The 4 season tiresalso known as tires “All Season” And “4Season“, they are a type of tire designed to be used in all seasons of the year with excellent performances in a variety of road conditions in different situations meteorological. All-season tires have performance characteristics that are a compromise between those of summer tires e from the winter tires.
All-season tyres
The 4 season tires they are designed to effectively adapt to a wide range of climate conditions and road surface types. They offer reliable grip both on dry and wet roadsas well as on cold or covered floors snow. Furthermore, they also perform well on muddy terrain and on terrain covered with very slippery wet grass. These tires are particularly suitable for climates characterized by winters with moderate and not excessively cold temperatures.
While they provide acceptable performance during summer and winter, it is important to note that they do not excel in extreme weather conditions like specialized tires designed specifically for such situations. All-season tires are a convenient choice for those who live in regions with mild winters and wish to avoid the hassle of seasonal tire changes.
Characteristic all-season tyres
At a construction level, all-season tires are distinguished from summer and winter tires by two main characteristics:
- Mix: the rubber compound used is richer in silica than that of summer tyres, to guarantee greater grip on wet and cold surfaces.
- Tread: the tread design is characterized by sipes and larger grooves, which improve grip on slippery surfaces.
How to recognize them, what distinguishes them
Compared to summer tires, all-season tires usually have a deeper tread and a more aggressive design that improves traction on slippery or wet surfaces.
All-season tires can be recognized by the marking on the side shoulder, which usually includes the symbol “M+S” (Mud and Snow) it’s a mountain with a snowflake. This symbol indicates that the tire is approved for use in winter conditions and complies with the European standard EN 14905, which requires that all-season tires are able to guarantee adequate grip on snow-covered surfaces. In some countries they may also be marked with the symbol “3PMSF” (Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake), which is further confirmation of their suitability for winter conditions.
Pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages
Between pro from the 4 season tires there are practicality, costs and compliance with regulations every day of the year.
- Practicality: All-season tires allow you to drive all year round without having to change the tires twice a year.
- Costs: the purchase and maintenance costs are lower than those of purchasing 4 summer tires, 4 winter tires and related costs for seasonal changes and any storage costs.
- Regulations: you are in compliance with the Highway Code and can drive on the roads in winter season where there is an obligation to use anti-slip equipment imposed by law without risking sanctions.
However some against there is and these are the limits compared to pure summer or winter tires.
- Performance: they do not offer the same performance as summer or winter tires in their most extreme climatic conditions, such as scorching heat and dry asphalt and icy snow on steep slopes where a winter tire could handle better. For those who are very demanding about the driving feeling, a summer tire is more precise and sincere in cornering than an all-season tire and certainly even more so than a pure winter tyre.
- Duration: the durability may be slightly lower than that of summer tyres, but it is certainly longer than that of winter tyres. Some major tire manufacturers have made giant strides in this aspect of mileage, such as Michelin on the CrossClimate 2.
How the all-season tire behaves on snow
Watch the video with a road test of a 4-season tire GT Radial 4Season measure 195/55 R16 tested on an electric car Renault Zoe.
Let’s analyze the different performances through a comparative braking test between 4 types of configuration: 4 season tyre, winter tyre, summer tire and summer tire with chains.
Snow braking test with winter tires compared to all-season and summer tires with chains
On the braking test from 50 km/h to zero on snow carried out with a Citroen C3 equipped with ABS, these are the performance differences recorded between winter, 4 season, summer and summer tires with chains in the stopping space visible in the graph below.
There winter rubber confirms the excellent winter qualities by stopping the Citroën C3 in 25.4 meters; the result is also very good 4 season rubber which causes the car to stop 26 meters net.
With the summer tires and chains, instead, the car stalls 38.9 metersmaking the ABS work continuously due to the continuous micro wheel locks and the need for the chain to dig the snow before becoming effective, so much so that the residual speed, referred to the point at which the winter tire stops, is well 23.6 km/h, which is a very high value. Braking is decidedly long with the summer tire reaching 63.9 metres. The worst is the summer, inadequate for use on snow: it almost requires 64 meters to stop the car and maintains an incredible residual speed of 31.1 km/h.
Watch the video on Michelin CrossClimate 2 all-season tyres measure 215/65 R16tested aboard a Dacia Duster on the roads surrounding the Turano Lake.
You might be interested in (in fact I recommend):
👉 Winter vs summer tyres, snow and ice tests
👉 Car snow socks. What are they, what are they for?
👉 Tips on how to prepare your car for the cold of winter
👉 EVERYTHING ABOUT TIRES
👉 HOW TO DRIVE IN THE SNOW
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