In North America winter tires are often referred to as snow tires. Winter tire is a bit wider definition. Winter tires will work on any surface during winter; on ice, snow or slush. They have been designed to work with these conditions in mind.
The tread has been designed for this purpose to ensure that you have maximal control over your vehicle. The grooves are designed to be able to push snow and slush to the side. The tread can include studs and the tires are then referred to as studded tires. If they don’t have studs, they are called non-studded tires or studless tires. Both types work well on any winter surface.
Now that the winter is approaching, it is time to install snow tires on your vehicle. As the temperatures drop and winter is approaching, it is the time to put the winter tires on, regardless of whether you are driving a car, truck or an SUV.
The winter tires have been specifically designed for winter conditions and their rubber compound remains soft and flexible in cold winter weather, giving good traction on wintry roads. Therefore it is important that you put the winter tires on your vehicle even before the snow hits. So, change early and stay safe on the roads during the winter season.
Winter driving is challenging. To be able to drive safely during the harsh winter season, you will need tires that are designed with winter in mind. Tires that are built to cope with snow, slush and ice. Here a summer tire will not do it. Your summer tires will get hard as the temperature drops and will not be able to create the necessary traction that you will need to drive safely.
Studded tires for winter will be your best option for great traction during the winter season. It is a great tire for all winter conditions and it performs well especially on ice. If you don’t have icy conditions during the winter, a non-studded winter tire could be one good option too.
Every vehicle needs special tires in the harsh winter season, when it is freezing cold and roads are covered with snow and ice. Tires that are approved for winter driving will have a symbol indicating that they are approved for winter conditions. Without this symbol, your tires might be dangerous to drive with when the temperature drops below freezing.
So make sure that you choose a tire that allows you to drive safely, as the temperature drops and the winter comes. Non-studded SUV winter tires or SUV all weather tires are both options that are approved for winter driving and that allow you to drive safely during the coldest season of the year. So, stay safe and make sure that you have proper tires on your vehicle.
The new Nokian WR G4 SUV is a new tire coming from the world-class Finnish tire producer. This is a tire for your SUV that is designed with the weather conditions of North America in mind. This All Weather tires combines all-season handling and reliable winter grip so that you can drive safely throughout the year.
Regardless of what weather conditions that you will face, you will be ready when you have a set of Nokian WR G3 SUV tires on your SUV. They can handle everything from dry roads to wet and snowy roads. So if you always want to be ready to get into your SUV regardless of what weather you will face, then this is an excellent tire for you. It provides you peace of mind in all four seasons and in all conditions, from heavy snow storms to rainy days and blistering summer heat.
If it is snowing, the first thing you have to ask yourself is do I have proper tires installed in my car. If you have, you can drive safely and have piece of mind on the road. If you don’t have winter tires on your vehicle, then you should not be driving. Driving with tires that are not suitable for winter weather can be very dangerous to yourself and anybody else that is out on the roads. When you have tires that are not approved for winter conditions, the rubber gets very hard and the tire loses its grip. It will be more like a hockey puck that an agile tire.
If there is a lot of snow, the best option is to have snow tires on your car. Snow tires will come both as studded and non-studded tires. They are designed for handling snow, they have a tread designed that is optimized for this purpose and they have a rubber mixture that will remain soft at winter conditions. In some areas, you may be
allowed to use snow chains too. With snow chains you are not allowed to drive too fast, so check what speeds your chains are approved for.
If you do not have proper tires on your vehicle, you may become a risk to other road users. This can be the case both if you have too worn out tires with too low tread depth or if you do not have proper tires for winter conditions. Most risks tend to occur during the winter. With summer tires – or even worse with worn out summer tires – you won’t basically have any traction on snowy or slippery winter roads. You may end up sliding out of control, which can easily cause great harm to anyone on the road or in your vehicle.
The most important precaution you can take is to fit your vehicle with proper tires and make sure that you maintain them. Remember to check on a regular basis that your tires have sufficient tread depth, that they are in good condition and that they are properly inflated. And for the winter you need tires that have been approved for winter. They will have a symbol on the sidewall of the tire, depicting a mountaintop with a snowflake symbol inside. If you make sure your tires are in good condition, you can avoid becoming a risk to others in the traffic.
