Symmetrical, asymmetrical, and directional treads all offer distinct advantages in different driving conditions - let's look at what will work best for you.

One subtlety in tread design is the sipe, a very small space between sections. “The more zigzags you have, the more susceptible the tire is to irregular wear,” Weller says.

FORT MILL, S.C.—For more than a century Continental A.G.'s tires have been defined by greater performance and safety thanks in great part to tread patterns. And this year, the company marks a ...

Yokohama Rubber has patented a pneumatic tire with a unique tread pattern featuring three or more circumferential main grooves, lug grooves, and composite sipes. The design aims to improve ...

Of course, we're talking about tire-tread patterns. Be they full of grooves, packed with interlocking blocks, zig-zagged with sipes, or totally slick, you can learn a lot about a vehicle's ...

With our sipes, we break up the tread block, and that means less snap effect as it comes out of the footprint.” This cross-section shows that the sipe in Toyo tires can take the form of a snake ...

Some have rugged and aggressive tread patterns, and have varying amounts of smart slits in the tire, called sipes, which help with grip as well. Snow tires generally do not have treadlife warranties.

While tread spacing and stagger is still key in a true mud tire, the addition of extra sipes, biting edges, and block alignment, is upping the on-road benefits of the modern mud-terrain radial.

A dedicated winter tire will go even further. The tread compound may be softer (allowing the tread to “work” better in cold conditions) and will usually feature many more sipes.

$79.36 at Tire Rack Key features Sizes range from 14” to 18” Special cold weather compound High sipe density tread pattern These Firestone Winterforce 2 tires have a special cold-weather ...

As noted, our test platforms for the tread comparison were two brand-new, identically equipped 2016 Ford F-150 Lariat SuperCrew 4x4s with the 5.0-liter V-8, 3.55:1 axle gears, a locking rear ...

Second, the tread pattern. The all-terrain tires use solid tread blocks. The all-season tires have a number of cuts or sipes in the tread.