There are so many options when it comes to finding the right tire for your vehicle. When it comes to all-season, all-weather and winter tires, there’s some overlap in terms of what they have to offer. Babcox Media’s Joe Keene reviews the differences between these three types of tires to help you find the best ones for your needs, from the Tire Review Continental Tire Garage Studio at Babcox Media. This video is sponsored by Continental.

All-season tires have been the “one size fits all” option dealers recommend to customers who need a tire for whatever weather and can be a great option for customers who need tires for various conditions. Just take a look at Continental Tire’s TrueContact Tour. This all-season touring tire has a focus on long wear, fuel efficiency and best-in-class wet braking. It’s designed for passenger cars, minivans and small CUVs.

However, as temps drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the compounding of most all-season tires starts to change. This means they’re not the best tire for optimal performance in low temperatures.

Say you have a customer who often drives in inclement weather and temps below 40 degrees, and they want to keep a tire on year-round. You can help them bridge the gap between all-season and winter tires by offering an all-weather option.

Rather than having a mileage compound that favors handling characteristics or wet grip, all-weather tires have more characteristics of a winter-type compound that’s accommodated to providing a reasonable amount of mileage for consumers who want to run them year-round.

The AltiMax 365 AW from the General Tire brand is one tire you might consider selling your all-weather tire customers. Launched in April 2021 and marking General Tire’s debut in the all-weather category, the AltiMax 365 AW sits between the all-season touring AltiMax RT 43 and winter tire, the AltiMax Artic 12.

AltiMax 365 AW is optimized for snow and winter conditions, as evidenced by its three-peak mountain snowflake rating, according to Joe Maher, product planning manager for passenger car, touring and all-weather tires at Continental.

While all of these options are great, they don’t work for everyone as they won’t provide the same amount of grip and handling in extreme winter conditions that a winter tire will. Take the VikingContact 7, for example. This winter tire features a compounding solution for grip performance on wintry and wet surfaces; traction and braking on icy and snowy roads; and traction stability in wintry conditions.

A winter tire’s compounding and tread pattern are designed to withstand frigid temperatures and evacuate precipitation to maintain the tire’s traction with the road.

For more information, visit continentaltire.com.