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Winter tyres - why not use them year round?

At the moment there seems to be a campaign by the motor trade to inform drivers about the benefits of fitting winter tyres.

My question is: if they are so much better than normal tyres, even in dry conditions, and last as long as a normal tyre, why don't manufacturers fit them to cars in the first place? And why don't tyre manufacturer stop producing the normal ones altogether?

Asked on 18 November 2011 by alcastle

Answered by Honest John
Because the additional rubber content makes them more expensive and they are not suitable for year round use.

A tyre optimised for below 8 degrees can have problems with summer road surface temperatures as high as 60 degrees. There are compromise all weather tyres that are not quite as good as cold weather tyres in the winter and are not quite as good as warm weather tyres in the summer, but that can be left on all year round.

It isn't a campaign by the motor trade. It's people like me trying to save people's lives.
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