What Brand of Rubber Do You Use???
Winter, All Season, All Terrain, All Weather, Mud & Snow??
Choice’s, Choice’s Choice’s.
Walking into a local tire shop, garage or dealership in search of some tires for your vehicle may feel like walking into a sports store, and grabbing a pair of skates. How do you know which is the best fit? How do you know which blade is most complimentary to your skating style? How often do you use the skates?
In today’s article we are going to concentrate on Winter Tires, and the advantages they can have for you, your passengers and the other drivers on the road!
First things first, determine the application of the vehicle. What will you be using it for, how far will you be driving, where will you be driving, what type of vehicle will they be going on? These are all good ways to help determine the proper tire.
Quality Winter tires use specialized compounds that perform best between +7 and -30 C, other types of tires can freeze, and become much less effective. The softer compound in Winter tires help grip and gain traction on ice, snow, slush, and cold temperatures. Winter tires also traditionally have a larger “V” shape design in the tread which pushes and directs slush and water out of the area.
The snowflake symbol on the side-wall of tires also displays that the tire has passed Winter Safety Standards set by the Tire and Rubber Association of Canada. It signals that the tire has been tested on medium packed snow, and outperformed All Season Tires, giving up to 50% more traction, and stopping 30% sooner on Winter roads.
I have also had many customers ask me if it is safe to replace two tires at a time. I always highly recommend having 4 identical tires installed, to ensure handling dynamics remain consistent on all driving surfaces.
In conclusion, I would quickly like to summarize some of the advantages of Winter Tires.
1. They Save Lives. Quebec recently legislated all vehicles to require 4 winter tires on all passenger vehicles. This resulted in 3% decrease in death and serious injury, and 5% decrease in accident victims.
2. Improved Stopping Distance. Compared to All Season tires, Winter tires help you brake 30% sooner in winter conditions.
3. Switching to Winter Tires in colder months can reduce fuel consumption by up to 5% and extend the life of your tires.
Until next time, keep your rubber on the road.
B.W. Alex Gillis
Sales Associate, Southside Dodge
Red Deer, Alberta
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