EmryLL

Nov 04

Signs You Need New Tires: 5 Things to Check Before Winter Hits

By EmryLL Safety, Tires

The weeks before winter are a good time to take a closer look at your tires, since cold, wet roads ask more of them than almost any other time of year. Knowing how to tell when you need new tires can help you decide whether your current set will carry you through the season or whether it’s worth replacing them before the first cold snap. Most of these checks take just a few minutes in the driveway, and none of them require special tools.

Sign 1: Your Tread Is Getting Shallow

Tread channels move water, slush, and snow out from under the tire, so as the tread wears down, grip gradually drops, especially on wet or snowy roads. Tires have small wear bars molded into the grooves that sit about 1.6 mm below the surface, and once the tread is level with them the tire is considered worn out. Traction in winter conditions starts to fade well before that point, though, and many tire professionals suggest replacing winter tires once they’re down to roughly 4 mm.

A simple way to check at home is the toonie test. Place a toonie in a tread groove and if the tread covers the silver outer ring of the coin, you have about 4 mm or more remaining. If you can see the whole ring, the tread is wearing thin. A tread depth gauge is inexpensive and gives you an exact reading if you’d like one.

Sign 2: Cracks, Bulges, or Cuts in the Sidewall

The sidewall flexes every time the tire rolls, which makes it the part of the tire most likely to show age and damage. Fine cracks across the rubber can be a sign that it’s drying out, while a bulge or bubble usually points to internal damage from a hard impact, such as hitting a pothole or curb. Cuts and gouges are worth a look too. A bulge in particular is something to have checked by a tire shop as soon as you can, and since cold weather stiffens rubber, existing weak spots matter even more once temperatures drop.

Sign 3: Uneven Wear Across the Tread

Run your hand across the tread, and look at how the wear is spread from edge to edge. If the outer or inner edges are more worn than the centre, it can point to under-inflation or an alignment issue, while wear down the middle often suggests the tires have been over-inflated. Patchy or scalloped wear can be a clue that suspension parts need attention. It’s worth having the cause looked at when you replace the tires so the new set doesn’t wear the same way, and regular rotation helps too. Our tips for getting more life out of your tires cover the habits that help.

Sign 4: Your Tires Are Getting Older

Rubber hardens over time, even when a tire has plenty of tread left, so age is one of the signs you need new tires that’s easy to miss. You can find out how old yours are by looking for the DOT code on the sidewall, where the last four digits show the week and year the tire was made. A code ending in 3422, for example, means the 34th week of 2022. Many manufacturers suggest having tires inspected once they’re around six years old and replacing them by about ten, though your owner’s manual and tire shop can give you advice specific to your tires.

Sign 5: Vibration, Pulling, or Pressure That Won’t Hold

Sometimes the signs show up while you’re driving. A vibration at highway speeds, a steady pull to one side, or needing to top up the air more often than usual can point to a tire that’s out of balance, damaged, or slowly leaking. None of these always means you need a new tire, but they’re worth having inspected, since a quick look from a tire shop can tell you whether it’s a simple fix or time to replace.

Why It’s Worth Checking for Signs You Need New Tires Before Winter

Temperature changes how tires behave, which is part of why a set that felt fine in September can feel different in November. Once the temperature settles around 7°C, rubber begins to stiffen, as we explain in our post on the 7°C guideline for winter tires, so any wear or damage you already have tends to show up more. If you’re planning to put on a stored winter set, it’s worth running through the same checks before they go on, and our winter vs. all-season comparison can help if you’re deciding which set suits your driving.

Found Signs You Need New Tires? Making the Swap Easier

If one or more of these checks turned something up, replacing your tires doesn’t have to turn into a big weekend project. Your floor jack handles the lifting, and the Jack and Jill of All Tires takes care of the part most people find hardest: holding a 40 to 100 lb wheel steady while lining it up with the bolts. This trolley works alongside your floor jack, supporting the weight so you’re guiding the wheel into place instead of carrying it.

If you haven’t done a swap before, our beginner’s guide to changing a tire walks through each step, and the tools page lists what’s helpful to have on hand. Ready to make tire changing easy? Check out the Jack and Jill of All Tires here.

For more on tire care and safety, the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada is a helpful resource.

