Before you go shopping, it is worth knowing that the largest tyre manufacturers provide warranty for passenger tyres from the date of their purchase, not production. By new tyres, we mean unused tyres, not just recently manufactured ones – tyres are not food with an expiry date! They do not lose their properties from the moment of their production – and produced even a few years ago, if stored in appropriate conditions, are a full-fledged product. Yes, tyres do age – but not in a period of 4-5 years, but rather 9-10 years. Thanks to market demand research we will not find tyres older than 3 years in the official distribution anyway, even for rare cars. Rubbers wear out mainly while driving, due to warming up, tension due to pressure, deformations and other factors that do not occur during the storage process
ADVANTAGES of all-season tyres:
DISADVANTAGES of all-season tyres:
Remember that even premium all-season tyres in summer will not be as good as summer tyres, and in winter they will not be as good as winter ones – which can be checked in their independent tests.
– Drivers often emphasize that all-season tyres save them money on a seasonal tyre change. That’s true, but this is only one side of the coin. First of all, a visit to a mechanic in order to replace tyres allows you to diagnose faults in the wheels or in the suspension – this is very important because tyres are exposed to numerous damages while driving. Secondly, we will spend the saved money much faster on… another set of tyres. Why? One of the disadvantages of all-season tyres is that they wear out faster – we use them all year round, and in summer, at higher temperatures, they wear down faster, because they have a softer compound than summer tyres. Although, of course, not as soft as winter ones – points out Piotr Sarnecki, general director of the Polish Tyre Industry Association (PTIA).
Increasingly longer and better expressways and motorways also do not benefit drivers who choose all-season tyres – the speed of our journeys is increasing and mileage is longer. Drivers who will change from seasonal tyres to the all-season type will surely feel the difference in road grip and rubber wear at higher speeds. It may therefore turn out that after 2 years such tyres will have to be disposed of due to the insufficient tread depth.
– Of course, not everyone drives on motorways to their holiday destination in summer or in winter for winter holidays, so for a certain group of drivers it is a good product. If someone drives mainly around the city, with a smaller car, drives calmly – then with mileage below 10,000 kilometres per year, it is worth considering buying an all-season set, but only of a reputable brand. The buyer must remember, however, that these will not be tyres that provide excellent grip in all conditions – adds Sarnecki.
Therefore, it is worth consulting a trusted tyre service if buying all-season tyres is a good idea for our driving style and car. The map of the workshops that have passed the TÜV SÜD audit and received the Polish Tyre Industry Association’s Certification of Tyre Services can be found on the website certyfikatoponiarski.pl. We should also make sure that the manufacturer actually specifies that a given tyre model is an all-season type – it is necessary that they have winter approval marked with a 3PMSF symbol (3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake). The M + S symbol itself – popular on tyres – is not enough. The new tyres should be at least in the middle price range – the price reflects the advancement of technologies used in the production of tyres and the quality of materials. Reputable manufacturers have better research facilities to design such blends.
Source: Polish Tyre Industry Association