We live in a region that has snow for four to six months of the year. Growing up, we used to have ‘all-season’ tires on our vehicles and thought that was fine. Since then, they had come up with specially formatted ‘winter’ tires but we never really thought much of them, until we tried them.
Up here, the temperature can drop to as low as -40 degrees Celsius (234 Kelvin), and regular tires, even all-season tires, get solid and lose a lot of their grip. Fishtails and sliding on ice are sort of a rite of passage for young drivers. It’s like drifting, but with actual snow drifts.
When we inherited the van from Shan’s dad, it also came with snow tires. When we had them installed, we noticed a major difference in the stopping ability. Instead of that slow sliding which normally accompanied stopping with all-season tires in deep winter, braking occurred at a much shorter distance. It is a total game changer, and one that I highly recommend for those people who experience actual winter.
It is a major expense, both for the tires themselves, and for the extra rims and possibly sensors needed. Plus add the cost of having them changed, or having to change them yourselves twice a year. But it is easily worth it, both in the better traction and safety as well as not having to deal with cracked bumpers, or the hassle of getting stuck. Plus, your tires will last longer as they are only being driven on half as much. You can’t use snow tires all year as they as softer than regular tires and wear out much quicker on the summer roads.
The only thing to watch out for is that people behind you may not be able to stop as short as you are if they are still trying to get by on all-seasons.
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