Understanding Tire Categories

s a writer and blogger for the automotive industry and being known as a guru of the tires I am often asked to define the different types of tires such as snow tires M & S tires etc. So I decided to write this article for putting expect that some of these terms in perspective. Here we go.

All season tires - This is probably the largest category and one of the most misunderstood. Living in Vermont often tire dealer here said "that means all but the winter season." Honestly there is much truth in that statement. A tire for all seasons is a mix of summer, winter, mud and rain tires all mixed into one. Unfortunately that does not mean they will do well in extreme conditions. If you have snow or ice is an extreme condition. These conditions require tires made for that purpose. The same goes for the mud and heavy rain. So these tires work very well in moderate rain and light snow, but not recommended for winter conditions and must be careful in heavy rain.

Winter tires - The tires should be self explanatory. A snow tire blows the snow tires RMA triangle and is designated for winter driving. Snow tires should not be run in the summer, unless you want to wear out quickly. The compound of these tires will melt in the heat when running.

M & S Tyres - Another misunderstanding is that of M + S tires or mud and snow tires. The reason is that some of these tires are much more aggressive than others and, moreover, some do not have to break the triangle of snow RMA so if you run this as snow tires to make sure that you are getting.

Performance Tires - This category is exactly what it says and that makes for a performance. Many people tend to buy high performance tires when not needed. The thing to remember is that the average yield of driving fast, so hard cornering. Most of these are at least Z rated tires and designed to perform at speeds over 115 MPH. They are also designed to handle the rain. But please be warned most of these tires are expensive and wear quickly unless you need not buy them.

Summer tires - an old term back in the day when there were not many options. However, this basically means nothing but winter.

I hope I was able to answer some questions about different categories of tires. Many people understand the difference between each of them. Unfortunately, over time there will be more types and styles, there already, but I do not want to confuse the reader over some of the other terms as runflat or selfseal etc.