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Mixed tires vs. winter tires

This tire test video shows the difference in vehicle performance between mixed tires and all-winter tires in snowy conditions.

Gary Spencer

Yesterday's video blog touched upon many available features for automobiles that can aid driving in hazardous winter weather conditions, so since we were on the subject, I thought I'd present this video that demonstrates the difference in performance between a car with a complete set of winter tires and another one that has a mix of tires installed. As you probably guessed, there is, indeed, a noticeable difference.

Tire retailer TireRack.com pits a red car with mixed tires (two regular all-season, two winter weather tires) against a blue car that has four winter tires, and evaluates the results of braking, steering, handling and other tests to demonstrate the benefit of having all-winter weather tires on your vehicle when driving on snow, slush, or ice. The difference in performance is definitely more than noteworthy if you are in a part of the world that is still feeling the effects of a blizzard or snow storm. If you don't already have a set of winter weather specific tires, this video may convince you to get some.