Difference Between All Terrain, Winter Rated, and Winter Tires

Find the Perfect Tire: http://tires.canadiantire.ca/en/tires Canadian Tire took three popular types of light truck tires to a renowned proving ground 160 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle and ran them through a series of tests to discover which tires performed best in wet, dry, snow, and ice conditions. We tested all terrain, winter rated all terrain, and dedicated winter tires. At first glance there is no large difference in the appearance of the tires. All have big deep treads and large tread blocks that look like they can tackle anything. So is there a difference? The answer is yes. The biggest variable is the chemistry of the rubber compound used in each tire. All terrain tires have a rubber compound that is designed for warmer weather use. Dedicated winter tires have a compound that grips better in colder temperatures and a tread pattern that is better suited for traction on snow and ice. Although winter rated all terrain tires can be used all year round, they offer only mediocre performance in winter and summer conditions. Our first test measured the braking performance of our three tires from 40 kilometers an hour to a dead stop on a snow packed course. The dedicated winter tires came to a full stop in 28 meters. The winter rated all terrain tires took 39 meters to come to a complete stop; a reasonable distance but not as short as winter tires. The all terrain tires took 56 meters to stop! That is an astonishing 50% stopping difference between our dedicated winter tire and our all terrain tire. Next we compared the tires traction in snow by running our SUV through a 90 degree radius turn at 40 kilometers an hour. The winter tires performed best, executing the corner cleanly. The winter rated all terrain tires did reasonably well on the turn with only a minor oversteer. The all terrain tires proved more problematic in the turn and experienced a dramatic understeer. Finally, we drove each set of tires to their limits on our customized road course. Our test driver provided his opinion on each tire's traction, control, and stability. The results were conclusive. Dedicated winter tires provide superior traction and control in cold, snowy conditions. As we've shown, all terrain tires don't provide the braking, cornering, or handling capabilities necessary for safe winter driving especially when compared to our dedicated winter tire. The conclusion? For typical snowy, icy, Canadian winters, when temperatures dip below seven degrees celsius, winter tires are the best and safest choice for driving and you'll find the best selection of light truck tires for all types of conditions at Canadian Tire!

Comments

1. I just got a set of Nokian Rotiiva AT all terrain all weather tires for my 4Runner. A great 3 season choice for a mid size SUV. And very hand when it is not yet winter (December) and not quite spring (March/April) but the temps are still around 0C compromising regular all terrain tires. I will still use winter tires for the snowy season Jan-March.
2. Winter tires belong in the city with the shopping trolleys and hockey moms, utter garbage on dirt and gravel with ice, slush and snow. I'll stick with my BFG KO2s year round thanks.
3. why use a dedicated winter tire in the summer?
4. Bought my Cooper Discoverer AT / W at Canadian Tire and was told they are the best in winter driving and all year round.
5. I need from all terrain to snow tires
6. The thing is that we ant professional drivers I men some of us so how the fuck do you guys expect us to drift on snow?
7. nah u aint try the right bf goodrich all terrains
8. Interco q78 superswampers. Good for mud and skinny for snow
9. meh. ill air down my all terrains and throw it in 4 high if im uncomfortable...
10. general grabber at2 is a beast in snow. winter rated and studdable
11. What most of these tests fail to address is how the tires handle in SLUSHY conditions. Slush is the absolute worst in my opinion. Worse than ice, and worse than snow, because it's very dense and the tire rides ontop of this heavy liquid. An all terrain winter rated tire like the duratracs are good for these conditions because the deep tread blocks go through the slush to the road. Winter tires don't have deep treads so they don't perform any differently than any other tire in slushy conditions.
12. wow that was stupid.. what about winter tire vs a/t winter tire in all year round conditions
13. Lets see the BFG KO2 in this testing! I'm curious how good that mud/ snow terrain tire is versus the rest.
14. just don't bring them winter tires to Arizona; ) we run A/T
15. Pretty accurate if straight-forward assessment. My experience has been about the same. I've currently got the Goodyear Duratrac winter-rated AT tire (shown in this video) mounted on a F-150. It fares pretty well in the winter--enough that I decided not to buy winter tires for the first couple of seasons--but not nearly as good as the dedicated winters I had on my last vehicle.
16. could you put one snow tire on a car? My girlfriend's father installed a winter tire to replace one front tire and it drives weird now
17. I live in Florida this is useless
18. Deciding between all terrains and mud terrains for the jeep...
19. No shit Sherlock. Winter tires are better on snow then all year or all terrain?? I'd never guess..What about putting the inter and all year on a test in autumn or spring and compare it that way.