Footlong does a good job of explaining. However, I wouldnt use traditional to describe any of the winter tires now available. Winter tire technology has come a long way and there is nothing tradional about them. You basically have the R, Q and T rated winters that offer the best deep snow and ice capability. The tread is softer and extremely flexible and you do often see a more aggressive tread. Helps with deep snow and ice. With the softer tread the tires do better in ice, but wear much quicker in dry pavement and warmer conditions +5 and above. For those of us who live in more Urban areas of the Country... we dont drive in ice and snow through the whole winter. We get winter storms that come and go and the rest of the time we are driving on wet and dry pavement. We commute on freeways and drive high-speed when doing so. In this scenario the R, Q and T-rated tires can seem soft and unstable and wear rather quickly. This is where the H and V-Rated winters are great. They offer a firmer casing and tread design. The still offer very good snow and ice performance, but with the stiffer sidewall and tread offer better stability and tread life. Although not exactly like stock all-season/summer, they drive much more similarly than the softer R, Q and T-rated tires.
If you live in an urban area and do a lot of commuting or own a heavy sedan or performance vehicle the H and V-Rated would be a better choice. If you live in a rural area or are an avid skiier that only cares about getting to the mountain or down the unplowed alley way...then the R, Q and T-rated are the way to go....
Morty,
As always a very detailed explanation to a, what everyone thinks, simple question.
Been a long time lurker and was about to post a similar question because I'm looking for winter tires for my '99 Accord.
So far my choices are:
Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2
Nokian Hakka 2
Pirelli 210 Sottozero
Kumho KW17 or KW19 - (1 of Morty's favourite's)
Any comments would be appreciated.
I know that there are numerous discussions about these tires, and like most people I want a quality tire for a reasonable price.
I also want to hopefully get 4 winters out of the tires. And I know there isn't ONE tire that does it all.
The winter conditions in the GTA are usually wet/dry pavement for most of the winter and then a couple of weeks of snow/slush/ice.
Right now I drve on H-rated all season tires and there are too many choices for winter tires. I prefer to stay with a H-rated or T-rated winter tire.
Thanks and I always enjoy this forum and everyone's feedback.
Cheers!!