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by: Mat Johnson

 

Winter can be a cruel and unpredictable season, with its cold temperatures and wet slippery snowfall. It makes everybody's life a little harder from keeping ourselves warm to shoveling our driveways. It gets especially cruel, when we have to commute in winter weather. Winter driving conditions can make roads slippery and dangerous for all who have to commute day to day. That's why it's important for those who have to commute to have good, reliable winter tires.

            Winter can make roads dangerous with or without snowfall. If the temperature is cold enough, even without snow roads can become frozen, and create patches of black ice. When roads are snowy, that's when all chaos and havoc break loose. That's why being prepared for this is really important to not only your safety, but also to the safety of others on the road. Having good reliable winter tires for the season should be one of the top priorities in being prepared for winter safety.

            Even if you have good tires, but those tires aren't built for the winter, it still can be dangerous. The reason is that every tire is built for specific use. Summer tires are only built for summer driving. All-season tires are for all seasons, and winter tires are built specifically for winter. Even though all-season tires can be used for all seasons, it is still advisable to have winter tires, because they are built specifically for winter.           

            Winter tires are built specifically to handle the cold temperatures and slippery snow conditions.  There are three major structural parts of a winter tire that make it better for winter driving conditions.

Those major parts include:

·      The tread design.

·      The tread depth.

·      The rubber compound.

The tread is built with more sipes, which allow the tread to flex under stress and create more aggressive biting edges. This gives you better braking, cornering, and accelerating. Tread depth is most important, because it determines the life and traction of your tire. The better the tread depth the greater the performance. Tire shops usually recommend tread depth at 6/32 of an inch. Any tire with a tread depth less than that should be replaced.

The last important component is the rubber compound. The rubber compounds vary from manufacturer to manufacture. The rubber compound remains flexible at colder temperatures in addition to enhancing traction. Now you know the importance and benefits of winter tires.

If you need some help in finding the right winter tires for your vehicle, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.

The Benefits of Winter Tires - Tire Central and Service was written by Mat Johnson of Tire Central and Service