse in this situation.
Fall of two-three studs leads to imbalance.
This assumption applies only to tires equipped with random studs. Today’s stud weights less than one gram – the loss of even three neighboring studs will cause a three-gram imbalance.
You should reduce tire pressure on wet road.
This action is totally incorrect as it will lead to the increase of contact patch area what in its turn causes unit pressure reduction. As a result traction performance will worsen.
Classification Of Tires
Diagonal and Radial Tires
The carcass of diagonal tire consists of a certain number of rubberized cord plies the edges of which are twisted around wire circular bars (they enable the mounting of the tire on a wheel). All threads of the carcass and breaker cord are intersected in adjacent areas. The angle between carcass and breaker cord usually equals 45o – 60o. There are usually four adjacent areas. The design of diagonal tires is outdated but they are still produced (usually for old models of cars) as their production is comparatively cheap. Besides this, their carcass is more resistant to damage in case of strokes or cuts.
Radial tires (R type) all carcass cord threads are situated radially parallel from one bead to the other. The breaker cord threads are placed the same way as in diagonal tires but at a higher angle. Such design makes the carcass not strong enough to endure cornering and acceleration loads. That’s why it has to be supplemented with other tire elements. The carcass is usually reinforced by dual steel belt or is stabilized with nylon band.
Summer And Winter Tires
Summer tires usually have distinguished circumferential grooves that withdraw water from the contact patch, shallow lateral grooves and the absence of micro pattern. Besides this they always have rounded shoulder area.
The tires of such type provide maximum traction on dry and wet surface, high treadwear resistance level and perfectly suit for speedy driving. But they are not intended for off-road conditions (especially when the surface is wet).
Winter tires are used for the operation on ice- and snow-covered surface. The traction performance of such tires may vary depending on the situation, from minimal (smooth ice or slush) to average (snow-covered surface). The tread pattern of such tires has independent tread blocks as well as deep circumferential and lateral grooves. The blocks have special pattern to increase the lateral operating area.
Continental: Pseudowinter Tires With M+S Mark Overflowed The Market
Continental experts warn that one shouldn’t buy so-called winter tires in spite of the presence of M+S (Mud & Snow) mark as they are not suitable for winter conditions.
The reason is that the directive of the European Union doesn’t describe in detail the features that M+S tires must have. It means that the mark can be put according to the will of the manufacturer. The fact that the standard equipment of American cars includes all-season tires means that even summer tires produced in Asia are marked M+S. Of course, such tires are not intended for winter conditions.
The experts of Continental warn the consumers that they should be sure about the winter properties of the chosen tires.
Austrian motorcycle, automobile and tourist club OAMTC has recently tested summer tires with M+S mark. “The braking distance on the snow-covered surface at 30mph speed is two times longer if to compare with normal winter tires” – says Friedrich Eppel, the expert of OAMTC. “When the car equipped with winter tires had already stopped, the car equipped with low-quality tires continued to move at 25mph speed”.
Tests of haul capability at the beginning of the ride also showed alarming results – any driver who starts riding on snow-covered parking area or slippery road will threaten the safety of other road traffic participants due to the use of such tires. The tested car equipped with the tires needed twice as much time to pass a sprint from 0 to 20mph on snow.
Start from the crossing or slope will depend more on the luck that on the driving skills. Mr. Eppel concluded that one should buy exclusively winter tires and consult with experts instead of choosing the tire by the price. “If You buy cheap tires, You can face sad consequences later.”
Continental recommends to buy real winter tires marked with snowflake symbol and minimal tread depth of 0,15 inches.
Winter Set For Aston Martin
Cargrpaphic studio presented wheel/tire sets for the owners of Aston Martin who want to preserve showy looks of their cars in winter.
One of the disadvantages of sport cars is that the summer tires become rigid and unstable with the advent of winter and fall of the temperature. As a result their performance worsens to a great extent.
Besides this, salt and road garbage begin to leave spots on the polished wheels. That’s why German tuning studio Cargraphic presented a set of wheels/tires for Aston Martin (V8 Vantage and DB9) that not only makes the looks of the car more attractive in any time of the year but also provides optimal traction performance. The set consists of solid Cargrpahic IS-ONE wheels developed exclusively for low temperatures and Dunlop Wintersport M3 and Dunlop Wintersport 3D tires.
The unique manufacturing process guarantees outstanding performance of IS-ONE forged wheels. The blank is straightened at high temperature and then shaped. All the wheels are produced solely in Germany what guarantees excellent quality of Cargraphic. The elegant design of bifurcated spokes perfectly combines with the design of Aston Martin and emphasizes the sport spirit of the British car.
To make the looks of Aston Martin attractive in the winter period the wheels were covered with colorless lacquer that protects the surface from salt and negative influence of winter conditions. Cargraphic IS-ONE are available both separately and in combination with winter tires of different sizes. The first set consist of 8.5×19” wheels at the front and 9.5×19” wheels at the back, as well as Dunlop Wintersport M3 tires (sizes 235/40R19 and 275/35R19). There is one more set that can be ordered – 9.5×19” wheels at the front, 11.5×19” wheels at the back, plus Dunlop Wintersport 3D tires (255/35R19 and 295/30R19).
If the owner of Aston Martin doesn’t want to mount old wheels with the advent of spring, Cargraphic offers similar sets for the summer period.
