Old man or woman winter is on its way. You can count on that 100 %. Be reassured. With winter time coming you do not want to be stuck in the snow or ice on an isolated roadside, even with modern cell phones being at the beck and call of most motorists. What about snow tires, chains and even studs for wintertime driving?
Many think that in these days of cell phones for roadside emergencies and dealer offered and provided road-side assistance that changing their tires come winter time with an entirely different set of tires is not necessary any more and even a worn out tradition from earlier “more quaint” driving times , when vehicles were not as rugged or hardy. Think again. You never can be too safe when it comes to wintertime , wintertime driving safety . Many a motorist on a trip has never given a second chance to the overall reliability of his automobile or to packing a good cold weather parka and wintertime emergency kit to be packed away in his trunk. Its downright cold and frigid out there. You can be too sure or too thorough when it comes to regular , routine & well as consistent auto maintenance schedules & attention to detail. After all you don’t want your northern British Columbia Canadian used car , truck or crossover SUV stalling come one long lonely winter drive on the way to Fort Nelson or the the coldest northern BC regions along the Alaska Highway or worse yet to visit an old girlfriend in some cold forsaken place. Who needs to be road-kill frozen and off-the-road waiting for help freezing to death. Most likely your cell phone battery will be dead or sans satellite phones no standard Rogers cell phone coverage available for ready factory assistance roadside help .
One point to note and remember – winter tires , can be noisy on dry pavement – never mind the clicking sound emanating from studded tires at high traffic speeds. On the other side of the road so to speak – the nosier the tread design or designs the overall better performance on the roadway by your wintertime tires in the snow. Compromise to reduce noise also reduces tire and vehicle pulling power in loose snow and mud driving conditions. All in all it can be said by auto service and vehicle safety experts , that full-circle , welded-lug chains provide several times more pulling power than even the most highly rated , and expensive snow tires , but are of course a lot less convenient and even unsightly for automobile owners and motorists. If there is one lesson in life its plan early. Most people whether its for their income tax , or automotive repair or maintenance wait till the very last minute. Its a case of putting out fires or management by crisis.
If you decide that you need the all out gripping and hence stopping powers of cold weather seasonal tire chains first all take the time to either order your tires early from your big box automotive store or auto factory local dealer. Shop early – way ahead of the winter season.
Lastly what about tire chains? Not every driver knows how or wants to under their vehicle to put them on. If there is one simple and practical point it can be said about tire winter time chains is that when buying chains purchase them early – way ahead of the winter time driving seasons. Pleasant and safe driving.
Snow tires have more sipes, increasing traction on snow and ice, but reducing on dry and wet road. Winter or snow tires start to perform better than summer or all-season tires if temperatures fall below 7C (45F), as the rubber compounds in the latter harden resulting in decreasing grip even on dry pavement.