Jason's Journal: Avoid Slipping and Sliding this Winter

With winter weather right around the corner, I would like to discuss a topic extremely important to your safety—winter tires. With many automobiles equipped with All-Wheel Drive, all season tires and other safety systems, you may ask yourself “why should I be concerned with the use of a dedicated winter tire?” All-Wheel Drive will certainly help assist you on snow covered roads when accelerating, but when it comes to braking, steering and maintaining stability, the type of tire makes all the difference. Even the best all season tire is no competition for a dedicated snow tire.

The rubber used to make all season tires can harden in cold weather, causing reduced grip. Snow tires are made of a special compound of rubber formulated to provide excellent traction on cold snow covered roads. This type of rubber remains much more pliable in cold weather allowing it to make firm contact with the roadway. Dedicated snow tires have special tread designs made specifically for snow and ice. They have deeper grooves to help channel snow away and maintain contact with the road surface. They also have hundreds of small groves in the tread called sipes, which provide increased traction with the additional gripping edges.

Snow tires are best used when temperatures are 45 degrees Fahrenheit or below. They can be highly effective at increasing your peace of mind and safety while driving during those harsh winter months. Snow tires should be removed as the weather warms because the special tire compound can wear quickly on warm roadways. In the South-Central Pennsylvania region, I would recommend installing the winter tires before Thanksgiving and removing them in mid to late-March.

If you purchase a set of snow tires through the Lehman Volvo Cars Service Department, we will offer to store your all-season tires throughout the winter months, free of charge. As an added convenience, if you purchase a set of wheels AND snow tires through our dealership, we will not only store your tires for you, we will also swap them in the fall and spring at no charge to you.

While the cost of an additional set of tires may seem like a large expense, there are many aspects to explore before dismissing the idea. Over the life of your Volvo, several sets of tires will be used. Having dedicated snow tires will prolong the wear on your all season tires, while reducing the frequency for replacement. With your increased level of stability in snowy weather, you will have a renewed confidence in your winter weather driving skills. Having personally used snow tires for almost 25 years now, I can attest to their benefits. I encourage you to give them a try and make your winter weather travels less stressful and safe.

As always if you have any questions or would like to learn more about winter tires, you may contact me at jason@lehmanvolvocarsyork.com.

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