Ice, Water, Mud: How Your Tyres Really Handle Winter

With motorists taking to the road day after day, often facing varied conditions thanks to the UK’s unpredictable winter weather, most of us take for granted the hard work our tyres are doing to keep us safe on the road.

We sat down with the experts at Davanti Tyres who rigorously research and develop a wide range of tyres at leading facilities in extreme conditions, including the Arctic, to understand more about the science behind tyre technology, and exactly how they work to keep us safe in the winter.

Increasing control on ice

When tyres come across icy surfaces, they not only hit cold temperatures, but also face reduced friction compared with thawed surfaces. This means that tyres can be more likely to slide, as well as see an increase in stopping distances. As a result, winter tyres have been engineered to help improve friction in these conditions.

The rubber compound of a winter tyre has been designed to remain flexible in colder temperatures, so that the surface of the tyre remains soft and pliable. This is key to ensuring the tyre maintains as much contact as possible with the road surface, particularly when driving over ice, and ultimately provides more control.

As well as a specific compound engineered for colder weather, winter tyres – including the Davanti Wintoura range – have three-dimensional sipes on the tyre tread, which act like claws and help ‘bite’ into an icy surface, to help gain traction. This traction is vital to give the driver control, whether that be for braking or accelerating.

The Davanti Alltoura 4-Seasons range presents another option for winter driving, having undergone comprehensive winter testing at Test World in Finland. The tyres are Three Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) certified, which makes them legally approved to be driven in countries with winter tyre legislation.

Reclaiming the road in the rain

Rain reduces a tyre's grip by creating a thin layer of water between the tread and the road. This makes it harder to steer and brake safely, and significantly increases the risk of aquaplaning. If water can't escape the tread quickly enough, tyres can lift off the road surface, losing contact and potentially doubling stopping distance. Therefore for vehicles travelling across tricky terrains, but also navigating unpredictable rainy, or even snowy weather conditions, they may opt for the Alltoura 4 Season’s. The Alltoura features deep longitudinal grooves and solid outer-shoulder blocks which allow the tyres to tackle snow and icy surfaces, as well as providing superior grip on wet roads - all season tyres come with the added advantage of not needing to switch out your summer tyres for winter ones whenever the weather takes a turn.

On winter tyres, you will find an intricately designed tread pattern which helps increase water dispersion and in turn, grip. For example, on Davanti Wintoura tyres, there are three main non-uniform circumferential grooves and solid-joined outer blocks which provide efficient water dispersion. With greater water dispersion, there is more consistent contact with the road surface which in turn helps drivers with precise steering when hitting standing water.

Leaving Davanti’s mark in mud

Many standard tyres aren’t designed to handle thick, deep mud. The loose, sticky nature of mud means tyres can find it hard to gain grip, with shallow grooves in the tread becoming congested with mud. This build up causes the tyres to take on a smooth, slick surface which leads to wheel spin.

Enter: mud-terrain tyres. Featuring dominant tread patterns with large, raised rubber blocks between deep channels, these are designed to trap mud, find grip on firmer layers underneath, and then disperse the mud out and away from the tyre as it rotates.

The Davanti Terratoura M/T tyre features wide grooves to help disperse mud, as well as shoulder blocks which edge around onto the tyre’s sidewall to help with traction where lateral grip may be harder to find. To further help ‘bite’ into those muddy surfaces, mud terrain tyre tread patterns often feature alternative shoulder blocks to create a ‘sawtooth’ effect.

Another option for drivers facing challenging terrains and weather conditions this winter is the Terratoura A/T - which is an all-weather, all-terrain tyre.

The tyre features two deep longitudinal grooves running its circumference, which effectively evacuates water to prevent aquaplaning, whilst maintaining contact with the road, a perfect feature for wet driving conditions, especially here in the rainy UK.

When it comes to cold weather performance, the Terratoura A/T also offers Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake winter certification, making this a safe and reliable option for those colder months. The tyres deep tread and grooves will not only help bite into the mud, but snow too, for enhanced grip, dispersing water and slush effectively.

The 5 rib A/T pattern design provides exceptional performance both on and off-road. This tread design gives the Terratoura A/T assured traction in all weather conditions alongside enhanced tread compounds that deliver the durability required for off-road endurance, making it a great option for unpredictable driving conditions.

Next time you hit the road through ice, puddles or mud, spare a thought for your tyres - they’re working overtime to keep you and other motorists safe on the road.