Quote:
Originally Posted by BavarianFanatic
Absolutely correct. The biggest difference in winter tires is the compound, not the tread pattern. They are far more compliant at low temps. In fact, you should avoid driving on them for long once the weather warms up as they'll wear very quickly. The tread has many, many "sipes" which are very small and closely spaced channels that aid in the evacuation of water. A little known fact - ice is only slippery because of the boundary layer of water between the ice and the tire (or you feet, etc.). The abundance of tiny sipes, in combination with the very pliable compound are very efficient at getting through the water to the ice itself.
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Great post! Lots of good stuff I never knew. Does water form on the ice surface when the ambient temperature is significantly less than freezing? Is this the reason why driving near freezing temperature is the most dangerous?
Any idea how winter performance tires differ from regular winter tires? I have some PA4 tires and am slightly worried about wear with all these warm days we've had. I went with PA4's instead of LM60's because I heard Blizzak's wear out twice as fast - according to the tire guy at costco (I know not a great source).