Under 6 degrees winter tires are much better than summer tyres. It's below 6 degrees for most the winter too.
These figures always seem to have arbitary random summer tyre v superhotamazing winter tyres, though.
I mean just comparing the braking distances of a 'summer tyre' in a 'look how amazing winter tyres are' comparison shows that a decent summer tyre with figures taken from the Autocar tyre test stops some 6-7m quicker from 62mph at 20c than the flimsey 'winter tyre' data shows a 'summer tyre' taking at 20c...
Also there is no way an Re050 is near to even a cheap winter tyre at 2C.
And thats all we ever get isnt it, generic soundbites like that or 'comparisons' done by people who wish to sell you winter tyres without any reference to the brands of tyres used.
I would be genuinelly interested in the wet and dry braking distances from 62mph of the same car fitted with both Potenza RE050A *and* 'a cheap winter tyre'. Because I'm really not sure the night and day difference you think is there, actually is.
Once there is snow everywhere - absolutely fair enough.
There are two people in this thread - wicksta and mjt - who have lived in places where winter tyres ARE used. Both of them have proper, realworld experience and both of them agree that really, in the UK, you dont need them. I beleive wicksta even thinks they are a liability half the time.