All-season tires
All-season tires, also known as four-season tires, are designed for use in a very wide range of weather conditions. In the Estonian climate we see them rather as summer tires with a longer usable season, coping better than a regular summer tire with cold spring and autumn weather, slush and the first snow.
All-season tires in the Estonian climate
An all-season tire is always a compromise between the properties of a summer tire and a winter tire. Thanks to its softer rubber compound and denser sipes, it performs better at low temperatures than a regular summer tire, but in our view it does not replace a proper Nordic winter tire in the icy, snowy and rapidly changing road conditions of an Estonian winter.
That’s why FS does not recommend all-season tires instead of dedicated winter tires for the Estonian winter. For winter driving, we recommend a Nordic studless winter tire or a studded tire. Using an all-season tire in winter is always the driver’s own decision, taking into account the specific tire’s markings and properties and the actual road conditions.
Who is an all-season tire right for?
In Estonia, the advantages of an all-season tire show best in spring and autumn. It copes with low temperatures better than a classic summer tire and lets you fit your tires earlier in spring and keep using them longer into autumn.
An all-season tire can also be a very practical choice for drivers who spend the winter or do most of their winter driving in Central and Southern Europe. In the milder winter conditions there, a suitable all-season tire lets you use the same set of tires both in a cool Estonian spring or autumn and on a winter trip around Europe, without having to run Nordic winter tires in warm conditions.
It is also a good fit for a car that is never, or hardly ever, driven in Estonian winter road conditions.
Bear in mind, however, that an all-season tire is neither quite a summer tire nor a Nordic winter tire. In warm summer conditions a quality summer tire is generally more precise, and in Estonian winter conditions a dedicated winter tire is the safer choice.
Our range of all-season tires
At FS.ee you’ll find all-season tires in a range of sizes and price classes. When choosing a tire, besides the price it’s worth looking at the manufacturer’s markings, wet grip, noise level and the intended use of the specific model.
If you’re looking for a tire mainly for the Estonian winter, take a look at our range of winter tires. If you need maximum performance in the warm season, a summer tire is the right choice. An all-season tire sits between the two – above all a practical spring-and-autumn solution, or a good choice for a car that spends the winter in the milder climate of Central or Southern Europe.