As vehicle design and technology has advanced over the years – tyres have done the same to cope with heavier faster cars with more advanced braking systems. Because other parts of the world have extreme winter versus summer conditions, winter tyres have been specially developed over many years and work best in temperatures under 7 degrees Celsius. They look like normal tyres but perform differently.

Cold weather/winter tyres gives significant safety advantages in wet and icy conditions – up to a bus length and a half shorter stopping distance! Their superior grip helps maintain control.

If you see a winter tyre up close, you’ll spot that the tread is different to a more conventional summer tyre. The contact patch of a winter tyre is more rugged: they’re covered in thousands of sipes. On snow, it’s these little crevices that bite into the soft stuff, giving the driver grip. A regular tyre’s channels quickly become clogged with compacted snow and effectively become a racing slick, hence the Bambi-on-frozen-lake handling.