In some elements of the nation, it’s time to placed on winter tires. In the event you want a brand new set this yr, it’s possible you’ll discover one thing totally different — some winter tires are actually rated particularly for the way properly they assist a automotive brake on ice.

The sidewall of a tire is stuffed with data most of us by no means contemplate.

Associated: Snow Tires Information — Every little thing You Have to Know

A few of that data comes by means of icons. The U.S. Tire Producers Affiliation (USTMA) governs these. Since 1999, it has allowed producers to emblazon a logo on tires that carry out higher in particular snow testing. It appears to be like like a 3-peaked mountain with a snowflake inside. It means, in response to the group, that the tires have a minimum of 110% the traction of an all-season tire in “medium-packed snow.”

Now, some winter tires will put on a second image: a one-peaked mountain with a jagged snowpack on high.

Associated: Are Winter Tires Definitely worth the Value?

Tire producer Nokian says it means the tires “carry out a minimum of 18% higher than an ordinary reference tire” when braking on ice. TireBusiness.com says Nokian’s tires “could be the first in a brand new class of winter tires” as a result of they earn the marking. The check is carried out 3 times on a flat floor of ice.

But it surely’s not one thing Nokian made up. Automotive and Driver notes it was “permitted by the technical committee on the Worldwide Group for Standardization (ISO).” The Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10 (studded) and Hakkapeliitta R5s (non-studded) seem like the primary tires on the U.S. market to bear the stamp. However there’s no cause different producers couldn’t earn it.