Imagine the following scenario: it is winter-time and you decide to put the best winter tires on your vehicle to prevent yourself from slipping and sliding all over the road. But as winter changes into spring and spring changes into summer, you just can't find the motivation to change your winter tires. Is it okay to use your winter tires all year long? Or will using your winter tires during the summer months cause you to slide through intersections once it starts to freeze again?
As nice as it would be to use our winter tires all year long, it is definitely not advised. According to experts, using your winter tires all year long means that you will need to replace them sooner. Not only that, but using your winter tires during all 12 months can put your safety at risk, decreasing your ability to stop during spring, summer, and fall months.
What makes winter tires so successful during cold months is their formulated trade compound that stays soft during cold weather. If you use them properly, winter tires should last you for 2-3 years. But if you use them throughout the entire year, they will wear out faster than all-season tires and will not provide good performance.
A good test to determine whether your tires are equip for winter safety is to check their tread depth. With that said, the same test is not true for summer and spring months. Regardless of tread depth, winter tires are not equip to perform properly on wet and dry summer roads, sometimes making it difficult to stop quickly.
According to a magazine that compared 2012 tires on a Chevy Cruze, winter tires perform much worse during summer months than all-season tires. On average, when traveling at speeds of 60 miles per hour on a dry track, winter tires took 24 feet further to stop than all season tires. When wet surfaces were added into the equation, the winter tires took an average of 31 feet further to stop. This distance could be the difference between going home safely or ending up in a collision.
When it comes to winter driving, winter tires were found to stop at least 7 feet shorter than all-season tires when driving on ice. The top rated winter tires stopped 15 feet shorter than all-season tires. Not only are winter tires better at stopping during cold months, they are also better at accelerating. While it took the average all-season tire 99 feet to accelerate to 20mph in the snow, it only took the winter tire 80 feet.
Of course, not everyone agrees with these statistics. A large controversy was raised in Quebec where winter tires were required by law between the dates of December 15 and March 15. According to Provincial Police, there is only a marginal difference between the safety of winter tires and all-season tires during cold months.
So here is the big question - should you keep your all-season tires or switch to winter ones?
Regardless of who you ask, most experts will recommend using winter tires when the temperature begins to drop. The biggest problem with all season tires is that when the temperature drops below 7 degrees Celsius, the rubber compound within the tire hardens and begins to lose traction, putting the driver of the vehicle at risk of accident. When compared to winter tires, these are designed to stay soft for weather up to -40 degrees Celsius, keeping you safer on the road.
But when it comes to summer months? Switch your winter tires for all season ones. Winter tires excel in snowy and icy conditions, but in dry conditions do not have good grip or precision.
And remember, next to your brakes, your tires are one of the most important safety features on your vehicle. They are definitely not something that you want to go the cheap route for. And as former race car driver Demere states, "It's a lot easier to avoid a crash than it is to survive one". As a recommendation by Demere, you need to have 4 winter tires (not just two). Always make sure that they are kept to the proper tire pressure - this is not the number listed on your tire, but the number listed inside your manual.
How long can you expect winter tires to last? It really depends on how you drive them and under which conditions you drive. You should keep a constant eye on your tires to ensure that they always have at least a 2mm tread depth.
Read the Original Article at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-tips/can-i-use-winter-tires-all-year-to-save-money/article4942595/
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