ALL-SEASON
WINTER
SUMMER
ALL-TERRAIN
These are off-road tires designed to give you superior grip in mud, dirt and rocks. (Especially BFGoodrich® tires.) They can be driven on the road, but offer a louder ride noise than most other tires, along with less treadwear due to their unique tread design.
Frequently asked questions
BFGoodrich answers your most asked questions.
FAQ
In Quebec, yes: all vehicles registered in the province must have winter tires from December 1 to March 15, and only tires carrying the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol or studs qualify. In British Columbia, winter tires are required on designated highways from October 1 to April 30. Other provinces recommend rather than require them, and Ontario mandates an insurance discount for drivers who fit them.
They are the same thing, just different names for a tire designed to work across a broad temperature range. What matters is that all-season tires are not winter tires. They typically carry only the M+S marking, which is based on tread geometry with no standardized snow test, and they do not satisfy Quebec or BC winter tire requirements.
When daily temperatures consistently approach 7°C. Below that, all-season and summer compounds harden and lose grip even on cold dry pavement before any snow falls. Switching on temperature rather than waiting for the first snowfall means you have proper grip through the early cold weeks when black ice is most common.
The three-peak mountain snowflake symbol certifies that the tire passed a standardized traction test on medium-packed snow. It is the marking Quebec law recognizes, and M+S alone does not qualify. Look for it stamped into the sidewall, usually near the brand name, and photograph it at install if you want proof for an insurance conversation later.
You should not. Winter compounds are soft by design so they stay flexible in the cold, and running them on warm summer pavement wears them rapidly and destroys the cold-weather grip you paid for. Take them off when temperatures are consistently above 7°C, and expect them to last more seasons as a result.
Yes, always, and in Quebec it is the law. Fitting winter tires on only two wheels creates a traction imbalance between axles that produces unpredictable handling in emergency braking and cornering. Winter tires on the front only leaves the rear likely to slide out. On the rear only leaves you without front steering and braking grip.
Related pages
-
TIRE UPGRADE
Tire upgrading, also called plus-sizing, means replacing your original wheels with larger diameter wheels and correspondingly lower profile tires. Done correctly it improves handling through a shorter stiffer sidewall. Done incorrectly it wrecks your speedometer accuracy and ride quality. On Canadian roads there is a specific caution: a lower profile tire is much more vulnerable to pothole and frost heave damage.View more -
5 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DEALERS
When it’s time to buy tires, the last thing you want is to feel intimidated. So make sure you do a little homework before you go. (All of which is found within Tires 101, along with an easy-to-use Find a Tire tool at the top of the page.) We’ve even put together five easy questions to take to your local dealer (find a BFGoodrich Tire dealer near you by using the Dealer Locator at the top of the page), but remember that you can always order it instead of settling for another tire.View more -
MIXING TIRES
There may come a time when you replace two new tires instead of four. If you decide to go that route, be sure that your new tires are the same size and tire type as your current tires, and that your dealer always installs the new tires on the rear axle of your vehicle (as shown in the pdf below).
DOWNLOAD AND VIEW A GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION (1.1MB)View more -
ALL ABOUT PERFORMANCE TIRES
If your car is high-performance, doesn’t it make sense to have tires that are just as high-performance? The main benefits of performance tires are higher speed* capability, improved handling and maximum dry road grip. (The negative is lower tread life.) But you need to know that all performance tires aren’t the same, which is why many high performance car owners own multiple sets of tires. (They often switch to all-season or winter tires in the fall and winter for improved winter grip.)View more -
TIRE WEAR AND DAMAGE
How worn is too worn? There are several ways to check for wear without even getting your hands dirty: You can either look for visible, excessive wear, you can perform the Quarter Test to check proper tread depth, or you can check if the tread is worn down to the wear bar indicators (typically located in the circumferential grooves of the tread).View more