Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeremy617
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2008/0...questions_ans/
Q. Are "all weather" tires winter tires?
A. The all weather tire is another designation that’s thrown around especially by a couple of brand names. It’s a tire that’s just soft enough or just pliable enough to qualify as a winter tire that’s in the compound of the tread blocks, but designed to be used all year long, more like an all season. The problem is that it’s not perfect at either thing. It’s still too hard to be fully optimized as a winter tire. You’re better off getting a pure winter tire.
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This is pretty much bang on. Noikan was the first "all weather" tire. They have a dual compound tire on their asymetrical tread. Inside gets the softer rubber and outside gets the harder blockier all season rubber. Softer rubber is better when it is cold, and the harder blockier rubber makes the tire better on the highway, so they claim.
The downside to this is that these tires cost an arm and a leg since Kal Tire is the only place that sells the Noikans in Canada. And they wear out fast because of the softer compound.
Put it this way, I wouldn't trust less than 50% tread in the snow.
But this tire is meant for people who are too lazy or don't have storage for a set of dedicated snow tires.