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Is it compulsory to change from winter to summer tires and if so, when should it be done? In today's article SpeedyCars.eu answers this question, looking at why it is important to travel with tires that match the season.
Does it matter if you have winter or summer tires
Summer tires are designed to provide perfect performance and excellent handling in warmer weather. At a temperature of 6°C in dry conditions, both summer and winter tires have the same performance when driving. However, if the weather is wet, winter tires are the better choice.
When the temperature outside is above 6°C (both during the day and at night in case you have to drive late in the evening), summer tires are the preferred choice. The reason is because of these conditions winter tires begin to lower the performance which extends the stopping distance of the vehicle.
When is the perfect time to put on summer tires
The Road Traffic Act regulates the mandatory period when winter tires must be used because of the weather conditions. In Bulgaria, the period is from the 15th of November to the 1st of March. This means that after 1st of March, there is no problem changing the winter tires with summer ones. However, there is no legal requirement to change from winter tires to summer tires.
It is important to clarify that, according to the law, instead of winter tires, the vehicle can be fitted with tires with a tread depth of 4 mm and above. In practice, these tires could play the role of summer tires as well.
Experts recommend the 1st of April as one of the best dates to put on summer tires, according to the climate conditions in Bulgaria. The exact day may vary depending on the specific climatic conditions in a given year.
There is no legal obligation to replace winter tires with summer tires. The thing is when a car is driven with winter tires all year round including when it is warm outside, they wear out much faster.
Worn tires start to perform much worse than they would in cold weather. This could be dangerous and decrease the safety of the vehicle.
To summarize when is the best time to put on summer tires, it’s recommended this happens when temperatures start to stay above 6 °C.
When is the time to buy new summer tires
Experts advise to use one set of new summer tires for no more than 6 years (seasons). In this period, however, it is important to observe whether the gripper has not "melted" prematurely. A good guideline is that its depth should be at least about 3-4 mm.
A set of new summer tires should last around 30 thousand km in case of normal use and sensible driving.