How Tires Can Affect Your Winter Driving Experience

The tires on your vehicle are the only connection you have with the road as you drive along. If your tires aren’t getting the job done, nothing else will matter – you are going to have a hard time maintaining control and staying safe. While the demands are your tires are pretty minimal when conditions are good, winter driving is another story entirely. In winter conditions, you need tires that are up to the challenge of holding onto cold and slippery roads so you can avoid an accident and make it to your destination.

The article below will provide some basic insight into how you can pick tires for winter driving. By understanding what factors matter, and by matching the tires you pick to the type of driving you will be doing, you can set yourself up for comfortable and controlled driving all winter long.

Understanding the Options

To make the right decision for a set of tires that will get you through the winter months, it’s first important to know what the options are for most passenger vehicles. The possibilities include the two listed below.

• All-season tires. If you live in Idaho and have a standard passenger car or pickup truck, this is likely what is currently on your vehicle. As the name suggests, these tires are meant to be able to do a little bit of everything. They are suitable for driving in dry conditions, wet conditions, warm temperatures, cold temperatures, and everything in between. The tread pattern and rubber compound are both a compromise – basically in the middle of the extremes. This design means that these tires are pretty good in all conditions and not necessarily great at anything. If you are going to stick with all-season tires through a north Idaho winter, it’s important to make sure that yours are in good condition and still have plenty of tread life left.
• Winter tires. Instead of going with your all-season tires through the winter, you might decide to purchase a dedicated set of winter tires to do the job. That means you’ll be swapping out your tires twice a year – once at the start of the winter driving season, and then again when the weather warms back up. By switching to winter tires, you should get far better performance in snow and ice conditions. Winter tires have a more aggressive tread pattern for better grip, and perhaps most importantly, they have a different rubber compound that stays supple at low temperatures. This combination will help you grab onto the road even when it’s slippery, and you will likely notice a dramatic difference in your driving experience.
You might also think about studded tires as a winter option. This is likely the most aggressive option available and having studs in your tires does come with some drawbacks – like a noisy ride in the cab. For most people, either all-season tires or snow tires will get the job done.

Considering Your Needs

So, which one of the two options outlined above is better? It’s not really a matter of “better”, unfortunately, as this is a choice that has to be made on a case-by-case basis. To be sure, winter tires are going to offer improved performance in snow and ice than all-season tires, but that isn’t the end of the story. There is an additional cost associated with going that route, so you need to balance what your driving demands are with the cost of setting up your vehicle for success in the cold months.

As a starting point, do you have to drive when the weather turns ugly? For instance, if a significant snowstorm moves into the area, are you going to need to make it to work no matter what, or will your job allow you to stay home until conditions improve? Someone who has to get to work even in bad weather will likely want to have winter tires equipped. If you don’t have to go out in such a situation, however, you can plan ahead with things like food and supplies for home and just wait out the worst of the weather.

There is also the matter of chains to consider. If you wanted to stick with all-season tires but still wanted to get around safely in tough driving conditions, you could add a set of chains to your garage that could be put on the tires when necessary. This way, you don’t have to purchase a whole new set of tires, but you can still take a step up from basic all-season tires in the worst of the winter weather.

The Storage Factor

For a moment, let’s imagine that you decide to buy a set of winter tires for your vehicle. That means you will now be the owner of eight total tires for a vehicle that only can use four at a time. So, what do you do with those extra four tires when they aren’t in use?

They are probably going to need to live in your garage. Tires can be hung easily on a wall, or placed up on a shelf, so they aren’t too difficult to store. You’ll need to set aside the necessary space for the tires to sit while they are waiting for their turn on the calendar to roll around, but as long as you have a garage, you should be all set.

The team here at Taylor & Sons Chevrolet would be happy to help you pick out the right tires for the winter season. Give us a call or stop by to see us today and you can learn more about what tires might be right for your vehicle. Of course, we also offer a long list of other maintenance and service options, so you won’t need to look anywhere else to get your vehicle ready to go. Thanks for stopping by!

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