Gabe's Collision North

The Importance of Good Winter Tires

I really believe that tires don't get enough respect and love from car owners. The right tires will make your car drive better and improve literally every aspect of the way the vehicle handles, from the engine to the transmission to the suspension--it all has to flow through those four small patches of rubber called your tires.

At Gabe's Collision North, we know the value and importance of having the right tires, and that definitely applies to winter tires as well. Whether you live here in Buffalo, NY or anywhere else in the country, you may need to consider winter tires at some point. As summer starts winding down, now is the ideal time to think about winter tires.

Without the right tires, all the precision engineering in the world won't make much of a difference in an emergency scenario. So even though it can often be a hassle to swap your tires out from season to season, it's necessary depending on where you live.

With winter tires, the rubber compound is designed to stay soft at lower temperatures to increase its grip on slippery surfaces, and that's why they feature deeper treads. On the other hand, all-season and summer tires will usually stay firmer even during those hot and humid summers, but they're specifically designed to perform at an optimum level in warmer and drier conditions.

So what happens if you become a little lazy going into the spring and decide not to change out the winter set of tires for the warmer months? Logically, you might think that a much softer tire will offer much more grip than a firmer tire, even if it might wear out a little sooner - but is that actually the case?

Not true. Your winter tires are going to experience faster wear on the hot and dry pavement, because the tread rubber on your winter tires is much more flexible than that of all-season and summer tires. That same highly pliable tread rubber that adds traction while during winter will wear down rapidly in warm temperatures. In addition, you won't get that crisp response from a winter tire in the summer, and it can affect the drivability of your vehicle over an extended period of time by sticking with a winter tire year round.

Hopefully this blog has shed a little light on the importance of winter tires during the colder months. By being proactive and staying on top of all your car's maintenance (including your tires) your vehicle will give you many years of safe and reliable transportation.

Sources: AAA, DMV.org and Forbes