Most new vehicles come equipped with a quality set of all-season tires when they roll off the factory floor and into the dealership. There’s a good reason for this; all-season tires are reliable, and versatile. If they’re good in “all seasons,” though, why do you need to consider winter tires? Read on with the tire experts here at the Downtown Auto Group, as we look at the difference between your all-season tires, and a set of good winter tires.
All-Season Tires
All-seasons are the jack-of-all-trades of tires. They are reliably designed, and feature a quality tread good at gripping the road under most conditions, year-round. They’re versatile, quiet, and ideal for the driver who generally doesn’t want to think about their tires most of the time, and especially for drivers who live in moderate climates that don’t see extreme weather changes. The downside is that all-season tires don’t specialize in anything; they aren’t the best at handling on dry roads, driving through snow, going off-road, or gripping on ice. They’re good in most situations, just not optimal. Worse, in particularly cold conditions, they start to lose their elasticity. This can result in a loss of traction on snow and ice, and more wear-and-tear on them in the winter.
Winter Tires
Winter tires are designed to specialize in the cold and snow. They’re made from a reformulated rubber that actually works better at temperatures under 7-degrees celsius. They’re great at gripping cold road surfaces, and retain traction a bit better on ice. Plus, they have a tread pattern designed to work like a tiny snowplow, pushing snow away from the tire to make driving easier. The downside is they are explicitly not for all seasons; once the weather warms up, the tires actually lose effectiveness, and will wear out faster if used continuously year-round. That said, if you live in a colder climate where winter can bring extremes, you really should consider swapping your all-season tires for winter tires every year. Not only is it safer, it can save wear on your all-season tires so they last longer.
Get New Tires with Downtown Auto Group
There are other specialty tires too, from high-performance summer tires to rugged off-roading tires. If you need to swap seasonal tires, we can even store them for you in our state-of-the-art facility. Find the right set of tires for your vehicle, and your needs, with the team here at the Downtown Auto Group in Toronto, ON, today.
