If you have all-season tires on your vehicle, you may be wondering whether you need winter tires. At Lithia Chevrolet Buick GMC of Helena, we are tire experts, and we see winter tires as essential equipment during cold months in Helena, MT.
Compared to all-season tires, winter tires reduce cold-weather stopping distance by up to 40%. This is crucial information because people tend to think about acceleration-related traction in winter. That explains all-wheel drive's popularity, but you should not be concerned about going in winter. You should be concerned about stopping. A vehicle's AWD system plays no role in stopping the vehicle on ice and snow.
Today's winter tires gain traction due to their complex construction. You will find stickier rubber on a modern winter tire's tread. As a result, we recommend switching to winter tires as the temperature drops near the freezing level. The rubber on all-season tires hardens as the weather cools, which further reduces these tires' traction capabilities. Additionally, manufacturers will put unusual components in their winter tires' tread compounds for extra grip. We have seen nutshells and citrus oil, and we look forward to this tire category's future developments.