What You Need to Know About Winter Tires

In many states here in the United States, we experience all four seasons. This means that when winter comes around, there can be slush, snow, ice, or heavy rain. These elements can make driving especially dangerous, as slippery roads result in less traction, and heavy rain and snow can obscure the driver’s sight.

While winter tires can’t help with obscured sight, they can help drivers have better control while driving in unfavorable weather. Here are a few things you need to know when considering the purchase of snow tires:

Winter tires are great even without snow. Even if your area rarely gets snow, winter may still cause the temperature to drop below 40 degrees, which is just enough to affect your tire pressure. As the temperature drops, many all-season tires will become stiff, causing their traction to become less effective. Winter tires, on the other hand, will remain pliable and soft even when the temperature drops.

Winter tires still need their psi checked. Like any other tire, it’s especially important to regularly check your tire pressure in the winter, since cold weather causes psi to drop. An underinflated tire can lead to poor gas mileage, a rough ride, or worse – a flat tire! Be sure to check and inflate your winter tires regularly too.

Winter tires have special tread patterns. Winter tires are designed with unique tread patterns that help that better combat the slush and ice when you’re on the road. Take a look at the cool design next time you’re in store!

Winter tires aren’t always expensive. If a high price tag is deterring you from trying out winter tires – don’t let it! Ask your local tire dealer for an option on the lower spectrum of their pricing. It never hurts to ask.

We hope you can see the benefits of winter tires this season. Those of you who live in extremely cold climates will find winter tires to be useful for nearly half of a calendar year. If you have any inquiries about winter tires, please let us know. We’d be happy to help!