If you’ve been thinking, “where can I get a decent set of winter tires near me?” You've arrived at the right place. The best place to get your winter tires is at Blossom Chevrolet, here in Indianapolis. When the time comes to swap out your tires for winter tires, you won’t want to settle for second best. We carry only the best high-quality tires, from winter tires to all-season and performance tires. No matter what you are looking for, our certified technicians are willing and able to help you find the best tires for your vehicle.
Winter tires have been around for quite some time and are often praised for their ability to help you keep traction in even the worst inclement weather. However, this doesn’t mean that your tires are invincible. Tires are still delicate enough where they should be treated with care with routine check-ups to mitigate any preventable accidents from occurring.
In regards to vehicle safety, it needs to be emphasized that tires play a major role in that, and purchasing a set of winter tires is one of the best precautions you can make. Best of all, a solid set of winter tires can last you at least a few years if you take the proper precautions to keep them in working order. A vehicle is only as safe as the tires it’s equipped with, and even if your vehicle contains an array of impressive safety features, it won’t mean much without a decent set of tires underneath.
If your city or town is subject to snowfall on an annual basis, it’s a smart idea to invest in a set of winter tires. More often than not, drivers may decide that investing in some winter tires isn’t feasible due to the cost, and instead purchase all-season tires. While all-season tires do help in some harsh weather, including light amounts of snowfall, they simply can’t compare to a set of winter tires simply due to their design. All-season tires are indeed better suited for winter than summer or performance tires but still aren’t as ideal as winter tires. The main advantages of winter tires mostly have to do with the driving experience that they lend when you live in harsh climates.
One of the things you’ll notice when driving with winter tires during a snowfall is how much control you have of your vehicle. Anyone who has driven in a snowstorm with wheels that aren’t suited for the weather will understand how dangerous it can be. Snow, rain, and ice storms all wreak havoc on the roads, and this results in your vehicle giving you minuscule control over steering, and of course, braking. With winter tires, your vehicle will retain traction thanks to a specially designed tread. This not only allows the tires to turn left and right without slipping but stopping your vehicle is easier in the snow with winter tires.
Since winter tires are best utilized in harsher-climates, they can withstand temperatures that other tires are not rated for. As mentioned previously, driving with summer or even all-season tires during the winter is not ideal, and is especially true for performance tires. In combination with a smoother tire, the normally rather flexible compound material that makes up non-winter tires typically doesn’t perform well in cold temperatures due to its reduced ability to gain traction and secure a grip on the road.
Using winter tires in cold temperatures is a large advantage over other traditional tires with the ability to withstand temperatures below 45º Fahrenheit or 7º Celsius with ease. Lower temperatures such as these can affect a tire’s ability to grip onto the pavement, regardless of precipitation.
Winter tires have specially designed tread patterns, unlike summer, all-season, and performance tires. These treads, in particular, are designed to channel water out from underneath the tire to ensure a greater grip on the road. Simply put, less water in the tires will ensure a better grip. Winter tires are also designed with much softer rubber than their counterparts, and as a result, this will allow for greater traction while driving on slippery road conditions allowing for easier steering and braking. In practice, this design can make traveling in the winter not only easier but safer in regards to the standard affair of light or heavy snowfall. Most notably, the design of winter tires helps to maintain general traction when driving on roads that are covered in ice, and unforeseeable black ice that is commonly known to cause swerving.
Of course, it’s best not to drive with these tires on the dry and hot pavement during summer, for example, due to the softer rubber. In comparison, traditional tires are made with harder rubber, and more often than not, can only handle heat and rain. Winter tires, on the other hand, are generally built with traction in mind. Just as you shouldn’t utilize winter tires in the summer, this is equally true for summer tires in the winter. The ordinary exception to this rule is all-season tires, which are far more prominent for winter travel than they used to be. However, when compared to winter tires, they cannot handle the same amount of snow.
As is the case with every kind of tire, receiving routine maintenance and checking the PSI of each tire regularly increases their lifespan. However, it’s recommended to never allow your set of tires to go past five years of usage due to general tire degradation, which means winter-tires will start to lose their effectiveness in harsh conditions. Most importantly, it’s up to the driver to keep up with the aforementioned maintenance and identify any changes to the driving experience and or notice any visible degradation. By visiting a mechanic or service center for alignments, rotations, and more, you can keep your tires in excellent shape.
