Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Cow Pat
I would think that in our country most tyres fitted by manufacturers would be 'summer tyres' as we have more warm wet days, than cold snowy days. You can of course use a summer tyre in the winter, it will just not perform at its best in those conditions. Most people would not want the compromises that an 'all season' tyre gives. As it is neither a summer tyre nor a winter tyre, it is somewhere in-between. It performs better in warm weather than a winter tyre but not as good as a summer tyre and it performs better in cold weather than a summer tyre but not as good as a winter tyre. It is a compromise. The benefits are that you only need one set of tyres for all seasons, you just need to replace them more often.
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We as enthusiasts know this; but I would think the majority of people buying an average car that is just to get from A to B for the majority of people - e.g. not a "sport" model or a BMW etc. - couldn't care less about the handling etc. being compromised a bit in summer by using an all-season tyre. Most people won't think twice about their tyres, they certainly won't change them over to Winters, and neither they nor their car will be capable of or particularly interested in noting the handling compromise of all-season vs summer. Obviously we're not talking about a BMW here, but of the many cars sold - e.g. smaller cars - I doubt they'll be fitted with performance Summer tyres?! All-season would be the safest option as the manufacturers know in 9 times out of 10 the owners won't pay any attention to the tyres, and they'll be running those same tyres all winter? I could be wrong, but I would be surprised if your average car came fitted with performance Summer tyres...