As the weather warms up, you’re probably thinking about the annual transition from winter tires to all-weather tires. Late winter and early spring can be so changeable, though. 

All-weather tires have benefits that other tires don’t. They’re designed to handle the unpredictable weather of spring, including rain and lingering cold snaps. Similar weather is common in autumn. As seasons shift, all-weather tires can provide a smooth transition without swapping tires.

Understanding all-weather tires

The best all-weather tires have a unique design and are built with special materials that better equip them for cold temperatures and slushy roads. All-weather tires are generally made up of the following components:

• Natural rubber: This material stretches. It’s first gathered as latex and then refined into rubber. It’s sensitive to temperature so it can adapt to changes in weather.
• Synthetic rubber (or styrene-butadiene rubber): This material is made by thermally cracking naphtha from petroleum. This acts as a supporting agent for the natural rubber’s capabilities.
• Sulfur: Natural rubber has low intermolecular strength, so it’s more susceptible to oxidization and temperature. However, by mixing sulfur with rubber, they form crosslinks between isoprene polymers which improves its strength.
• Carbon black: This is a powder derived from carbon that reinforces the rubber. It improves the handling, friction wear, UV wear, and abrasion resistance of performance tires 
• Silica: This material is added to the others to improve the tire’s lifespan. Silica helps reduce wear and friction from rolling resistance, which in turn improves fuel economy. 

All-weather tires are shaped differently than all-season tires are. They’re made to withstand varying temperatures, conditions, and terrain. The treads will be deeper and wider to allow mud, sludge, and snow to pass through the tire instead of affecting its ability to grip the road. The spaces within the treads are shaped in such a way as to wick away water easily.

Benefits of transitioning with all-weather tires

When the weather can be so unpredictable, it pays to use all-weather tires that can perform as well in any conditions.

1. Safety in unpredictable weather

All-weather tires will take you through a cold, snowy road in the morning, to a wet, muddy road in the afternoon. As the seasons shift from winter to spring and from autumn to winter, plenty of weather conditions are possible within one day. All-weather tires can manage these conditions and take you around safely.

2. Cost-effectiveness and convenience

All-weather tires can be used year-round so you’re paying less on tires, and you don’t have to worry about swapping your tires out each season. The materials used also work toward making more fuel-efficient tires which will lower your vehicle’s fuel consumption.

3. Choosing the right all-weather tires

Choosing the best all-weather tires that will fit your vehicle is a simple process. Check out this page with all your options. Ratings and features are outlined to shop for the set that will work for you.

Factors to consider

As always, before you can benefit from the safety, efficiency, and performance of all-weather tires, you must know what your vehicle type is, and what your driving habits are. Performance tires will differ depending on the type of vehicle, such as a light truck, commercial truck, or passenger vehicle.

Don’t forget about your driving habits. How, where, and why we drive are important factors when equipping your vehicle with performance tires. A small passenger vehicle that just needs to make it to work and back won’t receive many benefits if it’s driving with light truck tires made for off-roading. Ask yourself the following questions:

• How are you driving? Do you accelerate and brake aggressively? Are you driving long lengths or just a quick trip to work?
• Where are you driving? What are the road conditions? Are you driving on uneven, broken terrain, or smooth pavement? Are you driving in areas that reach deep freeze temperatures or areas that fluctuate in temperature throughout the day?
• Why are you driving? Are you carrying heavy loads? Shifting from city to off-road driving? Are you trying to be as fuel-efficient as possible?

Best all-weather tires from Sailun

Check out this spotlight on the Atrezzo 4Season all-weather tire. This tire combines the best traits of a performance all-season tire with the traction and grip of our renowned winter tire lineup. The unique directional asymmetric tread pattern is engineered to deliver all-season and winter performance. 

The 4Season features a specially formulated rubber compound that remains responsive in sub-zero temperatures to provide relentless and predictable performance throughout the year. It has slots and sipes to maximize biting edges for improved traction and stopping power on wet and snow.

It also uses an outside tread block design to provide stable and responsive handling on dry roads. For other performance tires, start browsing here.