Many people buy an SUV or a truck as they have a specific need for some of the special features of these vehicles. Others seem to buy them because of how they look. It is often reported that they are safer than normal cars. This usually comes from the fact that you are seated higher and that they are heavier than especially smaller cars. If you plan to drive off road or just use the vehicle for normal highway and city traffic, you will have a good vehicle for all conditions. The main change you might need to do for your vehicle is to make sure that you have the proper tires for the conditions that you plan to drive in. You can compare it to people who need to adapt the cloths and shoes for the particular conditions they face.
If you want optimal performance out of your vehicle, your tires are an integral part of achieving this. If you plan to drive off-road or in harsh conditions, you need to have tires that are suitable for off-road driving. If you will face a mixture of conditions, a set of all-weather tires might be your best bet. They will face smooth asphalt driving as well as off-road conditions. If you plan to throw winter conditions into the mix, then you will need tires that have been approved for winter conditions. This means that they will perform well within the winter’s usual temperature interval.
An SUV or a truck will need good quality SUV winter tires if you plan to drive in real winter conditions. The heavy weight of the vehicle can be dangerous if you start spinning out of control or try to brake on icy roads. If you have a lot of ice, you should have a studded tires to ensure that you can get your vehicle to stop quickly and even to get the vehicle started as you accelerate, as you will need enough traction to move it forward. So, if you want to stay safe and keep your vehicle and yourself out of accidents, make sure that you change your tires early enough and well in advance before the temperatures drop and the first snow falls.
Although winter tires are not a mandatory requirement in most of North America, they are still recommended if you live in areas with proper winter conditions. It is after all your own safety that is on the line. As most people are not that knowledgeable about tires and the improved safety aspects of having proper tires mounted on the vehicle, most people just drive with what they have. If they knew the risks of driving with tires that are not designed for winter conditions they would most likely consider buying ones.
There are significant changes taking place in summer tires as the temperature drops. The most significant change is that the summer tires are built and designed for summer conditions. So they will perform the best when temperatures are above freezing. When the temperatures drop below freezing, the tire characteristics will change. The rubber will become hard and the tires will not have the excellent properties they have in warmer temperatures. The hard rubber will not have the sufficient grip needed to have good grip on the slippery surfaces.
Also snow and slush will cause big problems to summer tires, that don’t have a tread design that is optimized for this. They will not be able to push the snow or slush away to the sides, which means that the tire will loose contact with the road surface more easily. So, if you are facing real winter conditions and you have a tire that is not approved for winter conditions, you should not try to drive. The feeling of having no control over the vehicle as it skids down the road out of control is not a feeling you want to experience. It can also cause big harm to you or to other people that are on the road.
Even if there is no law that states that you have to have winter tires on your car, the above should make you think twice. If you feel that there is too much hassle with having to change tires, you should then consider a winter approved all-weather tire. An all weather tire will be able to manage well on ice and snow and should keep you safe regardless of the weather conditions. You will not have the best summer performance or the best winter performance, but you still have a good tire for all conditions.
I noticed during my last trip to North America that the knowledge of winter tires was quite low. The discussion was more about the cars and which are better ones to drive during the winter. Some people even thought of changing vehicle rather than realizing that it might be the tires that were not suitable for winter driving.
When you drive in winter conditions, even with an SUV or a truck, you will need to have proper winter tires when the real winter weather arrives. Summer tires, despite how rugged and good for snow they may look, are not approved for winter driving and that’s why they are most likely quite useless in winter. They will not have the necessary traction and their braking distance is long on a slippery surface, which is often very crucial during winter conditions.
So, it is not only having the proper winter tires for winter conditions but they also need to be mounted on your car before the winter hits. You may live in an area, which only has occasional mild winter weather, and if it snows, it often melts away very quickly. In this case you might consider a winter approved all-weather tire. This tire will perform well in all conditions. It is however still a compromise, so if you have extreme winters it is still recommended to go for a proper winter tire. However, if you want to avoid changing tires, the all weather tires have a lot of advantages. One advantage is that you are always ready for any changes in the weather.