In the "old days," there was something called a snow tire. Big, deep lugs/threads. May, or may not, have studs, although the holes for them was always there, if I remember correctly.
Are these generically the same as what is called a "Winter Tire" these days ?
Tire rack seems to carry every brand out there, but not Nokian's. Any idea whey ?
Is it that they've had problems with them, or... ?
this is not a facetious question, even though it will sound it, but do you have access to any data on how tread and traction are related? how about rubber formulations?
my point is, that even though many tire manufacturers pander to widespread public perceptions about "tread patterns" and traction, reality can be somewhat different. therefore i suggest you go with how the tire is rated than how you think the tread pattern looks. chances are, the manufacturer has done a good deal more homework on the topic than you can do buying tires once every few years.
Click and Clack were talking about snow tires, last weekend I think 3 days ago, recommending them to someone. They contrasted them with all-season tires. Told the caller to get another set of wheels too iirc, to make changing them quicker and easier.
They didn't call them "winter tires" Winter can mean a lot of things, not the same in Florida as Minnesota.
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says they're the same thing, but I distrust anyone who won't use standard English. I would want to see the specs for the particular tire, or at least that symbol, a "snowflake on a mountain" , that the url illustrates. IIRC, studs are illegal in many, most, or all states unless there is snow or ice on the ground, or more likely, on the roads themselves. Studs are good for ice, but don't help on snow iirc. But if there is snow on the road as deep as the studs are long, the studs won't hurt the road.
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