It goes without saying that winter tires are only intended for winter conditions. Yet more and more people continue to drive on winter tires in the summer. That’s not a good idea for several reasons.
Trade association inspectors BOVAG this month examined the tires of 1248 parked cars in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Roermond and Arnhem. What turned out? Of the cars viewed, 97 had one or more winter tyres. That amounts to 7.8 percent. The percentage has increased considerably compared to previous years, when the average was 5.5 percent.
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Dangerous in summer
This phenomenon is a problem because winter tires are eminently unsuitable for use during the summer. In fact, it can even be dangerous. Winter tires are made of softer rubber and have extra grooves in the profile. On snow and ice, this improves grip and handling. But in the summer, the grip that the tires have on the road deteriorates considerably compared to summer tyres. Especially in curves they are much more unstable.
The specific properties of winter tires ensure, among other things, a longer braking distance, and the rolling resistance is also higher. This results in higher fuel consumption. The soft rubber of winter tires also wears out faster. As a result, they need to be replaced sooner and they produce more particulate matter.
Save costs
According to BOVAG, the reason why people still choose to leave winter tires on all year round has to do with the costs. They simply choose to skip the tire change because they think it will save money. Tires are also not high on the list of priorities for car maintenance.
This statement is supported by a striking finding from the study: many cars had different tire types and brands. It even happened that this was the case on the same axis. This indicates deferred maintenance. In the short term this may indeed be cheaper, but in the longer term it is usually more expensive.
four-season tape
An economical solution to the problem can be found with the all-season tyre. These tires combine the properties of summer and winter tires and are suitable for use all year round. So you don’t have to change your tires twice a year. The study by BOVAG shows that about 32 percent of people already opt for this.