In 2017, snow was on the ground in 49 out of the 50 states.
Only Florida can say that it truly never snows. That means that a vast majority of people out there should be considering snow tires.
About 70 percent of injuries related to snow occur in cars. Don’t put yourself at risk by not being prepared for the terrain you’re planning on traversing.
Do You Really Need Snow Tires?
Not being prepared for the snow can land you in a sticky situation. Make sure that you don’t find yourself without the proper equipment if you’re moving to somewhere that snows, if you’re traveling, or you simply never considered it before.
Get Them While They’re Hot
Or, get them where it’s cold. Snow tires have specially designed rubber and treat that grip the ground where other tires couldn’t.
If you live in an area that’s constantly snowy, these tires will give you a leg up on safety. They even help improve the performance of the car when there isn’t snow on the ground.
Coming ‘Round the Mountain
If you’re a person who likes their winter sports, snow tires are probably for you. Heading to the mountains often warrants the extra safety measure and the peace of mind that snow tires can offer you.
You Can Take Them Off
Because your snow tires were made specifically to handle all winter conditions, the rubber can wear out when the roads aren’t cold and icy anymore. The warmer roads will start to wear down the tread on your tires more quickly than you would like because that tread is what’s keeping you safe in the cold.
Because of this, you can take your winter tires off and save them for next year. That way, you can preserve the life of your tires. You don’t want to deal with leaky tires because they’re too worn.
They Beat out All-Terrain
All-terrain tires are, unsurprisingly, made for all-terrains. That means they’re built to perform on both wet and dry roads. For that reason, they’re made to be extremely durable.
To keep these tires more durable, they don’t have as many grooves as snow tires. That means they grip the ground less and provide less traction for your car.
Where your regular tires are going to go slipping and sliding, winter tires are going to give you peace of mind that you won’t be putting yourself or your passengers in danger when they set foot inside your car.
Overall Maintenance
You may have heard that you should treat your car like you treat your body. Take it in for regular checkups so you don’t have to do major repairs because of neglect.
Getting new snow tires might be just one step in the right direction. You could need to repair your tires, or do a more complicated job on your own like replacing your struts.
Whatever you do, don’t go into your car maintenance blindly. Whether it’s for winter tires or something else, there’s an online car manual out there for you to make sure you’re doing everything right the first time.