Snow Tires Can Help Pave Way For Worry-free Winter Driving

By Maureen McDonald
Senior Editor
Michigan Bureau
The Auto Channel

As winter approaches, I'm already quivering with tension thinking about all the inept drivers on the road with inadequate tires. During the last snowstorm of 2017, a young driver slammed into my rear end as I waited to make a left turn into my neighborhood. The car was totaled and my back still feels the agony.

What became clear as asphalt in that instant of impact, is that caution isn't enough. Steering and stopping on snowy, icy roads or any combination of wintry mix is tricky because most all-season tires labor to grab the surface. The Federal Highway Administration claims 24 percent of all vehicle crashes are weather related.

What can I do to be safe? I took a couple days to practice winter driving techniques with the people from Michelin and Tire Rack in South Bend, Indiana. We took turns driving Kia SUVs on two ice arenas, comparing the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 snow tires and Michelin all-season tires. The "snows" allowed all of us to stop faster consistently with much less sliding. The all seasons were clearly misnamed.

I'd figured I'd be safe enough with all season tires and a good ABS/traction control system. All-season tires are engineered for a quiet ride, good tread life and fuel economy, but they lack the grip and sharp handling of a dedicated snow tire.

If the kid driving the Ford Taurus who totally crunched my VW Jetta rather abruptly had snow tires, he could have stopped squarely and quickly when he saw my tail lights and blinker. Nice clean stop instead of a messy slide that ended an inch from my gas tank. It was the automotive equivalent of an NHL charging penalty.

With snow tires on my Jetta, I could potentially make a quick left turn, assured I'd have the traction to complete the action without fishtailing, instead of waiting for a wide open lane.

Snow tires, according to Matt Edmonds, executive vice president of Tire Rack, a national online tire purveyor based in South Bend, said snow braking, handling, lateral adherence, low speed hill climbing and brakingare considerably enhanced by winter-specific tires. These tires are also capable of driving well on dry and wet conditions through cold weather months.

Newer snow tires are complex works of manufacturing art. They have cross sipes, these deep grooves designed to grip the pavement with room to spare, they have block edges that provide extra traction. The end blocks get their gripping power from the numerous sharp surrounding edges.

A driver still needs caution, but the tires grip the road and hold steady throughout the drive around town. An all-season tire stiffens and becomes brittle and thereby less agile in extreme cold whereas a snow tire like those of Michelin offers a combination of tread patterns to reduce snow buildup and sustain traction.