Summer vs Winter vs All Season - What Tires Should You Buy?

What's the difference between summer, winter, and all-season tires?
What Tires Should You Buy? - Sponsored by Progressive

There are a lot of options available when buying new tires, and one of the decisions you need to make is the type of tire you plan to buy: summer, all-season, or winter. What's the difference between these tires? You may be surprised to find out that all-seasons don't tend to be the best tires for many situations, rather that they're a compromise between summer and winter tires. You might also be surprised to learn that summer tires tend to perform the best in the rain. Which tires are best for you? Check out the video and learn, depending on where you live, what the best option may be for your individual driving climate and performance preferences.

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[Hungrystudent]

I have been in the tire/tyre industry for about 15 years and I have to say this is a great intro to understanding tires. Well Done. The number one problem people and tires/tyres is Air Pressure! For the average person they rarely check it. Please check it once a month. It better to check it once a week or when going through changes e.g. ... weather changes, climate changes, weight changes, hauling/towing changes, vehicle setup changes, or different use cases. You will save on m.p.g. (gas) - get longer life out of the tires - better handling (safety) e.g. stopping and cornering.

[bbkangs]

I buy tires based on which tread I think looks the coolest 😎

[SirSquash]

I bought a car for 1200 and I'm going to put 1500 worth of wheels and tires on it. Because grip.

[DoubleM]

I'll just share my experience. When I used to swap winter/summer tires every season, i had few annoying issues:
- Nowhere to store them, had to drive 150km to my parents because they have a house and garage so I stored my tires there. Every time I had to change them I had to plan to go to my parents.
- Had to pay for them to be changed.
- You have to plan it and spend some time to change, sometimes had to get out from work, annoying.
- One year there was a drastic change in weather, somewhere near the end of the summer, temperatures suddenly dropped below zero C and it started snowing, it was a strange weather and I was left with summer tires, needless to say they performed ultra terrible, I had to drive way under speed limit.

I decided to try all season, just for experiment.
- Bought 4 x GoodYear Vector 4 (all season). (About $75 / tire).
- NEVER changed them or even rotate them (If I had to rotate them I might as well change, I decided not to, even when I understand the benefits of rotation, I decided not to, to see what will happen).
Exactly today is the full 4 years of usage, 76.000km traveled, during winters and summers, snow, ice and blazing heats of summer, never had any issues with them. From time to time I have put them to the test, when road is icy I floor it in 2nd gear and see how they hold, pretty good. Then I get up to speed limit, pick some object in front of me 40-50m (Usually some traffic sign), and try to imagine that person is there, then apply full brakes and see if I manage to stop, I was pleasently surprized how well they worked and always stopped way before even getting to that object. Of course I have done it on open roads when there were no cars in front or back of me. I was happy.

Today the time has come, my car has finally failed on inspection for registration due to worn out front tires (Back tires are still fine). Since it's a FWD car, and I didn't do any rotation, it makes sense. So what I did is get 2 new front tires (Again all season), my car passed registration, and now I'm analyzing my experience with all season tires. To me it really makes sense to use all season if:
- You drive mostly in areas which have no major snowfall, and even if it does it's cleaned quickly (Urban / City /Highway).
- You don't drive agressively or take your car to the limits, and be more careful when conditions are bad.
- Your car is not very powerful (Mine is 90 HP).

So my conclusion is that for me all season tires are the best choice, they are convenient, work decently well and you don't need to think about it twice a year. Just change it every 4 years and forget about it unitl they fail on registration. I will not go back to Winter/Summer, but maybe some people will have more reasons to do it. For me, this is perfect :)

[NCKSO]

So weird to hear debates over winter tires. Up here in Quebec, winter tires are mandatory from november to april

[kagitsune]

Another note: I live in a place with hot summers and wet, slushy winters. There is a 4th type called the *all-WEATHER* tire that is basically an all-season that tends closer to the winter side of tread and compound. They will often have a "three peak mountain snowflake" badge to show they are designed for somewhat severe winter conditions, but not to the level of a dedicated winter tire. Confusing! But good to know.

Next someone has to explain what all the "high performance grand standard touring luxury premium" gobbledygook actually means. 😂

[Dcoy]

Literally was about to go buy tires and this video pops up

[tyrereviews]

Great video as always, one slight correction. The advantage the summer tyre has in dry and wet braking is down to block movement rather than the compound. Once all season and winter tyres are worn to nearly the legal limit they often match a worn summer tyres braking, and sometimes even beat it due to the softer compounds they use. There's currently no way of getting a siped tyre matching a non-siped tyre in braking, even with fancy things like locking sipes.

[jonathanmatthews]

Living in Canada, we call "all season" tires "3 season" tires. Using all-season tires in winter is a recipe for an accident

[HarleyN]

i honestly found the most informative part to be where you pressed on the winter tire showing us how soft it is instead of simply saying oh its softer like others do

[logan]

Man I'm glad I only need summer tyres where I live.

[Ratkill]

One thing that irritates me working a dealership is people who refuse to change out snow tires in the middle of summer. These tires are only good for temperatures below 40F and wear out badly in summer. You might as well burn $100 bills.

[danny]

Everyone saying "All season's are useless" really don't understand what compromise means. Not everyone has the time/money/space to have both summer and winter tires. New Gen all seasons will be sufficient for most people, especially those who live in seasonal climates

[fcsblackrocket]

I've always been a summer/ winter tire driver. When I swapped my summer Continental Extremecontact to Continental Extremecontact DWS 06, I was so impressed with it and I have kept DWS and handling is still great!

[Fudgecakestudios]

Another great video from TiresExplained!

[bosse]

A set of good summer tires, and good winter tires is the way to go. ....imo.

And if living in areas with snowy winters, tires with studs is my choice.

[CrazyWeeMonkey]

I live in the Pacific Northwest (Eugene Oregon) and I always thought that all-seasons were the best because it rains so often here with wildly varying temperatures. But after watching this I'm realizing that summer tires year-round may be my best bet. Great video!

[brucehearn]

I ran a track event in my G37S last August in the pouring rain. I was astounded at how much grip was available from Michelin Pilot Super Sports. I was the fastest car in the advanced group until the rain quit just before my final session and the track started drying. Then I was mid-pack as the guys with D.O.T. race tires started to shine.

[BirdiesGoCherp]

I prefer All-season, medium rare -steaks- tires.

[AutistCat]

I'm using summer and winter tires now for the first time instead of all-season and it's striking how much softer and more jelly-like the handling is on the winter tyres is (car is Subaru Levorg). It goes from nice and sharp to floaty boaty when I change tyres in the winter :P