Getting a grip on winter tires

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Getting a grip on winter tires

(NC)—So you understand how important your tires are for performance and safety, but do you have a grip on what makes one tire better than another? Today, manufacturers produce specialized tires for different vehicle types and driving conditions. The winter tire remains one of the best examples of tire evolution.

Originally known as 'snow' tires, they were knobby, noisy and unattractive – designed for driving in the snow only. Anyone who has driven on snow tires in dry and wet conditions is aware of their compromised handling and traction. Today, consumers demand greater performance from their winter driving than these older tires can deliver.

Today's winter tires represent the latest technology providing drivers with safety in all winter driving conditions. New materials, tread patterns with less void (open areas), and the absence of lugs (the knobby little rubber teeth on the classic snow tire) have resulted in a tire that excels on ice, snow, slush and other wet surfaces. These new winter tires also deliver improved handling and a smooth, safe ride in all winter driving conditions.

"The first component of winter tire construction is a rubber compound that is softer and able to maintain grip and flexibility with lower temperatures," explains Tony Mougios, Michelin Brand Manager in Canada. "Michelin's line of Alpin winter tires features a special winter compound throughout the entire depth of the tread."

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Tread design is another key feature of winter tires. The tread is the part of the tire that comes into contact with the snow and provides bite. To increase traction, winter tires feature plenty of lateral biting edges (lateral density) that create traction with the ground.

"Bite" is the key word in snow traction. A good winter tire features deep grooves, sharp corners and edges for digging into snow and gripping ice, and plenty of sipes – small slits within the individual tread blocks. Sipes provide two advantages; they help keep the tread blocks flexible in freezing conditions and provide additional gripping edges.

Michelin's Alpin winter tire line brings a whole new concept to the market with over 1700 Torque-Locking sipes. In contrast to conventional sipes, which descend into the tread block as a straight cut, Michelin's design has a zigzag pattern. This allows the thin blocks of rubber between the sipes to squeeze together and interlock with each other under load, providing more stability to the individual blocks and ribs. This results in good handling and response, even on clear roads.

Getting a grip on winter tires will allow you to achieve the handling and security that you need this winter. To learn more about winter tires, visit www.michelin.ca or your authorized Michelin dealer.

- News Canada

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