With Winter setting in and snow becoming a common topic in the weather forecast, it is important to consider and understand the effects that the elements can have on your vehicle’s traction. When driving on ice and snow, it takes three to twelve times more stopping distance than required on dry roads. Therefore, it is important to take every advantage available to you to ensure your vehicle has traction and you remain in control. The best way of doing so is the use of winter tires. Winter tires, like their summertime counterparts, are designed specifically for specific climate conditions to ensure that their performance is not hindered by adverse weather. Don’t believe us? Here is a little more information about why you need winter tires on your vehicle.
Winter/Summer/All-Season: What’s The Difference?
When purchasing tires, you have the option of buying Summer, All-Season, or Winter tires. They all look and seem the same, so what’s the difference? Below is a table sourced from SGI that lays out the difference in performance between each type of tire.
Winter in Saskatchewan comes with no shortage of snow and ice. Designed for harsh winter conditions, winter tires have big blocky treads that help move water and slush more efficiently. Winter tires are developed with a softer rubber that maintains its flexibility in cold temperatures means that when temperatures drop to extremes, you can trust that your tires will still perform as they are supposed to. Still unsure of what the big deal is? Here is some hard data from tests carried out by Consumer Reports.
Winter Tire vs. All-Season Tires
In Consumer Reports tests, the organization sought to compare the performance of all-season tires against that of winter tires. In their tests, the following data was collected regarding stopping distance on ice and snow.
As stated on the Consumer Reports website, “Consumer Reports tests consistently show that winter/snow tires deliver better grip to start in snow and stop on icy surfaces”. Driving in Saskatchewan means driving in snowy conditions. Winter tires outperform most all-season and all-terrain tires with better stopping and starting ability making them a superior choice regardless of your vehicle’s drivetrain (i.e. rear-wheel drive, front-wheel drive, etc.).
How To Identify Winter Tires
Winter/snow tires can easily be identified by a mountain and snowflake symbol on the sidewall. Looking at tread pattern also is a good indication of the tire type as winter tires have many grooves in the tread acting as biting edges and a tread compound that stays pliable in cold temperatures.
What About Studded Tires?
If you’re familiar with tire options, you may be asking yourself, “what about studded tires?”. Studded tires are another great alternative for use in the winter, however, there are caveats to them.
Studded tires offer good snow traction and are good at clawing into ice. Studded tires are specially designed winter tires that have metal studs embedded into each tire. Studded tires act as a superior tire option when faced with frequent and severe winter conditions. Particularly in areas like the mountainous regions of Alberta and British Columbia. As stated by Canada Drives “Each stud only protrudes about 1/32 of an inch from the tire’s surface but under the full weight of the car, these studs claw at ice and snow on the road like tiny pickaxes”.
Although studded tires are a high-quality solution to winter driving, there are several concessions that also come along with them. Studded tires can be noisy and can leave scratch marks in driveways. On top of this, studded tires also often have shorter treadwear and can compromise handling on cleared roads. With this, studded tires can become detrimental in areas that get infrequent amounts of snow (or that are regularly cleared of snow and slush). It is also important to note that although studded tires are allowed in Saskatchewan, other areas in Canada restrict their use which could lead to warnings or citations from law enforcement. For an all-encompassing guide to where studded tires are allowed, check out this page on Tirecraft’s website.
Best Practices With Your Tires
If you’ve made it this far, we have no doubt that you see the benefit of winter tires. Next time you’re in the market for tires, consider the many benefits associated with using winter tires in your purchase. Remember that winter tires are only designed for a specific climate though and that it is not a good idea to keep your winter tires on your car after the snow melts. The soft rubber can become problematic in stronger heat making them less effective in the summer. Ensure you are swapping for summer or all-season tires as soon as the temperature starts to rise. Winter tires typically last three or four seasons due to the intensive use they receive in the wintertime.
If you are involved in a collision, give us a call at (306) 382 3911 or stop by our shop on 1109 Avenue Q South in Saskatoon to receive your estimate.
Superior Auto Body Saskatoon has been in business since 1961, and we have been an SGI APPROVED Autobody shop and have been SGI accredited since 1982. There are many reasons we have so many loyal longstanding clients from all over the city, but mostly it is the small, personal touches that we offer to people who have been unfortunate enough to require our services.