Can You Drive on Winter Tires in the Summer?

While drivers are always looking for ways to save money on car maintenance, and no one really enjoys spending their afternoon waiting in a tire shop lounge while their tires are changed, deciding to drive all summer on winter tires isn't the place where drivers can cut corners. Winter tires have very specific design elements that make them unsuitable for summer driving.

While most people may think of the physical design of the winter tire, its chemical makeup is just as important. Because cold temperatures make everything stiffer and more likely to crack, winter tire material must counteract this by being more pliant as temperatures drop. While this is useful in subzero temperatures, the same property becomes a liability in the summer, when the warm temperatures make winter tires sluggish on hot roads.

The pattern of winter tires, with their grooves and nubby texture, make them perfect for driving in snow. In the summer, more contact with the road's surface gives better performance, meaning that winter tires will reduce your response time when braking or cornering.