pleretail.blogg.se - What does m and s mean

In fact, 3-season and summer tires become hard at temperatures below +7 C, leaving you with reduced traction and unsafe handling. That’s because 3-season tires are safe for most conditions, but they’re not designed to give grip on ice or in sub-zero weather. Tires marked M+S (mud and snow), also known as 3-season tires, don’t have the severe service symbol. If need be, the test team will use specialized snow preparation tools to move snow around and break it.

Consistency of the snow: Medium pack snow-neither hard-packed nearing icy, nor too soft and powdery-really puts winter tires to the test for snow traction because the tread can bite into it.

Snow temperature: The temperature must be between –15C and –3C for optimal testing conditions.

Winter tires contain a special rubber compound that keeps them soft and flexible in extreme cold.

Air temperature: The rubber compound of summer and hardens at +7 C.

To make sure tires are working at their best, a testing facility will simulate the conditions where winter tires are used.

Manufacturers use the results from these tests to determine whether they can brand their tires with the mountain snowflake symbol. Tire manufacturers can conduct these tests themselves, or hire a private testing company to do it for them. Winter tire testing standards are defined by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). If you drive in icy, cold conditions, Transport Canada and the Rubber Association of Canada recommend installing winter tires bearing the mountain snowflake symbol on all four tires for best vehicle handling. In 1999, they came up with a snow traction test that winter tires must pass in order to receive what we now know as the severe service emblem-the snowflake on the mountain peak.

Rubber Manufacturers Association and the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada (TRAC) sought a way to help drivers identify tires that were designed to perform in severe snow and cold weather conditions. How winter tires earn the Mountain Snowflake symbol Indicated by a pictograph showing a peaked mountain with a snowflake in the middle, the severe service symbol indicates a winter tire can handle snowy and slippery roads, as well as low temperatures, and meets the minimum requirements for providing snow traction. How can you tell if a tire is certified as road worthy to handle a Canadian winter? Just look for the made-in-Canada severe service symbol on the sidewall of your winter tires and true all-weather tires.