It happens every winter. The temperature drops, it starts snowing, we start seeing real accumulation, black ice, and other winter dangers. And every year, some people are prepared and others are surprised.
What's the Difference Between All-Season and Winter Tires?
All-Season Tires
All-season tires are perfect for the summer. They offer a smooth ride and good mileage. Beyond rain and some very light snow, they just aren't well-suited for winter. They're not designed to handle real winter conditions. They lack the control you need in order to stay safe when the roads are not.
Winter Tires
Winter tires are designed specifically for the worst winter has to offer. One component that makes a winter tire different is the thousands of precise slits that increase the tread. These improve traction substantially and make up for the control you lose when driving over snow and ice.
They also have deeper treads and a pattern designed to take advantage of this through winter conditions. Slush, snow, and ice can become pressed into and eventually become impacted in the treads of an all-season tire. A winter tire's pattern pushes these to the side of the tire, where it's cycled back out onto the road. This prevents the kind of build-up that fills in and therefore smooths out an all-season tire.
There's one more trick winter tires have up their sleeves. All-season tires stiffen as the temperature drops. This makes them lose their pliability, which is one factor in traction. Winter tires use rubber that remains pliable through any realistic weather condition – even if the temperature were to drop below zero.
Designed Toward Safety
Everything about a winter tire's design helps its ability to grip the road in the worst conditions. Thousands of extra slits improve traction, while deeper treads enable you to use that traction better. Tread design funnels out snow, slush, and ice so that it doesn't impact in the treads, and finally, the rubber stays pliable and retains its grip even in the cold. This all adds up to a much safer drive, where you have greater control over what happens in slick, snowy conditions.
RetroLube ensures you'll know everything you ever wanted to know about winter tires, how to use them and both the obvious and subtle ways they improve your drive. You need to take care of you and yours on the road, and RetroLube can make sure that you're able to do that in the best way possible. Give us a call for more information about winter weather tires.