![\"Resultado](\"https:\/\/c.tsw.ie\/media\/blog\/winterbanden_2.jpg\")
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True or false: A tire with the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol stamped on the sidewall is always a winter tire. The answer is false: A winter tire must be branded with the symbol, but that alone doesn’t make it a winter tire.<\/p>\n
True or false: The 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol is a better indication of winter performance than the M+S designation. The answer is true: The 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol is a performance standard, while the M&S designation is a visual standard.<\/p>\n
To better understand these answers is the first step in defining a winter tire that’s suitable for wintery conditions<\/a>.<\/p>\n The M&S designation developed in the 1970s as a way of distinguishing tires with aggressive tread patterns from bias-ply tires with the more traditional ribbed patterns, according to Woody Rogers, tire information specialist at The Tire Rack Inc.<\/p>\n “At the time, aggressive tread is where they achieved better\u00a0traction,” Rogers said. “Of course, they changed the compounding a little bit, too.”<\/p>\n “But M+S isn’t a performance standard,” he\u00a0said. “It is merely a visual standard. The tread pattern has to have at least 25% open space from a two-dimensional standpoint. And it has to have a \u00bd-inch notch in one shoulder every so often.<\/p>\n “That’s it. You could take a 1965 bias rib tire, open it up just a little bit, put a notch in one shoulder, and that is an M+S tire. It has nothing to do with how much traction it actually has in the mud or on snow.”<\/p>\n Here is the Tire Information Service Bulletin (Vol. 10, No. 7) that defines snow tire definitions for passenger and light truck tires, courtesy of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA):<\/p>\n Passenger and light truck tires meeting the following criteria are marked on at least one sidewall with the letters “M” and “S” (e.g., MS, M\/S, M&S, M+S, etc.). These tires have been designed to provide better starting, stopping, and driving performance in snow conditions than non-M&S tires, and have the following general characteristics:<\/p>\n The new tire tread shall have multiple pockets or slots in at least one tread edge that meet the following requirements based on mold dimensions:<\/p>\n In 1999 USTMA (formerly the Rubber Manufacturers Association) and Rubber Association of Canada (RAC) jointly defined tires for use in severe snow conditions.<\/p>\n The mountain snowflake symbol doesn’t replace the M+S designation, it just adds to it. Here is the Tire Information Service Bulletin (Vol 37, No. 5) that defines passenger and light truck tires for use in severe snow conditions:<\/p>\n “The 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol brought a performance standard, albeit a very narrow one, to tire ratings,” says Rogers. “Unlike M+S, the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake is like a merit badge. You’ve actually accomplished something.”<\/p>\n Rogers says the standard reference test tire (SRTT) mentioned in the severe snow conditions bulletin is the Uniroyal Tiger Paw, which has a fixed specification for how it’s made and how it’s compounded.<\/p>\n “Its performance hasn’t really changed while it’s been the SRTT.”<\/p>\n Over the last 20 years, snow tires have transformed into “winter” tires because they can grip not only on snow and ice, but also on dry and wet road surfaces in low temperatures.<\/p>\n They have evolved so much that the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol isn’t synonymous with what the manufacturers refer to as winter tires.<\/p>\n When the Canadian Province of Quebec made driving on winter tires mandatory during the 2008-2009 winter season, the tires only were required to meet the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake performance standards, which includes branding the symbol onto the sidewall.<\/p>\n In the last 10 years, USTMA and its members have helped define winter tires more accurately. Joe Maher, product manager for Continental Tire the Americas LLC’s passenger and winter tires in the U.S., says the overall tire market is divided into four classifications:<\/p>\n Maher says there are three types of dedicated winter tires.<\/p>\n “There’s studdable winter tires, which have holes for studs in them. Some actually have studs already in, while some get studs installed by dealers.<\/p>\n “Then you have what’s commonly termed a performance winter tire. Performance winter tires are sometimes referred to as middle-European tires. They have a heavy focus on wet traction, not as much on snow and ice.<\/p>\n “And then you have studless winter tires, which are also called Nordic or soft compound winter tires.”<\/p>\n Maher says Continental’s new VikingContact 7 falls into the studless category.<\/p>\n “The best overall performer is a studless tire. Not quite as good as a studded tire on ice, but it’s still the better overall performer.”<\/p>\n Four tire companies have introduced dedicated winter tires since the beginning of the year: Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC (Blizzak WS90), Nokian Tires Plc (Hakkapelliitta LT3), Continental (VikingContact 7) and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (WinterCommand. It’s actually five if you count Goodyear’s Kelly WinterAccess.<\/p>\n by Bob Ulrich<\/p>\nMud and Snow<\/h4>\n
![\"Shipments](\"https:\/\/fleetimages.bobitstudios.com\/upload\/automotive-fleet\/content\/article\/3-2019\/us-passenger-tire-shipments.jpg\")
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3-Peak Mountain Snowflake<\/h4>\n
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Winter vs. Snow Tires<\/h4>\n
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![\"JMF\"](\"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/JMF-150x150.jpg\")
I\u00b4m\u00a0a Fleet Management expert, and the manager of\u00a0![\"\"](\"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Cartel-Valencia-2019-1.jpg\")
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