It’s that time of year again! The air is colder, the leaves are falling and we need to prepare ourselves and our cars for winter! One of the ways to prepare our car is to find the best winter tires for them. Summer tires are designed to enhance traction in mostly dry and warm conditions, not winter conditions. Wintertime has the most challenging driving conditions that we face all year. We have less daylight and colder temperatures as well as snow, slush and ice. We need the best winter tires on our car to get us where we need to go safely.
Tire experts, including Tire Rack say only dedicated snow tires will actually improve your vehicle’s grip in winter conditions. All-season tires are suppose to provide traction in a variety of weather conditions but fall short in their performance on ice and snow. An inexpensive winter tire performs better in ice and snow tests than all-season tires.
Narrow winter tires are better for driving on ice and in snow, they are better at cutting a path through snow and slush. It’s always best to use the tire size specified for your car. You can find that information in your owner’s manual or by looking on the sidewalls of the tires that are already on your car.
Do you need a studded winter tire? Is that the best choice for your car? If you drive on icy roads regularly, the studded winter tire might be your best choice, just be sure that they aren’t banned or limited in your area. If you are curious about which brands are rated the best winter tire, talk to your service technician or visit consumersearch.com/snow-tire/reviews. Once you have decided on the best winter tire for you, you’ll want to have them installed before the weather turns. It’s also important that you get four matching tires. It may be tempting to buy only two tires, but experts don’t recommend it. Different tires react differently, and unmatched tires can handle unpredictably. Another small tip is winter tires wear faster than regular tires, so remove them as soon as the winter weather is gone and spring arrives!