Are your tires ready for deep snow?

Despite this autumn being unusually warm, the cold is taking its toll, and the first snow in some regions will arrive very soon. It's worth noting that the first snow, after falling, usually melts completely. This is especially characteristic of the central part of Russia. Nevertheless, you have less and less time to prepare for winter conditions. It's essential to ensure that your tires are ready for deep snow, as cases where municipal services fail to clear the snow and cars get stuck on the roads, even without entering the courtyards where the snow is cleared last, are not uncommon.

Here are a few important points under which a tire is considered simply unsuitable for deep snow:

- The tread wear should be even. Often, you can find tires with uneven wear on one of the shoulders or the central part. The reason is a violation of operating conditions. Non-compliance with the recommended pressure or incorrect installation of wheel alignment. Uneven wear becomes noticeable when the difference in residual tread depth is more than 1.5 mm, and, consequently, the tread depth at the minimum point can be 5.5 - 6.5 mm. Which is the minimum tread depth for deep snow.

- When driving in deep snow, the tread self-cleans, but it should be noted that the legal 4 mm of tread is not enough for deep snow driving. You should not be guided by legal frameworks in cases where it comes to your safety. If the roads in your city are poorly cleaned or you often go out of town, you should think about replacing your tires already at 6 mm of residual tread. Yes, it's only 2 mm from a new tire, but it's 50% of the intended resource for a winter tire. That's the price of safety on deep snow.

- If your tires are designed for operation at reduced pressure. These are A/T and M/T class tires. However, it's worth remembering that the tire carcass is designed for operation only at low speeds, up to 20 km/h. Many car owners abuse the characteristics of this tire and lower the pressure for use in snowy weather for operation on public roads, where the speed is usually 2-3 times higher than what these tires are designed for. Violation of this rule leads to a significant reduction in resource and premature failure.