There’s much more to winter tires than the snowflake symbol
Now that winter is closing in on us, you’re likely looking to buy some snow tires for your vehicle.
Just over three-quarters of Canadians use winter tires, up from 58 per cent four years ago, according to statistics gathered by the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada (TRAC).
So, clearly, Canadians want winter tires. And if we had to bet, the side-wall snowflake symbol (the 3PMSF, as the industry calls this pictogram, born in North America two decades ago) is likely helping them separate all-season or all-weather tires from the winter rubber they really want, tires that’ll stick when the temperature drops below 7 C or much, much colder.
“Instead of thinking of winter tires only as snow tires, you may want to start thinking of them as cold-weather tires,” TRAC suggests.
That alpine symbol tells you only about a minimum. To be precise, it guarantees the traction of those winter tires is at least 10-per-cent superior when compared to all-season tires when put through the Transport Canada-approved ASTM F1805 test. (ASTM stands for American Standard Test Method.)
You read that right: only 10-per-cent better traction.
The symbol says nothing about superior performance in low temperatures, notes Sylvain Légaré, automotive expert at CAA- Quebec. In fact, some all-season truck tires with aggressive treads can wear the Three-peak Mountain Snowflake symbol even if their compound will not keep the flexibility of cold-weather tires when the mercury drops.
Besides, this test is conducted on medium-packed-snow surfaces, and only while accelerating in a straight line. Again, nothing is said or tested or established or measured about accelerating on ice or on 80 centimetres of fluffy snow.
What really interests us in winter conditions is the effectiveness of braking, right? Sadly, no industry or government test measures stopping distances on snow or on ice. Same thing for tires while veering or skidding.
But a new testing procedure is under development, part of an effort to create an ISO standard that will measure a tire’s grip on an icy surface, says Barry Yutronkie, director of operations for TRAC.
“Once a standard is created (perhaps in a few years’ time) industry will have the tool by which a common benchmark can be established,” Yutronkie says. “But right now, it is a little premature to know the outcome.”
The good news: You’re not condemned to buy crappy winter tires. Manufacturers are moving beyond those performance minimums via new compounds, treads and avant-garde technologies, such as “microbites,” which are engineered from crushed walnut shells.
“Many tires in the market today achieve levels approaching 130 per cent, so there can be quite a range between tires that meet the minimum and the ones that perform at the higher levels,” Yutronkie says.
The bad news: You’ll have to work harder than just walking into any big-box store to choose what you think is the best quality winter tires. The best cold-weather tire advice we can give you is to visit a couple of tire stores. (And, yes, you want four snow tires, not just two. Otherwise, you’ll affect your vehicle’s stability and, in the long run, the whole integrity of your vehicle’s traction systems.)
Some criteria to consider from former ice racer Légaré:
What do you drive? A small car, a performance car, an intermediate SUV, a giant pickup?
Where do you drive? In cities, on highway, in rural county?
How do you drive, and on what? Snow? Packed snow? Black ice?
Do you tow? How many kilometres do you average in winter conditions?
Légaré recommends dropping from your shopping list any models that don’t meet your criteria, and then prioritizing the rest of your tire wants and needs.
Thinking of studded tires? Légaré notes the tech on those has improved and some of those crampons can even retract until needed. Remember, however, some condo parking garages and municipalities ban them, and in Quebec, they’re allowed only from October 15 to May 1.
Consumer Reports’ top five recommendations for winter tires for cars specifically are: Cooper Discoverer True North (score of 70), Hankook Winter i*cept iz2 (70), Continental Winter Contact SI (69), Michelin X-ice XI3 (68), and Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 (68).
Légaré recommends “Pirelli
Ice Zero FR, the Nokian Hakkapeliitta, the Michelin X-ice and the Toyo GSI-6 with its crushed walnut shells.”
And what does Légaré stick on the rims of his own daily driver? The highest-end studded winter tires he can find.