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Prior to this latest test, from about 2010-11 or so, various overseas testing data pointed to the fact that tires of the "Studless Ice and Snow" sub-genre are also typically weaker in terms of clear-road performance, both in the wet and in the dry, as compared to class-leading studded winter tires. At the time - as it is now, - this was postulated to be due to the physical structure (i.e. softer compound, etc.) of the "Studless Ice and Snow" tires being softer than that of studdable winter tires, whose structure needed to be somewhat more resilient in order to support the embedded studs. This past thread from LegacyGT.com held a lot of relevant discussion towards this end: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/stud-not-stud-tires-123392.html(4) That studded tires are somehow less safe in clear-wet or clear-dry conditions. We've seen in test after test from within the past decade that this is just not true at all. According to old thinking, the studs prevent the rubber of the tires from making full contact with the road, decreasing the contact patch. We can now see that under load, much of the studs simply retracts into the surrounding rubber, which minimally decreases the contact patch. Furthermore, it is now understood that this decrease is offset by the fact that the remainder of the studs that still protrudes helps aid traction through physical interaction with the imperfections in the roadway surface (REF: http://www.autoreview.ru/_archive/section/detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=140998&SECTION_ID=7890 as well as previous years' tests of premium studded winter tires versus "Studless Ice & Snow" tires). The end bias is much more dependent on the consumer selecting the specific model that most suits such conditions, rather than the presence or absence of studs.
Umm...thanks for trying, but winter storm Cato is coming tomorrow, up to 3" in Philly and up to 18" along the East coast...:biggrin:Studs on - it will now not snow in the Philly Metro Area 11/25/2014
Then don't. :wink2:Man I can't even rationalize snow tires in Montgomery cty, and now were talking studded?
Source: 2014 All Season Tyre Test - TyreReviews...we've come to the conclusion the best winter tyre for the UK climate (cold, wet pavement, occasional snow), is actually an all season tyre.