Oct 19

Love0

DIY Tire Change 101: The Beginner’s Guide Anyone Can Follow

By EmryLL Jack and Jill of All Tires, Repair Tips, Safety

If you’ve never done it before, learning how to change a tire yourself can feel like a bigger job than it really is. But once you understand the process, it’s much more manageable than you might think. From preparing your vehicle and loosening the lug nuts to swapping the wheel and tightening everything back up, knowing what to expect can make all the difference. This guide walks you through each step, so your first tire change feels familiar before you start.

What You Need Before You Learn How to Change a Tire Yourself

Having everything within arm’s reach makes the job faster and safer. Gather:

A floor jack to lift the car
Jack stands (a floor jack lifts the car, jack stands hold it)
A lug wrench or breaker bar
A torque wrench
Wheel chocks
Your spare or seasonal tire, inflated and ready
Work gloves and your owner’s manual
The Jack and Jill of All Tires to support and move the tire

Our tools checklist explains what we’d keep on hand and why.

Step 1: Park on Flat, Solid Ground

Flat, solid ground matters more than anything else on this list. A driveway or garage is ideal. Avoid soft ground, gravel, and slopes, since a lifted car can shift on an incline.

Put the car in park (or in gear if it’s a manual), set the parking brake, and place wheel chocks against the tires on the opposite end of the car from the one you’re lifting.

Step 2: Loosen the Lug Nuts First

This is the step beginners most often skip, and it causes the most frustration. If the tire is already in the air, it just spins when you push on the wrench.

With the tire still on the ground, turn each lug nut counterclockwise about a half turn. You’re only breaking them loose, not removing them. If a nut won’t budge, a breaker bar gives you extra leverage.

how to change a tire yourself

Step 3: Lift the Car and Add Jack Stands

Check your owner’s manual for the reinforced lift points on your vehicle. Position the floor jack under the correct point and lift until the tire is clear of the ground.

Once the car is up, set a jack stand under a nearby frame point as backup. Never put any part of your body under a car supported only by a floor jack.

Step 4: Take the Tire Off Without Wrestling It

This is where many first-timers find the job is more physical than they expected. A tire and wheel typically weigh between 40 and 100 lb, which is a lot to manage when you’re kneeling or crouching while trying to keep the wheel balanced. And when you’re swapping all four tires, that physical effort can quickly add up.

With the Jack and Jill of All Tires, changing your tires becomes easier and more manageable by following these simple steps:

Secure the Jack and Jill of All Tires under the wheel before removing the final few lug nuts
Once secure, remove the lug nuts and set them aside.
With one hand on the wheel and the other on the handle of the Jack and Jill of All Tires, pull the wheel off the vehicle

Step 5: Mount the New Tire

Lining the studs up with the holes on the wheel can be one of the more frustrating parts when changing your tires. With the Jack and Jill of All Tires, you’re able to spin the wheel on the rollers to line both the holes and studs up perfectly. Once lined up, simply push the wheel towards the hub and hand thread each lug nut back on.

Step 6: Lower the Car and Torque the Nuts

After threading the lug nuts back on, remove the Jack and Jill from the wheel and lower the car back down. Using a torque wrench, tighten the lug nuts in a star pattern to the vehicles torque specifications located in the owners’ manual.

Mistakes to Avoid on Your First Tire Change

Most first-time tire-changing mistakes come down to a few common oversights:

Forgetting to secure the vehicle with the parking brake and wheel chocks
Lifting the vehicle before loosening the lug nuts
Positioning the floor jack at the wrong lifting point
Tightening the lug nuts in a circle instead of a star pattern
Guessing at tightness instead of using a torque wrench
Forgetting to re-check the lug nut torque after the first 50 to 100 km of driving, as recommended by your vehicle or wheel manufacturer

That last step is particularly easy to overlook. After your first short drive, check the lug nut torque again according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. It’s also a good idea to double-check your tire pressure before hitting the road.

How to Change a Tire Yourself, With Less Heavy Lifting

The steps above don’t change from car to car. Lifting the car is easy with a floor jack. Handling the tire is the part people dread, and it’s what the Jack and Jill of All Tires was built for. It works alongside your jack, supporting the tire’s weight while you guide it off and back on.

Timing your swap? Our post on why 7°C is the magic number explains when winter tires make sense. You can also see the Jack and Jill of All Tires in the shop, watch it in action on the videos page, or read our complete step-by-step guide and FAQ for more detail.

