Are Mud Tires Suitable for Snow?

[LunaRose]

Mud tires are not suitable for use in snow, as this can affect driving safety and stability. If your area experiences heavy snowfall in winter, it is recommended to use snow tires, which can improve driving stability. Tires are the components that connect a car to the road, and they play a crucial role in the vehicle's driving stability and safety. Mud tires, also known as MT tires, are mostly used on off-road vehicles and for special road conditions. Mud tires feature exaggerated tread blocks with wide spacing between them, which helps in slow-speed mud expulsion or high-speed mud slinging when driving on muddy terrain. Additionally, they provide better traction on uneven rocky surfaces. For snowy conditions, snow tires are recommended. Snow tires enhance a vehicle's mobility and safety on icy and snowy roads. The tread of snow tires is made from a special silicon-infused compound that keeps the tire exceptionally soft even in extremely low temperatures, ensuring excellent grip on ice. The tread pattern often incorporates cross-Z siping technology, which improves braking performance on snow and ice, reduces braking distance, and delivers optimal traction.

[Daisy]

I grew up in the mountainous regions of the north and have been driving off-road vehicles for over a decade. Let me tell you, mud tires perform terribly on snow. Last winter, my friend insisted on using mud tires to go up the mountain, and ended up losing control on the icy road, sliding right into a ditch. Mud tire rubber is as hard as plastic, providing no grip on ice. The deep, wide treads can fling out mud during light snow, but are useless in real snowfall. While the tire sidewalls have mud-clearing grooves, these patterns actually make the tires more prone to slipping in snow. Now, every year when winter comes, I immediately switch back to winter tires—the minimal studs on mud tires are completely inadequate on ice and snow.

[AliceRose]

Don't be fooled by the rugged tread pattern of mud tires! During my testing with the racing team, I found that in sub-zero conditions, mud tires perform like ice skates. The hard rubber becomes even stiffer when cold, and the large tread blocks actually become pivot points for sliding. The worst part is the shoulder design—when driving through snow-filled ruts, mud tires simply don't have enough lateral grip on the sidewalls. I tested this at the proving grounds: at the same 30 km/h cornering speed, mud tires slid 5-6 meters farther than winter tires. Uncontrollable fishtailing is the last thing you want when driving on snow. If you're serious about snow driving, dedicated winter tires are the way to go—their finely spaced sipes are the true artists of snow traction.

[StJade]

Mud tires and snow tires are completely different categories. We conducted a comparison in the lab: at minus 5 degrees Celsius, both types of tires were pressed onto an ice surface, and a machine measured the traction force. The results showed that the grip of mud tires was only about one-third that of snow tires. The large grooves of mud tires are designed for expelling mud and water, but on compacted snow roads, those raised tread blocks wobble around, making the vehicle feel like it's on stilts. The rubber compounds are also entirely different—snow tires contain a large amount of silica to maintain elasticity at low temperatures, while mud tires prioritize wear resistance. A friend insisted on using mud tires for snow play in his Wrangler, only to end up digging holes while trying to start on a slope, with the snow thrown by the wheels burying half the door—truly a facepalm moment.