Tires Michel
Share On Facebook
Share On Linkedin
Share On Whatsapp
Share Via Email
See all blog posts
Do I have winter tires or summer tires now?
Just bought a new car and you don't know whether you have summer or winter tires? Understandable, especially if the seller did not inform you about this. In the following post we will try to explain to you in simple terms how to recognize a summer or winter tire.

There are some obvious differences between summer and winter tires, for example, winter tires have many more “sipes” in the tread. These sipes are all little grooves that open and close while driving with the purpose of “grabbing” snow off the road. So if you clearly see a lot of sipes on your tire, then you definitely have winter tires.

The left photo is a winter tire (lots of sipes).
The right photo is a summer tire (few sipes).

Another easy way to recognize a winter tire is to look for 1 of the following 2 logos.

In the left photo, you can see the logo 3PMSF (3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake).
In the right photo, you can see the logo M + S (Mud + Snow).

What exactly do these logos want to say?

The 3PMSF symbol, or 3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake symbol is the internationally recognized symbol for winter tires. This symbol is recognized throughout Europe as a full-fledged winter tire. This is very important for countries where winter tires are mandatory. In these countries it is effectively mandatory for the 3PMSF symbol to be present on the tire. The M+S symbol stands for Mud + Snow, this is a marking that tire manufacturers use to indicate that the tire is suitable for mud and snow, only this symbol is not internationally known and approved.

Today, the 3PMSF is the new symbol for winter tires. When buying new winter tires, there is a fairly good chance that you will find this symbol since manufacturers want their tires to be homologated in all European countries in winter.

See all blog posts