Oct 14

Love0

When to Switch to Winter Tires: Why 7°C Is the Magic Number

By EmryLL Safety

Deciding when to switch to winter tires is one of those seasonal questions that most of us answer by instinct, whether that’s the first frost, the first snowfall, or a date we’ve settled on over the years. It’s a reasonable way to go about it, but there’s also a more precise guide that many drivers find helpful: the 7 degree rule for winter tires. Once you understand what it’s based on, choosing the right weekend for your swap tends to feel a lot more straightforward.

The 7 Degree Rule for Winter Tires, Explained

The 7°C rule comes down to how tires perform in colder temperatures. As daily temperatures consistently drop to 7°C or below, winter tires generally begin to outperform all-season tires. This is true even when there’s no snow on the ground, as colder temperatures affect how tires behave on the road. It’s an important distinction to keep in mind, especially since temperatures often fall below 7°C well before the first snowfall arrives.

What Happens to Your Tires Below 7°C

A tire’s performance depends a great deal on the rubber it’s made from. All-season tires use a firmer compound that’s designed to handle a wide range of conditions, and as temperatures approach 7°C that compound gradually begins to stiffen. A stiffer tire doesn’t grip the road quite as well, even on dry pavement, which can affect braking, cornering, and acceleration in ways you might not notice until you need them.

Winter tires are made with a softer compound that stays flexible in the cold, which lets the tire keep conforming to the road surface as the temperature falls. The tread pattern plays its part too, though the rubber does much of the work. If you’d like to see the two tire types compared side by side, our guide to the differences between them goes into more detail.

Why the Thermometer Beats the Calendar

Winter tire laws are a good reminder of how much the timing varies across the country. Quebec requires winter tires from December 1 to March 15, and British Columbia requires winter tires or chains on most designated highways from October 1 to April 30. Those dates set a legal deadline, though many drivers find the ideal time to swap comes a little earlier, since temperatures in much of Canada dip below 7°C well before December. If you’d like to see what applies in your province, our province-by-province overview covers the requirements in more detail.

Likewise, many of us wait for the first snowfall as a natural cue, and it makes sense that we would. The only catch is that the cold has usually been affecting all-season tires for a few weeks by the time the snow shows up, so watching the forecast for temperatures can give you a bit of extra lead time.

7 degree rule for winter tires,

How to Track the Temperature Without Overthinking It

Following the 7 degree rule for winter tires doesn’t take much effort, and a few simple habits can make it feel natural:

Check both the daily highs and the overnight lows in your weather app, since mornings are often the coldest part of the day
Watch for a stretch of about a week where the highs hover around 7°C, which is a good sign that the season is turning
Keep in mind that shaded roads and bridges tend to be colder than the air temperature suggests

Once you notice the weather is consistently around 7°C, choose a dry weekend so you can take your time with the swap.

A Helpful Pre-Swap Checklist for Winter Tires

Before your winter set goes on, it’s worth taking a few minutes to look over a handful of things:

Tire pressure: make sure your winter tires are properly inflated before installing them
Tread and sidewalls: check for uneven wear, cracks, bulges, or any other visible damage
Wheel markings: if your tires are directional or have a specific rotation pattern, confirm that each wheel goes back on the correct corner
Hub faces: clear away any dirt and rust from the wheel hub before mounting

Making the Swap a Driveway Job

Once you’ve picked your weekend, the swap itself can be a very manageable project. Your floor jack takes care of the lifting, and the part that many people find most challenging is what comes next: holding a 40 to 100 lb tire steady while lining it up with the bolts, usually from a crouched position.

That’s the step the Jack and Jill of All Tires was designed to help with. It works alongside your floor jack, supporting the tire’s weight so that you’re guiding the wheel into place instead of struggling with it. Our complete step-by-step guide walks through every stage of a tire change, and the tools page lists what’s helpful to have on hand. Ready to make tire changing easy? Check out the Jack and Jill of All Tires here.

The 7 Degree Rule for Winter Tires Works in Reverse Too

The same number is a useful guide in the spring. Once temperatures are consistently above 7°C, the softer rubber on winter tires tends to wear more quickly on warm pavement, so that’s a good time to switch back to your all-season set. For more on caring for your tires through the seasons, the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada is a helpful resource.