Winter Tires Edmonton

Winter Tires: What You Need To Know

It’s that time of year! When the temperatures drop and snow falls, ensure you’re ready for winter!

What Are Winter Tires?

Winter tires, also referred to as winter tires, have unique features that enable them to perform better than conventional ones in snowy and icy conditions. Winter tires come in two varieties: studless and studded.

Studless Winter tires use tread designs with biting edges that give them good traction on snowy roads. Studded ones have metal or rubber studs that are embedded within the tread that aggressively dig into ice, improving traction on frozen roads. But be aware: If there is no ice on the street, studded snow tires can damage the roadway.

Edmonton winter tires

Benefits of Winter Tires vs. All-Season Tires

Compared to all-season tires, snow tires provide the following benefits:

  • Better performance on snow-covered roads: Studless snow tires help your car deliver quicker acceleration times and shorter stopping distances than all-season tires on snow.
  • Improved performance on icy roadways: The rubber used in all-season tires can freeze and harden in extremely cold temperatures. This can hurt traction and cause the tires to literally skate on ice. Both studded and studless snow tires are made with rubber compounds that remain soft and flexible in frigid conditions. This results in better traction than all-season tires on icy roads. Studded snow tires penetrate frozen precipitation, clawing into it like small anchors.

Can I Use Winter Tires in Summer?

Winter tires are meant to be put on in the fall, and removed in late winter or early spring, depending on where you live.

Winter tires aren’t recommended for summer driving. The rubber used in these tires is softer than the rubber used in all-season tires. This works well in the winter, since this pliability prevents the rubber from hardening in a way that reduces traction. But in hot weather, this softer rubber will wear more quickly and cause the tires to provide less precise handling.

Studded winter tires used during the summer can cause serious problems. The studs embedded in the tread can lead to road noise. Also, these studs run the risk of creating ruts in the road’s pavement.

If you frequently drive through snow or slush, snow tires can help you travel safer. Anyone who’s ever had a vehicle spin out knows that snow and ice can make it difficult for a car to remain securely on the road. Snow tires are designed to provide maximum traction and reduce your risk of losing control of your vehicle as you navigate treacherous roads. These tires have more cuts in their tread, which gives them extra grip in snow.

Despite their name, winter tires aren’t just for driving in snow. These tires provide handling benefits that will serve you well the minute the temperature drops, even if there’s no snow on the ground. That’s because of the way the tires are constructed. All-season tires function well in warmer weather, but they can become stiff in frigid climes. This kind of stiffness makes it more difficult for all-season tires to grip the road in cold temperatures. Snow tires are softer and more flexible, and they retain these qualities even when the mercury dips. Their pliability enables them to snugly fit the road, and this gives them better traction than all-season tires.

(For more information about what winter tires and whether you need them, contact us today.)

Below are some tips to consider when selecting winter tires.

Make Sure You’re Getting Winter Tires

Winter tires look a lot like all-season tires that have been rated to perform in mud and snow. If you’re shopping for winter tires, it’s important to know how to distinguish between these tires.

There’s an easy way to make a correct identification: Check the tire’s sidewall for a snowflake inscription. This inscription indicates a tire that’s been built for snow.

– Find a set of winter tires

Weigh the Pros and Cons of Studded Tires


Studded Tire vs Studless Tire

Photo Credit: Goodyear

Studded winter tires deliver better performance than their studless siblings when there’s ice on the road. However, if the temperature is above freezing, studless winter tires are a better choice.

As mentioned, studdedwinter tires can cause road damage. Because of this, their use is restricted in certain areas.

Factor Installation Into the Buying Decision

You can get great deals on winter tires online. But remember that the tires will need to be installed. Unless you plan on doing it yourself, you’ll need to find a tire shop.

For the sake of convenience, it probably makes more sense to buy the tires at Tonka 4WD and have them installed by our team of experts.

Consider Buying Another Set of Rims

If you have two sets of tires – winter and summer – and one set of rims, you’ll have to pay to have the tires mounted twice a year. Including balancing, that can get expensive. Getting a set of wheels just for your winter tires makes swapping them out easier.

Install Winter Tires in Fours

Tires are expensive, and you may be tempted to install snow tires only on the axle of your vehicle that receives power. However, it’s best to install snow tires on all four of your vehicle’s wheels.

Winter tires improve traction. Putting these tires on some wheels and not others will cause your car’s wheels to receive differing amounts of traction. This traction mismatch can negatively affect your car’s grip and steering, and be dangerous.

Tonka has a huge selection or Winter Tires Edmonton and we are here to provide quality Winter Tire services. Call us today!

Source: https://www.carfax.com/blog/