Which winter tires are right for your ride?

It’s never too early to talk about winter tires in Canada.

Tires in this country for passenger vehicles and light trucks can be divided into four categories: all-season which means summer; traditional snows; ice radials and now all-weathers.

They all have different performance characteristics and more importantly, all this depends on the type of vehicle they’re installed on.

Traditional snows are distinguished by their clunky looking large gripping tread patterns with wide, deep grooves. Their main drawback to most consumers is the noise level they create. On the plus side they provide traction in just about any type of winter road condition but of course less so on glare, hard and extremely cold ice.

Sedans, higher-end crossovers, compacts, subcompacts and minivans suffer the worst from this increased volume.

A few years back, European tire makers were working with a United Nations committee to come up with new tire labelling rules that would give consumers some idea of how noisy or quiet a particular tire model was compared to its competition. We’re still waiting for those rules in North America. These regulations were also supposed give comparators for fuel economy and tread life.

Ice radials have moved from new kids on the block to teenagers and have a lot of benefits. More tire makers are offering them every year and this is bringing some substantial competitive pricing.

For the most part they are almost as quiet as summer tires but deliver great traction on any surface including better than average grip on glare ice. They can get beat in deep fresh snow, but for most urban drivers this isn’t much of a concern.

Generally they are more expensive that traditionals but their smoother profile doesn’t impact fuel economy.

Ice radials can be a great choice for almost any type of vehicle and in most regions.

All-weathers are the newbies if you forget Goodyear started marketing them first more than 15 years ago.

But many other tire manufacturers have followed suit in an attempt to grab those drivers who abhor having to change their tires seasonally, or spend a good part of winter in sunnier climes.

If you fall into either category, all-weathers might be for you. Keep in mind; even their makers admit they’re a compromise.

They don’t have quite the same grip as traditionals or ice-radials in the winter and won’t deliver the same tread life as summers in warmer weather.

But if you factor in your costs of seasonal changeovers against the reduced lifespan of the rubber, it might be worth your while.

These are suitable for just about any type of ride.