Summer tyres/winter tyres

[The mallard]

Needing new tyres soon, so have been trying to research what is available. I have noticed some tyres are referred to as summer tyres and some are all season. I imagine this is due to how the 'rubber' acts in the ambient temperature. (A bit like oil viscosity ranges and ambient temperatures)
Now considering the typical temperatures we have in northern Great Britain, is there a significant difference in the tyres, and would a summer tyre be a noticably poor performer in -15deg centigrade.

Any tyre experts out there?

 

[raymont]

Do a search there have been quite a few threads about this.

In brief:

Most tyres sold in this country are ‘summer’ tyres; they are optimised for use on snow / ice free roads and the sort of temperatures we get most of the time.

‘Winter’ or, as sometimes called ‘ cold weather’ tyres have a different rubber compound, different tread pattern and perform better than summer tyres when the temp drops below 7C. They are massively superior to ‘summer’ tyres in the snow / slush /ice.

‘All season’ tyres are a compromise between the two.

Modern ‘winter’ tyres are very little ( if at all) noisier than summer tyres and are available in range of speed ratings.

Bearing in mind you can only wear out one set of tyres at a time the additional cost of ‘winter’ tyres is the spare set of wheels or the cost of swapping tyres twice a year.