Experts Pick Winter Tires for Safer Snow Driving
Brad FickCar and Driver
This article was updated in December 2022. Note: These tires were not tested by our staff; this list relies on expert recommendations.
If you live in a region that sees hefty amounts of ice, snow, and slush in the winter—or find yourself traveling to places that suffer from that kind of weather—we highly recommend that you invest in a set of winter tires. You may think that your all-season tires have you covered, but all-season tires might not be great in winter conditions.
Winter tires, on the other hand, use specialized rubber compounds and tread designs that are engineered to maximize traction in freezing temperatures and on icy surfaces.
Expert Picks
Considerations on Buying Winter Tires
Winter-tire treads have specially engineered grooves, channels, and biting edges designed to dig into snow and push water away from the tire’s contact patch.Winter tires come in shapes and sizes to fit all vehicles: there are passenger-car winter tires, high-performance winter tires, SUV winter tires, and even truck winter tires. If you can’t find a winter tire that fits your vehicle from our list of recommendations, try using Tire Rack’s selection tool. The pricing of tires depends at least partially on the size you require; bigger usually means more expensive. For this reason, we’ve blocked the pricing below.For safety, only fit winter tires in sets of four. We find it convenient to have winter tires mounted on a separate set of steel or alloy wheels, so they’re always ready to bolt on. That way, you don’t have to get them swapped at a tire shop every fall and spring.
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