3PMSF vs Dedicated Winter Tire Performance

[aeolian]

This review comparing Nokian winter, all-season and all-weather (the new Outpost nAT) tires is particularly interesting for those of us in the intermountain region:



My take away: all-weather tires are getting surprisingly good, but if you live in Utah you probably still need dedicated winter tires if you spend a lot of time in the mountains (e.g. you work at a ski resort or live up the canyons). Elsewhere, you still want dedicated winter tires anywhere with a preponderance of cold, icy and or slushy conditions.

On a related note, this article is interesting because it directly quotes several manufactures as to what "3PMSF" actually means to them. For example, from Michelin:

The 3PMS certifies a tire on snow traction. The 3PMS symbol indicates tires meet or exceed the minimum snow traction requirements needed to determine if a tire is fit for use in severe snow. However, we know dedicated winter tires must perform well beyond minimum traction levels and for more than just snow conditions, because winter conditions are more than just snow. So understanding how a tire performs on ice conditions is equally important, as well as considering the tire’s performance in wet (conditions and) slush and overall handling.

As tire technology continues to improve, all-season tires that meet the 3PMS requirement offer customers an additional tire choice to handle their specific winter climates. These tires do not replace true, dedicated winter tires that typically offer better cold weather, snow and ice performances. To help differentiate between all-season tires that have 3PMS and dedicated winter tires that have 3PMS, a recent, industry-established ice grip symbol has been adopted. Passenger tires that meet or exceed the ice performance criteria qualify for M+S, 3PMS and an ice grip symbol, identified by a pictograph of a mountain with ice. The new ice grip symbol has been introduced in Europe and is expected to roll out in North America in the future.

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[mtclimb3r]

Yeah the Michelin Cross Climate 2 tires on my partner's subaru are actually really good in winter. Not as good as my Nokians, but damn impressive for sure. I think your take is spot on. I live in Montana and I sure as hell don't want to be driving around with bad tires with all of these idiots from Texas and California.

 

[AKBronc49]

Living in Alaska I'm on dedicated snow tires 6 months out of the year. With a similar winter to Norway. I had never owned Nokian Hakkapeliitta's before my Bronco. I always ran Blizzaks, Studded Cooper's, Firestone's, Hankook's dedicated snow tires. I still have a large variety of snow tires across my fleet. I'm pretty impressed with the studded Hakkapeliitta LT2's on the Bronco. Makes it very sure-footed in every scenario. I love watching these comparisons because I have friends who say "my A/T's are just fine" but they have never experienced true winter tires so I just roll my eyes. The braking/road holding abilities are night/day.

 

[TRACKTOY]

Good morning
This morning the rain freezes on the ground in Quebec CANADA. My F150 with BF AT 3 PMSF is going to stay parked at home, too dangerous on the ice. But the BRONCO NOKIAN HAKA. LT3 STUDDED winter for winter it can safely face black ice. I understood a long time ago that it's better to install real winter tires, even if expensive, than to pay for an accident. An damaged vehicle loses a lot of value $$$$ than paying for real winter tires. QUEBEC IS NOT TEXAS
TRACKTOY

 

[Snacktime]

Lot of this comes down to location of the person if snow tires are worth it. I can tell you that real cold (when the Fahrenheit scale goes negative) rubber tire compound is more important than tread. If you watch the cars sliding off the road in mild weather they usually have summer tires.

Biggest thing to take away from this thread is if your on vacation don't ever drive faster than the locals in bad weather. They usually are better equipped than you are.

 

[Callelk]

Lot of this comes down to location of the person if snow tires are worth it. I can tell you that real cold (when the Fahrenheit scale goes negative) rubber tire compound is more important than tread. If you watch the cars sliding off the road in mild weather they usually have summer tires.

Biggest thing to take away from this thread is if your on vacation don't ever drive faster than the locals in bad weather. They usually are better equipped than you are.

We have so many newbies coming in from more temperate climates and decide to buy a AWD with M/S tires thinking that will cover winter here. Fist snow and we get hundreds of wrecks and slide-offs. When I go to the airport some winter mornings while its snowing I see a lot of new AWD's blowing past me doing 70 on the freeway. Going is one thing, stopping is a whole different issue.

Anyway, I plan on replacing the stock tires with Baja AT's. They are 3 peak and I know they are not "ice" or really good snow tires but I have driven in snow for a long time and the only thing I worry about is other drivers. And yes, I know how to put chains on all four tires, have done it many, many times.

 

[Bellime]

Even with the best tires a bad driver will loose it.

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