Why Running Winter Tires All Year Is a Bad Idea

Engineering Explained puts a set of winter tires against all-season rubber. The results may surprise you.

Slapping a set of winter tires onto your car during the colder months can drastically improve the vehicle’s handling, but that’s something everyone knows. While there are many upsides to owning a bespoke set of winter tires, there is one major downside – the fact that the rubber needs to be switched out for another set when the weather warms up again. And for any drivers out there that think they can run winter tires all year, Engineering Explained is here to reveal why that’s a terrible idea.

To show viewers why using cold-weather tires all year is a bad idea, Engineering Explained put the host’s 2016 Subaru Crosstrek through braking tests with two different sets of tires – all-season Yokohama Geolander G95 (the OEM tire) and Bridgestone Blizzaks. They also kept the variables the same by testing the tires at the same air pressure and ambient temperature, 63 degrees Fahrenheit.

CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About This Tire Test

The test, braking from 60 mph to zero, was completed three times. The first run was pretty even with the Blizzaks bringing the car to a stop in 127.2 feet and the Yokohama’s completing the same task in 123.72. The second run, though, saw the Blizzaks fall behind the all-season’s by ten feet. The difference between the two tires was drastically different in the third run, as well, with the Blizzak tires once again trailing behind by roughly eight feet.

Why the stark contrast between the two tires? Well, we don’t want to completely spoil the video for you, but it boils down to the winter tire’s soft compound that degrades rapidly in warm weather. But to get the full lowdown on why winter tires shouldn’t be used in warmer weather, watch the video above.

Via [Engineering Explained]