The German requirement is situational, not calendar-based: winter-capable tyres are mandatory whenever there is ice, packed snow, slush, or frost on the road. Drive on summer rubber in those conditions and it is a fine, points, and an insurer with an opinion.
Because the rule follows the weather, the old advice still holds — October to Easter. In Hamburg the first genuinely cold mornings usually arrive in the second half of October, and that is the week the workshop fills up.
It is the temperature, not the snow
Winter compound stays flexible below seven degrees; summer compound goes hard. On a dry, cold morning with no snow anywhere, a winter tyre still stops the car meaningfully shorter. That is the part most people miss.
Book the change-over before the first frost is forecast. We store the off-season set here, washed and pressure-checked, so the boot stays empty and the tyres do not spend six months in a garage corner.
Leave a Reply