Winter tyres fitted by us at your home or work

Also known as ‘cold weather tyres’, winter tyres have rubber compounds designed to stay flexible in low temperatures below 7°C. This provides better braking and handling performance when it’s dry, wet, snowy or icy. At colder temperatures, the silica in a modern tyre begins to harden and become rigid. Unlike summer tyres, winter tyres have deeper treads which displace slush more easily and provide grip on hazardous surfaces.

Read our guide for more information about how winter tyres work.

Here in the UK, the weather isn’t considered severe enough to warrant the same kind of tyre legislation as other parts of Europe. This makes it difficult to define exactly when to change from summer to cold weather tyres. There is, however, a general rule of thumb which states the best time to fit winter tyres is when the air temperature consistently drops below 7°C. This can often be in mid-autumn and is the crossover point where summer season tyres become less effective. Therefore, the term ‘winter tyres’ is a slight misconception and, instead, you should think of them as cold weather tyres.