Why You Should Change Your Winter Tires
Would you wear flip-flops in the snow? Learn more about when to change your tires!
Why You Should Change Your Winter Tires
The rubber and tread on winter tires are specially designed to be more flexible; making it easier to withstand cold temperatures as well as driving on ice and snow.
When the temperature starts to rise, the flexible rubber that adds traction in the winter will wear down significantly faster compared to all seasons or summer tires.
In addition to wear and tear, driving on warm, dry pavement with winter tires can decrease the drivers’ handling capabilities. Sharp turns aren’t so sharp, and you may notice a bit more noise while you drive.
Important Safety Tips
- Driving on winter tires in summer increases the braking distance by at least 10% on dry pavement and 26% on wet pavement.
- Going 70 km/h on wet pavement increases the braking distance by up to 42%.
- Going 90 km/h on dry pavement increases the braking distance by up to 19.3%.
When You Should Change Your Winter Tires
Even though the snow and ice may be gone, you should really be changing your tires based on the temperature rather than the winter elements.
The guidelines may vary between tire brands but, on average, the best time to change from winter to summer tires is when the temperature is consistently around 8°C (46°F).
To put this into perspective, treat your tires as footwear. You swap flip-flops for boots in the winter, so you should also swap your tires when the weather changes.
