Friction tyres are another name for
non-studded
tyres, as they don’t use studs to create grip on ice.
For winter
tyres you have basically two different types of tyres, you
have the studded tyres and you have the non-studded tyres. In
addition to that you also have both tyres that are aimed just for the
winter season and thus referred to as winter tyres and you have
all-weather tyres, which if they are winter approved can handle all
the different weathers including winter weather. The all-weather
tyres can therefore be used throughout the year and you don’t have
to worry about when to change or any weather forecast.

The friction tyres are great at winter
tyres and have a rubber compound that makes them soft and flexible at
low temperatures, so they can ensure good grip even at very low
temperatures. The tread pattern is geared towards winter conditions,
so that they have excellent grip and traction on snow and the pattern
also is good at preventing slushplaning. Slush can be very
treacherous, as it is very difficult to gain control. To avoid
slushplaning your tyres will need to push the slush to the sides to
remain in control. This puts a lot of pressure on the design of the
tread and its grooves.

The tread of the friction tyres is
where all the magic happens. They have been carefully developed over
time, with endless testing to improve the performance. They have to
provide excellent grip on both ice and snow. For icy surfaces they
have developed a tread that contains cryo-crystals, which are added
as grip particles. They also use sipes to create good grip and they
have added multi faceted snow claws between the tread blocks. All
these developments have now made the non-studded tyres to be almost
as good as studded tyres during the winter; however, the studded
still have a slight edge on icy surfaces.

The all-weather
tyres don’t have studs and the also need to create the
grip through the tread. The challenge is however that the tyre has to
cater for all weather types. This makes it more of a compromise tyre,
as the tread has to cater for both winter condition as well as summer
condition.

When are the friction tyres better?

Friction tyres might have a bit worse
grip on ice than a studded tyre, but they provide very good
flexibility versus them. There are no restriction for use of friction
tyres, so you can basically have them on all year round, but they
perform worse than summer tyres, so that is not advisable. The
freedom of not having to comply with any dates and there are no
restriction when you travel between countries either, so you can use
these in any country.

Good quality non-studded tyres tend to
have extremely low rolling resistance; this results in lower fuel
consumption as you drive. The tyre wear will also be lower as a
result of this. Both these factors are good for the environment and
coupled with a green tyre that is produced with low aromatic oils and
no toxic chemicals,