Snowmageddon

Do your tires suck in the snow?

Imagine walking to school 2-miles uphill, both ways, in a blizzard. Is this reminiscent of how you feel every time you drive after a dusting of snow? Your tires spinning out of control, as you realize you are on flat ground at a stoplight with everyone impatiently blasting their horn behind you to get a move on it. In all seriousness, there is nothing like a white-knuckle drive to work, hoping you are not another one of the vehicles parked in the ditch, waiting for hours to get pulled out?

At Custom Wheel Outlet, We Know Tires!

Some people love the aroma of a freshly brewed cup of coffee in the morning. It’s what gets them going. Our sales staff at CWO? They are addicted to all things that smell like tires! Hell, I swear a few of them do a line or two of freshly burnt rubber dust each morning in the parking lot, just to get them going.

Let’s Break Down Your Tire Options for Effectively Driving in Snow.

HIGH PERFOMANCE TIRES ON SNOW

To start, I hope you have good insurance If you are riding on high performance tires in the snow. High Performance Tires offer fantastic handling and cornering for the other three seasons as long as they NEVER see snow! These tires are not intended to be driven on any level of snow or ice unless you are an adrenaline junky that gets kicks from near death experiences.

ALL SEASON TIRES ON SNOW

Good job, you made it up the hill! All-season tires are great all-around tires that are rated for mud & snow (M+S on sidewall) and will do well in light doses of whatever mother nature throws your way year-round. But the rubber gets harder as the temperature drops and anything more than a small amount of snow or ice and they start to struggle with starting or stopping, requiring greater distance between vehicles, and doubling your stopping distance. The colder it is outside, the less effective they become.

ALL WEATHER TIRES ON SNOW

I’m impressed. The all-weather tire is the new kid on the block (to my wife, no, NOT NKOTB). The “non-binary” tire. These tires have all-season characteristics, as well as some of the benefits of a dedicated snow tire. However, it does not like to be called a snow tire or an all-season tire! The biggest advantage is that you don’t need to have a separate set of dedicated snow tires. These can be run year-round and do really well in heavier snow and light ice. They also significantly improved stopping distance on snow. Further, the all-weather tire is mountain snowflake qualified, like a snow tire. The downside? They will have more road noise and lower mileage warranties.

SNOW TIRES ON SNOW – That seems fitting…

“Ha! I laugh in the face of danger.” Simba stole this line from the Snow Tire… All kidding aside, you take your safety seriously, and so do we, that’s why you want a tire that can get you where you need to go, regardless of the weather outside. Snow tires are Mountain Snowflake Certified. In other words, the Snow Tire offers a dramatic increase in traction on fresh snow and packed snow, often times you would not know the difference with the snow outside if you did not look. If your car’s height can clear the snow, you’ll have the traction you need. You’ll also have increased traction on ice, the best you can get without studs or chains. Depending on your state’s laws, many snow tires are studdable, where you can install small metal studs in the tread for extreme snow and ice. Some states do now allow studs. Simply put, they do chew up the roads a little. But the nice thing about a studdable tire, is you can run them with, or without studs. The cons’ to snow tires? You do need to either have them swapped out on your existing wheels at a shop, or you can have a dedicated set of wheels just for snow tires, making it easier to swap them out on your own. A good snow tire should last 3 winters, but they should not be run during the other off-seasons. With the softer rubber and extra traction, heat kills and will wear them down much faster.

Custom Wheel Outlet aka Shop CWO carries all major brands of tires. Our sales team is knowledgeable and willing to help guide you through the process to find the right tire, based on your weather-related needs. Give us a call at 855-SHOP-CWO, or shop our website, and let us find the right snow tires for you!