5 Tips about Snow Tires

1. Snow tires, also called winter tires, are specially design tread patterns that dig down and bite into snow and ice. Snow tires also have softer rubber compounds that maintain their flexibility in the cold weather, allowing the tire to get a better grip on the road. Regular tires tend to get hard and fragile in cold temperatures, and can’t grip the road as well. Tire grip is important in the winter months, not just to avoid getting stuck, but to a better grip on the road for stopping and steering. Any vehicle’s safety features, like anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, and all-wheel-drove etc, won’t work properly if the tire can not keep a grip on the road.

2. All-weather or all-season tires are not necessarily snow tires. These tires can handle dry roads, rain, and mud. All-season tires are normally made from harder material that doesn’t grip the road as well in cold temperatures.

3. If someone was going to put snow tires on their vehicle, they should install snow tires on all four wheels. Just putting two snow tires on the drive wheels is not a good idea. If snow tires were put on the front of a front-wheel drive vehicle, the back tires would have less grip than the front tires, causing to spin out when braking and cornering. Also, if winter tires were installed on the back wheels of a rear drive car and not the front wheels, there’s not much of a grip for steering. This could cause your vehicle to go straight ahead, even if you just turned the steering wheel. It is important to install all four tires.

4. Snow tires can be left on year round, but they make noise going down the road. More important the softer compounds tread wear out faster in warmer temperatures. By the time that the snow arrives next winter, the tread would be worn off and would not grip on the tire to dig into snow and ice. When the snow is gone for winter, snow tires should be replaced, and regular tires should be put on. They don’t have to be all-season tire, just some good tires to get around in rain and that provides a smoother, quieter ride.

5. Mounting and balancing snow tires at the beginning and end of every winter season can be annoying. There are a couple of things that can be done to make this process easier and inexpensive. An extra set of wheels, rims, can be brought at a salvage yard to be use for your snow tires. As long as the rims have the same diameter and bolt pattern, they will work. Perhaps you may want to purchase a set of aftermarket wheels. Keep the original wheels and use them for your snow tires.