Summer, winter or all-season tyres

In Latvia winter tyres are mandatory from 1 December to 1 March for cars and vans up to 3.5 t, with a minimum tread depth of 4 mm in winter. But the law sets a minimum, not the right moment: the rubber compound of summer tyres hardens below +7 °C, and braking distances grow whether or not there is snow.

When to change

• To winter tyres: when the daily average stays below +7 °C for several days in a row, in Latvia usually late October or early November. Do not wait for the first snow, that is when fitting queues are longest.
• To summer tyres: when mornings are steadily above +7 °C, usually mid-April. Winter tyres wear twice as fast in warm weather and brake worse on dry asphalt.

Summer, winter or all-season

	Summer	Winter	All-season
Dry and wet asphalt in summer	Best	Poor, wears fast	Good
Snow and ice	Not suitable	Best	Adequate in town
Lifespan	Long	Medium	Shorter, works all year
Cost	Two sets, two fittings a year, storage		One set, no changeover
Suits	Most cars in Latvia		City cars with low mileage, second car

An all-season tyre with the 3PMSF mark meets the legal winter requirement. The compromise shows at the extremes: in deep snow it loses to a winter tyre, in hot summer to a summer tyre, and it wears faster because it runs all year. For a city car doing up to 10,000 km a year it is a sensible choice.

Studded or studless

Studded tyres are allowed in Latvia from 1 October to 30 April. They are better on ice and packed snow, worse on dry and wet asphalt, and louder. In town, where roads are cleared and salted, a studless winter tyre is usually the better choice; on rural roads and in the north studs still make sense.

Tread depth

A new tyre starts at 8 to 9 mm. The legal minimum is 1.6 mm in summer and 4 mm in winter, but the safety limit comes earlier: below 3 mm a summer tyre starts aquaplaning at 80 km/h, below 4 mm a winter tyre stops working properly in snow. Check with a 2 euro coin: the silver rim is 4 mm.

Pick the season right in the search: summer tyres, winter tyres or all-season tyres. Every tyre carries the EU label for comparison.