Summer Tires vs. Winter Tires vs. All-Season Tires

DIY

Wheels and Tires

Chris Tonn

September 06, 2023

Chris Tonn

September 06, 2023

Shopping for tires - opens in new window or tab. can be confusing because there are so many types of tires that physically fit your vehicle. So how do you know which one to choose? What are all-season tires? Are they better than summer tires or winter tires? Which one is best?

Why Buy All-Season Tires?

A set of four wheels with Goodyear Assurance Finesse all season tires

All-season tires - opens in new window or tab. are designed to handle moderate year-round weather conditions. From rain to light snow to hot days, an all-season tire is a good compromise that can be the only tire many drivers need.

These tires have tread patterns that sweep water and snow away from the tire’s contact patch with the road. They use a rubber compound that remains pliable and durable in hot and colder weather. These features also lead to a long life, explaining why some all-season tires have treadwear warranties of 60,000 miles or more.

Read: What’s the Difference Between All-Season and All-Weather Tires? - opens in new window or tab.

Winter Tires for Snow and Ice

Sometimes called snow tires, winter tires are designed specifically for driving in cold winter weather. These tires have tread patterns that bite through snow and ice, quickly moving water and slush away from the contact patch. The tread typically has sipes—small microgrooves in the tire tread blocks—that create hundreds of edges to grab at the road surface.

Winter tires have rubber compounds that remain soft in extreme cold to ensure the tires can effectively grip the road. However, these compounds and specialized tread patterns will not perform optimally in hot weather, when high heat quickly wears away the rubber. Also, those soft, pliable tread blocks and sipes are noisy when driving in dry, hot conditions. Winter tires often do not come with treadwear mileage warranties.

Read: Choose Snow Tires vs. Snow Chains for Winter Driving - opens in new window or tab.

Summer Tires for Ultimate Grip

One Falken Azenis summer tire mounted on a wheel

Summer tires - opens in new window or tab. are produced for use by performance vehicles in warm, dry conditions. They are designed to enable ultimate grip on dry or lightly damp road surfaces, with firm rubber compounds that hold up to high-performance driving under hot conditions. Often these tires won’t even provide the best performance until they are warm. This makes summer tires great for drivers who take their car to a racetrack.

Summer tires typically feature wide, stiff tread blocks that give superior stability to the contact patch under high-demand driving conditions. The firm rubber and performance tread patterns do not perform well in cold and snowy conditions. The hard rubber won’t grip well and the wide tread blocks tend to glide over ice and snow.

Read: Summer Tires vs. All-Season: You Can Feel The Difference - opens in new window or tab.

Choosing Winter, Summer, or All-Season Tires

All-season tires might seem like the best of all worlds, and in many cases, that’s true. All-season tires give good performance for most vehicles in most conditions. They can work all year long, avoiding the need to change tires as the seasons change. However, all-season tires are a compromise, and not well-suited to all conditions.

A set of four Porsche Cayman wheels with Pirelli Sottozero winter tires in front of a large stone house

For drivers who live in snowy climates, it might be best to have a set of winter tires for the cold season plus another set of tires—whether all-season or summer tires—for the rest of the year. In extreme winter conditions, an all-season tire won’t perform as well as a winter tire, leading to a potential loss of control. With their soft rubber compound and aggressive tread pattern, winter tires can wear down quickly during the summer months.

Shop now for wheel and tire packages - opens in new window or tab.

For drivers of high-performance vehicles, we recommend having a set of summer tires for the summer months and a separate set of either all-season or winter tires for the colder months. High-performance - opens in new window or tab. sports cars are usually designed to handle optimally with summer tires, so less aggressive tread patterns and rubber compounds lead to less fun and lower handling limits in dry conditions. In the colder months, however, these performance vehicles may need to be driven, and the second set of tires allows them to be moved safely.

Four wheels with Pirelli tires on wheel dollies in a garage

Mount Two Sets of Tires

If your vehicle came equipped with one type of tire - opens in new window or tab. and you decided to fit season-specific tires for a time, it’s best to have a separate set of wheels to fit your vehicle. - opens in new window or tab. Once your tires are mounted on the rims, you can easily make the seasonal changeover at home.

Shop now for winter wheels and tires - opens in new window or tab.

Ensure you always have a matched set of four tires on your vehicle. For example, don’t fit winter tires to just one axle of your car, as this can lead to a handling imbalance from front to rear.

If your vehicle is equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS), you’ll likely need a second set of sensors - opens in new window or tab. for the second set of wheels and tires. These must be programmed to match your car with a relearn tool - opens in new window or tab..

Safety comes first when you mount seasonal tires. Make sure that when you jack up your car, it is supported with jack stands - opens in new window or tab. and the wheels are chocked. When tightening the lug nuts - opens in new window or tab., use a torque wrench - opens in new window or tab. to ensure they are secure.

A set of four Porsche 911S wheels with Nokian winter tires with tire storage bags in a dining room.

Store the off-season tires securely, and protect them from ultraviolet light and ozone, which can prematurely break down the rubber compounds and shorten the tire's life. There are specially designed bags to protect them from the light.

About the author

Chris Tonn

Some enthusiasts say they were born with gasoline in their veins. Chris Tonn, on the other hand, had rust flakes in his eyes nearly since birth. Living in salty Ohio and being hopelessly addicted to vintage British and Japanese steel will do that to you. His work has appeared in Hagerty, The Truth About Cars, Reader's Digest, AutoGuide, Family Handyman, and Jalopnik. He's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.

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This article is meant to provide general guidance only. Automotive maintenance, repair, upgrade, and installation may depend on vehicle-specifics such as make and model. Always consult your owner's manual, repair guide for specific information for your particular vehicle and consider a licensed auto-care professional's help as well, particularly for advance repairs.