Why Should You Have Snow Tires?

By Author: Steve Smart
Total Articles: 19
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Many people ask themselves or their spouses, "Why should you have snow tires?" As many battles rage over the expenses of tires as they do over domestic bills and pizza toppings. There are many valid reasons to invest in specialized treads, as well as any cost incurred in having sets of tires rotated. Probably the most important is the weather and road conditions of an area.

Some places are not cold enough to have regular ice and flurry accumulation, and the precipitation melts because the ground never freezes. In these areas there is more need for a wet traction tire than a winter tread, although many new models are designed to appropriate for both. Many borderline areas do experience occasional bad snows, and some people want to be prepared.

For people living in places like New England and North Dakota, the ground freezes and flakes stick around. These are regions where it pays to have winter-ready treads, either an entirely specialized set or a dual-purpose model which sacrifices some fuel efficiency for additional griping power.

Dedicated winter treads are noisy and less efficient on asphalt, but will ...
... grip snow very well. Switching out tires is important if there is a lot of snow on the road, and a person can expect to experience both snows and wet slush. Since the action of driving on a busy road will compact and melt snow, the frequency of slush is high and dangerous.

Many people complain that switching out their wheels costs money. This is not true if a person has a garage and a jack and has the strength to lift heavy rubber. It pays to keep the car in the garage during winter months for this reason. In some places there is so much traffic, even on bad lanes, that it pays to own a dedicated set. They will provide the needed traction, even if they are a pain on a dry road.

Some people are not fortunate enough to own a garage or the equipment to switch sets of wheels. They must depend on a mechanic, and so they cannot afford to rotate at their leisure. They solve the problem with dual purpose varieties, which have compact outer treads and a horizontal gripping tread. This arrangement is not ideal in inclement weather, but are better than anything just designed to save gas on the road. They can save your life, or at least get the owner to work on time. Best of all, they can practically stay on the car until the end of winter.

Roads do not always get wider as population increases. Since many areas are more busy than ever, winter fatalities are still on the rise. About sixty years ago, someone invented the suburbs, and thought they were so clever in doing so. While many people own a back yard in this day and age, commuting has never been so problematic. Some folks think it looks poor to take a bus.

Whatever a person's prejudice against alternate transportation, there are more cars on the roads and they are in a bigger push to get places. This is why roads are dangerous. Snow does not significantly slow things down. While the action of driving will eventually melt the precipitation, residual slush and ice will be a constant problem. This is why snow tires can be as essential as insurance in many places. It is better to avoid an accident than be able to claim on one.

There are many models by many manufacturers, but they all largely rely on the same principles of design. Wheels with fine treads are great for driving on dry asphalt, because they are quiet. They save gas because of the greatly reduced friction. They perform with little traction on ice, on the other hand, and so deeper treads are needed. For some time, off-road wheels were used in the snow, and they are functional for that purpose. A specifically designed snow tread might have projecting spikes, but also diagonal groves to sling away anything in a liquid or semi-liquid state.

The name of the manufacturer only matters if the wheel is a cheap generic import. The established brands all make excellent products, and so a person should just focus on the design they are looking for. Many models make promises, such as to be more energy-efficient, but any such wheel is dual-purpose and possibly sacrifices traction for efficiency. Whatever the customers choose, they are protecting their own life as well as the lives of family and friends. That is why should you have snow tires.
Resource: http://www.autowerksofamerica.com/