When to Change Your Tires for the Season?
You may think it’s easy to know when to switch over to your winter tires, when the snow hits the ground it’s time, right? If you followed that logic you’d be way too late, and unprepared for the new driving conditions, in fact there’s a bit more science behind when to get them changed, and it involves a specific temperature. For both switching to winter and summer tires 7℃ is the magic number. How does it play into the right time to swap your ties, and what’s so important about having specific tires for the season? Follow along with us here at Charlesglen Toyota as we help you expertly combat the changing Calgary roads with the optimal time and reasons to get your winter or summer tires installed.
Browse some more of our other blog highlights here:
How-to Guide on Toyota Tire Sizes
What is the Stopping Distance of Winter Tires?
6 Reasons to Switch from All-Season to Winter Tires
What are Safety Recalls & Service Campaigns?
When Should You Put Your Winter Tires On?
When the temperature consistently hangs around that 7℃ mark, that’s the time to get your winter tires installed. It may seem early, and there might not even be any snow on the ground, but that’s when snow tires’ effectiveness comes into play. Once it gets that cold your winter tires are designed around that temperature to expertly improve the traction and control needed as the climate turns south. Your summer tires start to lose effectiveness at this temperature, thus necessitating the switch. Don’t wait until it’s too late, if you have your snow tires installed once the snow and winter has firmly arrived not only will you have missed out on proper tire performance but are now up against the possibility of many others rushing to get theirs swapped on after a big snowfall. Be cognizant of the temperature, get your tires swapped at the optimal time and you’ll be prepared for the unruly winter driving season across Alberta.
When Should You Put Your Summer Tires On?
That 7℃ mark is the standard guiding line when it comes to when to put your summer tires on as well, this time on the positive side. As soon as winter becomes more and more of a distant vision in your rearview mirror and the temperature pushes up around that same 7℃ mark you’re good to put on your summer tires and gain their own specific effectiveness for the warm weather. Being that we live in Calgary and are prone to random and late snowfalls, it’s always a good idea to give yourself at least a week of “warm” (consistently above 7℃) weather before you make the switch, just so you aren’t caught with summer tires during a freak dump of snow that sticks around for longer than you’d like. Celebrate the return of warmer temperatures and switch onto your summer tires for excellent warm weather tire performance from your vehicle.
The Importance of Driving on the Proper Tires for the Season
All-season tires seem great in theory, but in practice they can’t match the utility and safety of having specified winter and summer tires for each season. All-season tires do provide some equal measure of winter and summer ability, but nowhere near the levels of each individual season tire, and thus don’t provide an adequate level of handling, traction, control and performance. Winter tires are specifically made to not only hold up at cold temperatures, but come with specialized tread groove designs to expertly grip onto snow and ice. Summer tires are made to withstand the extreme heat that the summer sun beats down onto the asphalt and thus your vehicle, along with their own unique tread patterns aimed at improving precise cornering, responsiveness and braking. Treat your vehicle and your occupants’ safety with the best available tires, and ensure your drive is expertly tuned for each snowy or sunny season.
Get Your Tires Changed at Charlesglen Toyota
It may be one extra maintenance step that can seem like a pain to get done, but not when you deal with the tire experts here at Charlesglen Toyota who will handle the entire tire swap process. Whether you’re going from summer to winter, or winter to summer, book an appointment with our tire centre to get your proper tires fitted on your vehicle. Our certified tire technicians work expediently to get you in and out with your new tires, and are equipped with the best in Toyota tools and tech for the best quality job possible. If you have any questions, or are just ready to book your vehicle in, please contact us, today.