It’s about the time of year that most of us get our winter tires swapped off for the summer ones. We’ve always heard that we have to do this because winter tires just don’t perform as well in warm weather as summer tires do and now there is empirical evidence of that fact.
Jason Fenske of Engineering Explained recently uploaded a video with a braking distance test for a set of winter tires and all-season tires. As the winter tires heated up from use, the braking distances became longer and longer and were noticeably worse than the all-seasons’.
This is because a winter tire made from a softer compound that’s designed to remain flexible and grippy in low temperatures. The winter tires did not perform as well under braking in warmer temperatures because the soft compound was just wearing off rather than holding its shape and stopping the car, Fenske mused.
Check out the video and see for yourself.