A guide to different types of car tyres from Napier Parking

Most cars in the UK use all-season tyres as standard, however there are in fact several different kinds of tyres, each with its own advantages and disadvantages in various weather and road conditions. Here, Napier Parking explains four of the most common kinds.

All-season tyres, as the name suggests, are designed to be adaptable to every kind of weather condition and road surface. However because they are not constructed for any one condition in particular, they can lack road grip in certain circumstances, especially when it’s snowing and surfaces are icy. If used during the winter months, all-season tyres need to be very well maintained in order to provide sufficient grip.

Run flat tyres are a recent development in the motor industry, and are proving to be quite popular in the UK. These tyres allow the motorist to continue to safely drive the car even after one of the tyres has been punctured. These are mostly used by those who are either not confident about changing a tyre, or whose car doesn’t have enough space for a spare. Run flat tyres use rubber rim clips and reinforced sidewalls in order to support the weight of the car in the event of a puncture.

Considering how much more aware drivers are nowadays about pollution caused by cars, it’s no wonder that environmentally friendly tyres are now more common than ever before. Napier Parking says that these tyres have been designed to lower fuel consumption, without having an effect on the overall performance of the vehicle. These tyres have a low rolling resistance, and are produced using silica in the tread; this affects the amount of energy the tyre will absorb as it turns. When these types of tyres were first made a few years ago, lowering a tyre’s rolling resistance, and subsequently reducing fuel consumption resulted in the tyre losing its ability to grip the road in wet conditions. However the introduction of the above-mentioned silica has eliminated this problem.

According to Napier Parking, winter tyres have only become popular in the UK over the last three years, as our winter seasons have become more and more severe. These tyres are designed to allow the driver to grip the road in cold and wet conditions, making them perfect for those who need to drive when it’s snowing outside. Some of the key characteristics of winter tyres include a deeper tread groove, ‘sipes’ which are jagged slits which cover the tread block surface, and the use of a soft rubber compound. It is the ‘sipes’ which have the most obvious effect on the tyres ability to grip wet and icy roads, because these supply several hundred extra ‘edges’ which cling to the road surface as the car tyres turn.