As the calendar flips into the cruelest months (okay, so maybe we’re being a bit dramatic about winter – but not by much) drivers in many parts of the nation will be weighing the right time to mount winter tires on their vehicle. We know the benefits – major traction advantages in tough conditions, primarily – but with a multitude of options from a raft of different brands, choosing the right one can be something of a task.
As an option for this season, the RoadX brand has its RXFrost FX11, a studdable winter tire with a directional tread pattern designed to grip in winter’s worst like a cat on cashmere. Its superior winter performance is borne from those jagged edges (called sipes), which populate the tread blocks. The intent of these sipes is to open up slightly when pressed into a surface such as packed snow, creating more biting edges with which to find a skiff of traction.
Long-time readers may be familiar with the homebrew experiment we’re about to describe in which to demonstrate the effectiveness of sipes; those people are free to jump ahead a couple of paragraphs whilst the rest of you should stick around for the lesson. The next time you have a large Amazon parcel or some sort of kitchen appliance delivered to your house, take a block of foam and slide it across the kitchen table. In most cases, it will slide relatively easily across the flat surface.
Now, break out an Xacto knife or some other sort of blade and make several shallow cuts along the Styrofoam surface, then push the block across the table again. Different, huh? That’s sipes at work – or the basic concept behind them, anyway. Tire manufacturers go much further than just creating straight sipes across a tread block, crafting ones which have zig zags and all sorts of entertaining patterns which are designed to maximize grip. If you feel the need, repeat the Styrofoam experiment but this time with sipes of different shapes other than straight. Science is fun, kids.
Also part of the tread equation on the RoadX RXFrost FX11 are lateral grooves which channel water and slush away from the tire, giving all those mechanical features a chance to do their jobs. Of course, no amount of lateral grooves will prevent hydroplaning if you hit and plow through a decent amount of water at highway speed, but these tires will give you a fighting chance – to say nothing of how they help rein things in during typically sloppy winter conditions at sensible speeds.
More of a secret in terms of specifics, but no less important to providing traction, is the rubber compound used in the RoadX RXFrost FX11. That’s the secret brew of materials comprising the actual rubber of which the tire is constructed, a closely guarded secret locked away in a cabinet somewhere, maybe at the top of a mountain (accessible only in a truck with winter tires, of course). Winter tires are generally of a softer compound than all-seasons, explaining why winter hoops become more effective below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, a temp at which all-seasons actually start falling off in terms of performance. A good compound helps allow the tire to remain flexible at low temperatures, the kind in which drivers are depending on traction from their winter rubber. In the instance of this tire, the RoadX RXFrost FX11, the compound works in tandem with the stud placement to reduce road noise particularly during scattered times when one is running this tire on dry pavement (as can happen occasionally during the bookends of winter.
RoadX offers a huge range of sizes for the RXFrost FX11, all the way from a 175/70R14 up to a dinner platter 235/55R19. There are many traditional sizings in the 17- and 18-inch range, important since more than a few Americans decide to drop down a wheel size when it comes time to mount winter tires. For those unfamiliar, that means running an 18-inch wheel with a tire whose overall diameter from top to bottom (not just the metal wheel) is roughly identical to that of the 20-inch tire used at all other times of the year. The benefits of this choice are broad, including a potentially more comfortable ride since the tire sidewall (that part between the metal wheel and the tread where all the letters and numbers are) is larger which permits an improved absorption of life’s bumps.
Choosing the right winter tire can indeed be a task – but details baked into tires like the RoadX RXFrost FX11 can make that task a whole lot easier.
NOTE: This is sponsored content produced in partnership with RoadX
