What are winter tires?

Answer 1

Tires manufactured specifically for winter-time driving. They are made for passenger automobiles, as well as trucks, heavy machinery, etc. The point of them is for the driver to gain better traction on snowy or icy roads. The treads are cut deeper and wider, there is usually some additional steel belting added to the interior of the tire for extra strength. Sometimes they are used to avoid installing and removing snow chains to the tires in the winter months. Most dealerships hesitate to recommend them, as the modern steel-belted radial tire does ok, except in the most severe weather and terrain. One downside to using them is that they create considerably more road noise than standard tires....a mid-range whirr kind of sound. Another downside is in normal driving they wear faster and do not last as long as standard tires.