To the right is the 3PMSF (3 Peak Mountain - Snow Flake) symbol, also known as the Alpine (pronounced al-peene) symbol. EVERY Winter tire has to have this symbol. It means the tire has passed a certain snow traction test (ASTM F1805). In the US and Canada, the value is 12% better than the new SRTT (Standard Reference Test Tire) - it used to be 10% for the old SRTT - and in EU member countries, the value is 25% better. If the tire doesn't have this symbol, it can't be considered a "Winter" tire.

Please note: I am going to use the term "Alpine Symbol" from this point forward. I think it is easier to use than 3PMSF.

The difference in the acceptance values is going to lead to confusion as it would be possible to sell Alpine symboled tires from Europe in the US and Canada, but not the other way around. I suppose this could lead to the industry choosing to adopt the 25% value worldwide, then changing the requirement in the US and Canada, but that sort of thing almost never happens as there is always someone who will try to take advantage of the situation.

Some other types of tires MAY also display the Alpine symbol. The only requirement is that they pass that test. All Season tires that do are called "All Weather" tires - BUT - according to Tire Rack, those 2 words are trademarked, which means that those words can not be used in any commercial way - as in a name. Frequently the letters AW, or A/W, or A-W are used in place of those words to avoid trademark infringement.

It is my understanding that the EU requring 25% more traction results in eliminating pretty much ALL All Season tires, so the idea of All Weather tires in the EU is remote.

Also most All Terrain tires can pass the lower values and some display the symbol, but to my knowledge, there is no special designation for those. (Maybe later?)

The Test: ASTM F1805

ASTM = American Society for Testing and Materials (Now called ASTM International). This organization publishes tests and test standards for many industries, including the automotive (and therefore tire) industry.

The test is an acceleration test conducted on a prepped snow surface.

Yes, the snow is prepared! And there are specs the prepped snow has to have! That is why it took so long to develop a snow traction test.

The test measures the peak traction during acceleration. I assume they did not chose a braking test because the snow might pile up in front of the tires and affect the results.

Note: The truck to the right is an old instrumented truck where the right rear position is instrumented. Crude, but effective!

While the result is a traction number, snow traction testing is so highly variable that the results are compared to the SRTT (Standard Reference Test Tire). That means that every test has to include an SRTT in the mix and there is part of the procedure that deals with how that is done.

To get the symbol, the tire being tested must exceed the traction of the old SRTT by 10%. (now 12% for the new SRTT!)

Why 10% 12%? Because when they initially set up the procedure, they didn't have much in the way of historical results, and that value seemed appropriate. I talk below about what problems that has created.

In May of 2021, the EU (European Union) changed their regulations for tire labeling, and part of that change included adding the Alpine symbol. They also changed the percent for success to 25%. This obviously applies to any country in the EU - BUT - it does NOT apply to the US and Canada. (Maybe later?)

There is no ice traction standard to get the Alpine symbol.

That's because, at the time, there wasn't a good way to test on ice. That has since changed.

To the left is the "Ice Grip Symbol" that was created by the May, 2021 revision to the EU regulations on tires. I've heard it called the "Nordic Symbol", but that doesn't seem to be common usage. (Yet!!)

Much like the Alpine symbol, this symbol requires passing a test, which consists of braking on a smooth ice surface, indoor or outdoor, and the results are compared to the SRTT. (Have you noticed how often the SRTT appears in tire testing?)

HOWEVER, at the writing of this page (May, 2022), the exact requirements haven't been published. When they are, I'll update this page.

It is my understanding that tires that do well on this test do not do well in the wet traction part of the EU regulation, so it is intended that tires with this symbol are only suitable for Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, etc.). I can not help thinking there are other places where tires of this sort might also be useful (I'm looking at you, Canada!), but I have not heard of any movement in those locales.

ALSO:

Winter tires will NOT have UTQG ratings. They are exempt! So no treadwear ratings, nor traction ratings (except for the EU ratings).

All Weather tires are not exempt since they are basically enhanced All Season tires

Snow traction is mostly about edges - and that means lots of sipes (Paddle wheel effect). Notice all the sipes in the photo to the left. If you remove those sipes (and the studs!), you get an all season pattern!

Tread compond? Has to be soft at winter temperatures - which means it is too soft for summer.

That means that winter tires are NOT suitable for summer usage.

I do not subscribe to the hydrophobic/hydrophilac (water attracting) theory of tread compounding. I think that is mostly marketing hype. Rubber is a hydrocarbon and so is oil - and we all know about oil and water.

What about All Weather tires?

They would be compounded for higher temperatures, which goes back to edges!

All Terrain tires?

They pass the test just due to their tread pattern.

History:

When radial tires were introduced in the 1960's, it became apparent that they had better wear characteristics than regular bias tires. That meant that tire designers could use more aggressive tread patterns and not suffer wear issues. In fact, SOME radial STREET tires had very nearly the snow traction of the commonally used "Snow Tires". Many tire manufacturers started producing such tires under the "All Season" umbrella.

This created a problem in California where the California Highway Patrol required "Snow Tires" or chains on certain highways during certain inclement weather. CHP requested a way to tell what was and what was not an All Season tire.

At the time, snow traction testing was in its infancy - not reliable and not repeatable. So the RMA (Now the US Tire Manufactuers Association) created a verbal description of what an All Season tire was and allowed tire manufacturers to use the letters "M" and "S" with some sort of divider between those letters, such as "-" , "/", "+", etc. You can see that today on all All Season tires.

Here's a link to the verbal description of what is required to get the "MS" symbol: USTMA Snow Tire Definitions for Passenger and Light Truck Tires

What I find interesting is that in spite of the shortcomings of the "MS" symbol, snow tires basically disappeared from the market for about 20 years (except for a few locales).

Over the years, consumer's expectations for snow traction has grown - as well as the tire manufacturers ability to deliver better snow traction. Needless to say, the "MS" designation just doesn't work anymore.

In the mid 1990's, the Canadian government approached the Canadian Rubber Manufacturers Association (now TRAC - Tire and Rubber Association of Canada) and asked them to develop a definition for a Winter Tire. They needed it because they intended to require "Winter Tires" in certain locations and during certain times of the year and they needed a simple way to identify them. (Sound familiar?)

The CRMA collaborated with the RMA (Rubber Manufacturer's Association, now the US Tire Manufacturers Association) and ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials, now ASTM International.) to develop a test and a symbol that could be put on every qualifying tire.

But this time snow traction testing had progressed quite a bit, so they came up with the test mentioned above. And the 3PMSF symbol.

HOWEVER, time has proven that this is also to be inadequate. Not only are too many non-winter tires able to pass the test - much to the chagrin of the Canadian government - but tire manufactuers have improved snow traction even for winter tires.

An attempt was made to expand the Alpine symbol to including a rating system for both snow and ice traction, but what is needed for ice traction is quite different than snow traction, so it was abandoned.

Initially, the Europeans didn't like the symbol. I suspect a bit of "Not Invented Here!". But they have warmed up to it and adopted it in their new (May, 2021) tire labeling regulation. HOWEVER, they require a higher test value than the US and Canada.

In addition, a new symbol tentatively labled the "Nordic Symbol", to indicate enhanced ice traction - and a test to go along with that. It is not yet clear how EU countries will deal with that, but the intention is for it to apply only for Norway, Sweden, Finland, etc - the so called "Nordic" countries.

Note: The actual requirements for the Nordic symbol haven't been finalized at the time of the writing of this document.

I do not have information for other parts of the world.

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