Winter Tyres
In Lithuania, cars must be fitted with winter tyres from 10 November to 31 March. On this page you will find both studded and friction winter tyres. The key decision is where you drive most often: on ice and unploughed rural roads, or on cleared city streets. Read the guide
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
M+S
Stock in stores
Mandatory period and markings
Legal requirement: the Road Traffic Rules (point 230) prohibit driving on summer tyres from 10 November to 31 March. During this period, vehicles with a gross weight of up to 3.5 t must use tyres intended for winter and marked either M+S or with the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol (3PMSF), as set out in point 5.5 of the list of technical requirements for motor vehicles and their trailers approved by the Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration (LTSA).
Recommendation: the first frosts and sleet often arrive before 10 November, so it makes sense to fit winter tyres once the average daily temperature drops below roughly +7 °C.
Tread depth in winter
Legal requirement: from 10 November to 31 March, tyres on passenger cars (M1) and light commercial vehicles (N1) must have a tread depth of at least 3.0 mm; the rest of the year the minimum is 1.6 mm.
Recommendation: consider replacing winter tyres when the tread depth is down to about 4 mm. Worn tyres grip snow less well and are worse at clearing water and slush.
Studded or friction
Studded tyres come into their own where ice and packed snow are an almost daily occurrence, for example on rural roads that are cleared less often. In Lithuania they are allowed from 1 November to 9 April, and the car must display a studded tyre sign on the rear.
Friction tyres have no studs, are quieter and cause far less road wear. They are the usual choice for drivers who spend the winter on cleared streets and main roads, where the surface is more often wet than icy.
Which markings to look for
In Lithuania, M+S is enough in winter, but it says nothing about snow grip: it is only a manufacturer's marking with no mandatory test. If you drive to Latvia, Estonia or Finland in winter, choose tyres with the 3PMSF symbol – there, M+S alone is no longer enough for non-studded winter tyres. If you often drive on ice, look for the ice pictogram on the EU label, but bear in mind that such tyres usually take longer to stop on wet asphalt. More in our article on the 3PMSF symbol.