To winterize or not winterize It’s that time of year when roads are cold, wet, and slippery with ice and snow. When the mercury shows temperatures in the single digits, it’s time to think about winter tires. However, when people talk about winterizing their transportation with winter tires, should you really listen to these suggestions? The answer is “yes.” These drivers are not just taking the time and expense to be model citizens in an ideal world where everyone is prepared. These drivers are being smart, practical, safety-conscious, and economical. With advances in all-season tire design and often milder winters, one might think winter tires are a good idea, but wonder if investing in a set is worth it. Consumer Reports says it is. Their research show that winter tires “deliver better grip to start in snow and stop on icy surfaces.” Winter tires also “offer an extra margin of performance over all-season and all-terrain tires.” Note: while, generally, winter tires will serve you better during the cold months, depending on the specific tire, some all-season tires outperform winter tires. So, what’s the difference between all-season tires and winter tires? All-season tires Most vehicles come with all season tires. These tires are relatively quiet and have a good tread life and fuel economy. All-season tires are made for versatility, including wet roads and light winter driving. So far so good! However, do all-season tires combine the best of both worlds? Unfortunately, no. All-season tires are not designed for driving on snow and ice. All-season tires are ideal for moderate climates, but conditions that include extreme cold, ice, and snow during the winter months call for with winter tires. Winter and snow tires From heavy snowfall to black ice, if it’s winter in Michigan, your tires need added traction. In snowy weather, winter tires have better stopping and starting ability. Winter tires have a mountain and snowflake symbol on the side. This indicates that the tire meets industry-standards of snow traction. Features of winter tires include: tread rubber, tread depth and patterns, and biting edges.

• Tread rubber
• Tread depth
• Patterns
• Biting edges

Tread rubber In extreme cold, the rubber on all-season tires stiffens, hindering their traction. The rubber on winter tires, however, is designed to be flexible under cold conditions. Tread depth Winter tires have a deeper tread depth. This reduces the buildup of snow to provide better traction. Tread patterns Winter tires have unique tread patterns that expel snow, slush, and water away from the wheels. Biting edges Winter tires feature more biting edges and high sipe densities. Siping refers to cutting thousands of tiny slits in the rubber tread to provide traction on the ice. Additional winter options In addition to basic winter tires, you might also want to consider wide winter tires or studdable tires. Wide winter tires Wide winter tires improve safety even more. These tires work well on dry roads, wet roads, and even compact snow. Studdable tires Studdable tires have good traction and can claw ice. The downside is they’re noisy and can leave scratch marks. Studdable tires also tend not to last as long as regular winter tires and don’t grip cleared roads as well as their regular winter counterparts. Tips Experts advise changing to winter tires before the start of the season. Always install a full set of matching tires. Changing out the front tires could cause the rear tires to skid. Winter tires exclusively on the rear wheels could cause the front tires to lose traction. Change back to all-season tires in Spring. Winter tires are meant for winter conditions and will wear out more quickly on dry roads than all-season tires will. Then your winter tires won’t perform as well come next winter, but remove them at each winter’s end and you may get three or four seasons of good use out of them! In sum, if you opt for winter tires:

• Select winter tires that are the same or wider than your regular tires
• Consider studded tires
• Look for the mountain and snowflake symbol on the tire
• Change out all four winter tires to match before winter weather hits
• Remove winter tires at the end of every winter and change back to all-season tires until the next winter.

Contact us Join us for our tire sale at Thelen Auto Group to take advantage of this opportunity get your vehicle weather ready today! Resources: https://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/drivers-ed/winter-snow-tires-vs-all-season-tires https://www.consumerreports.org/tires/winter-snow-vs-all-season-tires-comparison/ https://www.continental-tires.com/car/technology/tire-knowledge/tirelexikon-2-0/lex-1-5