The Role of Having Seasonal Tires for Your Vehicle

Every vehicle is designed to have a specific type of tire mounted on its wheels. Here in Ottawa everyone that owns a vehicle understands that different tires are manufactured for different driving conditions. This gives good reason to have a set of winter tires on your car, truck, or van, during the winter and regular tires on for the rest of the year, can you not agree?

In some areas that surround Ottawa, because of the winter road conditions, chains that mount over the tire are helpful to navigate safely while driving. Nevertheless, having a set of tires designed for winter driving still takes precedence over using chains, though still necessary in certain instances. While some choose to keep a set of ‘all season’ tires on their vehicles, the safety rating is not as high as having a set of tires rated for cold weather driving.

Understandably, it can get expensive having to purchase a new set of tires every winter, however, having a second set of wheels with winter tires mounted on them is a more cost effective practice. In this scenario, as the owner of the vehicle, you can swap the wheels every winter or have a neighbours teenager do the work for much less than taking the car or truck to a tire store. Of course, for the initial purchase buying a full set of winter tires is strongly suggested here.

As for finding an extra set of wheels for your vehicle, it is as easy as finding a used set by visiting a used auto and truck part market anywhere in the Ottawa area. Remember also, that all tires are rated to last for a specific amount of mileage. With this in mind, a single set of winter tires can last you for many seasons as long as they do not suffer and sun damage, such as dry rot.

This brings to us storing your winter tires in Ottawa during the warmer months. It is critical to store them in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. The rubber that tires are made of is sensitive to sunlight. A suggested method of storing a set of winter tires mounted on wheels is to hang them on a wall keeping the correct air pressure in them.

Storing them in this manner removes the chance of excessive and unintentional weight exerted on the tire. Albeit, tires that are on the vehicle are exposed to the sunlight all the time, however, driving help flex the tires, which keeps them pliable and somewhat healthy. If a vehicle sits outside in the Ottawa weather, for extended periods, un-used tires, will lose air pressure and begin to deteriorate quickly.

The role of having winter tires on a vehicle is to ensure the vehicle can grip the road properly in icy and snowy conditions. The rubber used in the manufacture is different than the rubber used in ‘all season’ tires. Additionally, winter tires, or snow tires, because of their design will keep you safe in most Ottawa winter driving conditions.