Benefits and Drawbacks of Studded Winter Tires

Posted January 18th 2016

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What are studded tires?

Driving on wet, slushy and icy roads can be a scary and risky endeavour. Studded winter tires have been the preferred choice for hundreds of vehicle owners. Advances in tire technology have resulted in two main choices for customers: Studded and stud-less tires. Read on for some important benefits as well as drawbacks of using studded tires.

The information will help vehicle owners decide on the most suitable choice of Edmonton winter tires for their unique requirement .Studded tires are essentially winter tires that have plastic or metal studs for added traction.

Benefits of Studded Winter Tires

If you happen to live in an extremely cold, mountainous or icy area, studded winter tires can help you negotiate corners and bends. Studded tires are meant for improved traction performance including braking, accelerating, cornering as well as grade-climbing. Among these, the two most important benefits offered by studded tires include deceleration and braking. Studded tires are designed in a way that uses radial force and weight of the car to increase grip and traction.

In addition, studded tires are associated with reduced friction between locked-wheel braking and optimum slip-up.  In simple language, this means that studded tires provide improved braking potential for anti-lock brakes. Moreover, drivers are less likely to misjudge braking distance. Studded Edmonton tires are also more cost-effective compared to stud-less winter tires. 

Drawbacks of Studded Winter Tires

However, one thing needs to be kept in mind: Studded tires tend to lose their traction when studs wear down; this typically happens when the studs wear down to roughly 0.6mm. In addition, studded tires are known to cause rutting of pavement and damage to pavement markings (their use is prohibited in some US states). Also, studded tires may not always offer optimal performance while negotiating slush and soft snow.