Facts about Winter Tires
The safest and simplest way of driving safely is by installing winter tires on your automobile. Nowadays there are a lot of tire brands claiming to be the best in performance and safest hence confusing a lot of customers on which are the right tires for the winter to buy, I am going to give the real facts that will help you when shopping and buying winter tires for your vehicle.
Types of tires
Most cars are sold in all season tires that the dealers claim they are multipurpose and standard plus designed for use in all types of surfaces therefore retained in the vehicle for the biggest part of the year.
There are cars that come with snow and mud tires also known as M&S which are very different from the all season tires. The M&S tires are made of softer rubber material that gives them a slightly more flexible surface enabling them even during extreme conditions to grip very uneven surfaces better. They also have more ridges in their thread pattern to provide better traction on very slippery surfaces like wet or icy pavements.
Winter tires
Snow and tires for the winter are made of a softer rubber with extra thread pattern to enable them perform better in snow and low temperatures. Unlike M&S tires, these tires are not used often as they are not good for dry pavements. They have been tested and approved by the transportation authorities in America and Canada to be safe for driving during the winter. They have a logo with snowflakes on a mountain meaning that they have passed reliability and safety requirements.
Using Snow tires
Most motorists have only been using two winter tires (as we say in Denmark vinter dæk) placing them at the axle to improve the traction but this is discouraged as this can be very dangerous as it can spin out the car. Motorists are recommended to use four snow tires so as to benefit from the all wheel drive of the car, anti-locking breaking features and traction control fully because these features can only be enjoyed when using all four wheels.
Studs and Chains
Some winter tires have removable features to improve performance in extreme conditions. Some have removable metal studs that improve performance by digging into the road surface. Tire chains can also be installed especially when driving on an icy road. Before using these modifications make sure that you know what your state approves because studs and chains really wear out the roads. Studs are good for light cars while chains are good for heavy cars.
Demerits
Winter tires wear out quickly as compared to regular all season tires hence you will need to have extra cash to replace them regularly which makes their use expensive.
The studs and chains used to improve performance wear out roads quickly hence the reason why most states have regulated their use.
To install snow tires, you need to replace all the four tires because only replacing the front tires will make controlling the car unpredictable which may be dangerous as the car can spin out.
Read more about winter tires from this interesting article.
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