When to Switch to Winter Tires

We know a solid percentage of the B&B reside in an area devoid of snow and ice, a realization which reliably causes this author to search for real estate in the American southwest or at least in the good parts of Texas. You lot can either click away to another news item or stick around and learn something. Everyone else should continue reading to ensure they’re choosing the correct time to toss some winter rubber underneath their rides when Old Man Winter comes knocking in the snow belt.

Before getting started, we’ll reiterate a point made in an earlier post about this type of tire. Most sites that know their stuff call these hoops ‘winter tires’ instead of ‘snow tires’. This is thanks to advancements in rubber technology which permit this type of tire to add tractive benefits when ambient temperatures are below 7C/45F instead of only when a layer of snow covers the driving surface. Sure, driving in winter months often includes battling the white stuff, but extra traction when conditions are simply cold can also be of massive benefit.

This dovetails neatly with the subject of this month’s post. Choosing when to swap one’s all-season rubber for a set of winter socks is the subject of much debate in places like Canada and the Midwest, with (verbal) wars waged amongst friends and family about when’s the right time to roll into yer local garage or tire center for this service.

A major argument for not switching to winter tires too soon in the year is a (generally correct) assumption that doing so will result in excessive rubber wear, leading to the expensive winter tires getting worn out more quickly than expected. This is due to the rubber compound in a winter tire being softer and more pliable at low temperatures than the mixture which is used to construct an all-season tire. Compounds are closely guarded secrets at tire companies, like the Colonel’s herbs and spices or the makeup routine of Nicki Minaj. Silica-based ingredients are often cited, and some companies are beginning to experiment with sustainable elements like rice husks. These are the molecular properties of a tire.

In terms of looking at the calendar and deciding when to install winter tires on yer vehicle, consider historical average temperatures instead of trying to predict the first snowfall. Once temps have reliably fallen below 7C/45F, it is wise to go ahead and switch to winter tires. We will again reiterate the notion that good winter tires, like those from established brands like Nokian or eager newbies like Sailun, offer improved grip in that temperature range compared to all-season rubber – even if there isn’t any snow on the ground.

And, certainly, don’t wait for the first snowfall. By that time, it’ll be too late and you will be joining huge lineups at the tire shop in a desperate bid to find a service pro who can handle the tire swap. This assumes you haven’t already examined the business end of a roadside ditch with the front bumper of your car or sojourned into another vehicle while futilely sawing at the steering wheel (likely whilst making the braying sounds of a sunburned donkey).

We’ll take this opportunity to remind inquisitive readers that tread compounds on winter tires, while certainly entertaining at which to gaze, are far more than a random assemblage of sipes and slashes, often packing years of research and development. The fine line between deafening road noise and great grip properties is a vexing puzzle, one which tire companies have been treading (pun intended) for decades. Recent discoveries explain the abundance of sipes, which are those sawtooth-like lines in just about every tread block of a good winter tire. These sipes open slightly when pressed into a surface, creating more biting surface and producing extra traction.

They’re also part of the reason owners should not switch to their winters too early, since those sipes don’t do much good on hot dry pavement, leading to premature wear and a distinct lack of effective sipes when they’re actually needed. Experienced winter drivers generally accept that while all-wheel drive certainly helps with acceleration, winter tires help tremendously with turning and stopping. Such a belief explains why tow truck drivers can be found hauling SUVs shod with all-seasons out of snowbanks during wintertime in northern parts of our country.

It's no accident we’re running this post in October. Wide swaths of America are beginning to dip into the 7C/45F range right now – if not during the day then at least overnight, working as a harbinger of the cold and misery which is just around the corner. Anyone whose local meteorologist has begun to use those entertaining frost graphics in the nightly weather forecast should be prepping to soon visit a local shop and switch to winter tires.

[Main image: New Africa/Shutterstock.com. Product image: Manufacturer]

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