All Weather Tires Vs. All-Seasons: When “3-Season” Tires Aren’t Enough

When “three-season” tires aren’t enough, all-weather tires are the perfect solution, granting all the same savings of all-season tires with the added winter performance you’d expect from a set of snows.

Read on to learn more about the differences between all-season and all-weather tires, or contact your local TIRECRAFT to start a free consultation straight away.

All-Season Tires: The Perfect Tire Pick For Almost Any Weather

All-season tires are a great choice for drivers who live and work in areas without heavy snowfall or icy roads.

Although they offer less grip than dedicated summer tires, sacrificing optimal steering, braking, and cornering capabilities to preserve some cold-weather performance, all-season tires work very well in warm weather, even on wet roads, thanks to tread features like:

• Wide sweeping chutes and circumferential grooves to prevent hydroplaning
• Wide tread footprints to increase driver comfort, reduce wear, and enhance surface traction
• Continuous ribs to keep the tire stiff and increase responsiveness
• Siping to add grip on wet or slushy roads
• Specially designed rubber compounds that adapts to different temperatures

Using all-season tires can also save drivers a lot of money, eliminating the need for seasonal changeovers and storage, not to mention, they’re great on gas, too.

But as temperatures start to drop, all-season tire performance drops with it. In Consumer Reports tests, all-season tires required an extra 1.8m of stopping distance and 6.7m more to accelerate from 8 to 32km/h on moderately packed snow compared to dedicated snow tires. While these details may seem like overkill, according to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s Winter Driving report, winter tires can shorten braking distances by 25-30% compared to all-season tires.

Because of their limited capabilities in the snow, all-season tires are increasingly (and more accurately) being referred to as “three-season” tires, perfect for spring, summer, and fall, but not so great come winter. Thus, if you live in Ontario’s snowbelt region, they’re probably not the best tires to select.

Of course, it’s important to understand manufacturer differences before you make up your mind. Some all-season tires are designed to work better in the snow, whereas others are built for better fuel economy or highway driving. To find out whether all-season tires are sufficient for your local driving needs, and to get a shortlist of personalized recommendations, get in touch with your local TIRECRAFT to schedule a free consultation.

All-Weather Tires: True Four-Season Solutions To Stay Safe In The Snowbelt

Although most experts agree that specialty snow tires are the safest choice for driving through the snowbelt, new all-weather tire technology is changing the game and giving drivers more options than ever before.

As their name suggests, all-weather tires are suitable for driving in all weather conditions, and unlike all-season tires, it’s not a misnomer—these really work in all weather conditions, providing reliable braking and cornering performance on scorching summer days and frigid winter roads.

In fact, in Consumer Reports tests—one of which involved driving on a skating rink!— some all-weather tires, like the Toyo Celsius, actually outperformed many winter tires!

All-weather tires cost about the same as all-season tires; they come with excellent treadwear warranties; and they save you hundreds of dollars that would normally be spent on seasonal changeover and storage. All in all, they’re the ideal choice for drivers who want the convenience and cost-savings of all-season tires without compromising performance in the snow.

To learn whether all-weather tires are right for you, and browse our comprehensive catalog, book a free consultation with a TIRECRAFT technician near you.

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