There are a lot of differences between passenger cars and SUVs, where the SUVs are larger and heavier and tend to be safer vehicles according to crash and survival data. They do however both need to use winter tires or at least winter approved tires when driving in winter conditions. All-season tires are not intended for winter use and are therefore not approved for those conditions. The reason why they aren’t approved is that the rubber compound used in them will become hard as they are optimized for warm temperatures, not freezing levels.
Winter tires have soft rubber compounds that allow them to stay flexible and agile in order to generate high friction so they can provide as good grip as possible. You will need this excellent grip on slippery surfaces such as ice, snow and slush. This is why you need premium tires. The tread pattern also has to be engineered in the way that you can most effectively combine both performance and safety packed into one tire. The tires will use either metal studs as in the studded tires or then unique tread design combined with the addition of gripping particles that will create an abrasive tread surface area.
Since winter tires outperform all-season tires when the temperature drops below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, so shouldn’t wait for snow to come, just change as the temperature drops. If snow falls before you have changed your tires, then you will have to leave your vehicle behind and find alternative transportations. Do not try to drive with all-season tires. You can only blame yourself for not changing tires before the snow arrived. Having an SUV might give you the feeling that you will be safe driving even though you haven’t changed the tires, but hard all-season tires with the wrong tread design for winter conditions will not be sufficient. A heavy and large SUV will need even better grip to ensure that it can stop on snow or ice without skidding. A vehicle is only as safe as its weakest link and in this case it will be the tires.
All vehicles that uses public roads during the winter season when there is snow or ice present, should have tires that are approved for winter use. Tires that are approved for winter use should have the severe service emblem on the sidewall of the tires. This means that they have passed the stringent tests on ice and snow to ensure that they are safe in these conditions. This is what you will need on your vehicle when you face winter conditions. You will need to have excellent grip and traction to be able to safely be able to stop at crossings, taking corners or accelerate. Without having this your vehicle you might not make it far. So make sure that you purchase premium tires for the best performance and safety and change the tires in good time.
For more information regarding premium winter tires for passenger cars and SUVs, then visit: www.nokiantires.com