Six Reasons Why to Swap Your Winter Tires

When it gets cold out, people don their coats, but your car needs its own form of protection from the weather. If the temperatures reach below –7 daily, it is time to switch back into your winter tires. If you are on the fence about switching to winter tires this season, we have the six reasons to switch.  

Here are the five things car owners need to know about the benefits of winter tires: 

1) Better Braking 

Just like an airplane, it’s important to know how to land before you fly. Braking is the most important thing to be able to do in a car. When the temperatures get colder and ice begins to form braking becomes difficult and creates the danger of sliding into intersections or other vehicles. Winter tires are designed to work on ice, helping to control your stopping. While winter tires do not guarantee you from not sliding, they certainly help.  

2) Greater Grip 

Flexible rubber and specialized grooves on the tire improve the grip of your vehicle during the winter on snow-covered roads. Winter tires can hug the road better, making for a safer, more controlled ride. 

3) Freeze Free 

Winter tires are made with rubber specifically for the cold. The rubber’s endurance against the cold allows your tires to stay flexible and keep from hardening. Hardened rubber decreases your tire’s ability to grip the road and react to ice and snow. 

4) Snow Traction 

Winter tires are the best type of tire to drive in the snow. The grooves in your tire’s tread have been tested to push snow away from your vehicle and prevent it from storing in your tire’s groves, causing hydroplaning.  

5) Tire Timeline 

By swapping your tires for the winter, you are improving the overall health of your vehicle. The swap gives your vehicle a tire alignment, changing the way your vehicle wears. Not only does it give your vehicle the change to have an even alignment, but it also gives you more time with your seasonal tires. Winter weather is tough on summer tires, but by storing them for the winter, they can take a winter vacation, so to speak. You will find that your tires last longer if you swap them out, even if it is just for four months of the year.  

6) Accident Prevention 

All these factors combined will help you stay safe this winter with your snow tires. There is an increase in car accidents in Manitoba during the winter months largely due to a lack of winter tires and the transition to winter driving. Winter tires will help you and your family stay safe this season. 

PLUS, did you know that there are many ways we can help make winter tires affordable? Manitoba Public Insurance has a winter tire program that allows you to slowly pay off your winter tires and many tire manufacturers provide our dealership with special incentives and price match guarantees! 

Visit our online tire assistant to easily see your best options for your specific vehicle.