Winter Tire FAQs Michigan

All-season tires are just that – tires designed for all four seasons. Instead of being made up entirely of rubber, as one would assume, rubber is just one component of a tire. Other components include layers of steel, nylon, and other materials in addition to rubber, all working together to distribute the vehicle's weight and maintain the tire's shape in various weather and road conditions. The exterior of a tire is made mostly from rubber, making it susceptible to changes in its pliability based on weather conditions. All-season tires provide good traction in most weather and road conditions, provided that they are not too extreme. The tread is the most important part of any tire, as it is the part that whisks water and snow away from the tire's road surface to maintain traction. All-season tires generally have a similar tread pattern, featuring three or four grooves encircling the whole tire in a straight line, while small evenly-spaced channels on either side of the tire, called sipes, are used to remove the water picked up by the tread.

There are a few different ways that snow tires are different from all-season tires. By simply looking at the tires side by side, you'll notice that the snow tire has a much more aggressive tread pattern. When we say aggressive, we mean the grooves are deeper, and instead of going in a straight line around the tire, there are jagged edges along the tire's road surface to create a knobby tread pattern that is better suited for gripping snow. In addition to the traction provided by the tread pattern of snow tires in the winter months, they are also made of materials optimized for colder temperatures. Snow tires are generally recommended for drivers in areas where the temperatures stay below 45 degrees Fahrenheit on a regular basis and where heavy snow is common. This is because the make-up of snow tires and the materials used are designed to withstand cold temperatures and remain pliable. However, snow tires are not suitable for use all year round, as the materials are not designed to handle the friction created by warm temperatures and hot pavement. Another great benefit of snow tires is that you have a set of tires for the winter and a set of tires for the rest of the year, extending the tread life of both sets of tires and saving you money on tires in the long run.

Believe it or not, there isn't just one kind of snow tire. There are actually four: winter-biased all-season tires, studded, studless, and studable. Tire engineers created winter-biased tires within the past few years, giving drivers the flexibility to run tires that provide optimal traction in the snow all year round. Seamlessly meshing the benefits of an all-season tire and a snow tire, these crafty tires are designed with a more aggressive tread pattern like a snow tire but can stand up to both cold and warm weather. The last three kinds of snow tires are all focused on providing enhanced traction in the snow and cold weather, it just depends on the studs. Studs are the metal or hard rubber pieces embedded into the tire's road surface outside of the tread to dig into the snow to provide even better traction. Studded tires are ones that come with studs, while studable tires come with holes to add studs if you would like. Meanwhile, studless snow tires rely on the tread pattern to provide traction without studs or holes to add them.

As winter is underway here in Michigan, it is the perfect time to make sure the tires on your vehicle are ready to take on the challenges that winter driving can bring. If you decide that you'd benefit from a set of snow tires, the knowledgeable service teams at Dick Scott Motor Mall in Fowlerville and Dick Scott Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Plymouth are ready to help guide you toward the perfect snow tire for your vehicle and your driving needs. We proudly sell the most popular names in automotive tires to give you a wide variety of fantastic options. Use the contact form below to reach our service team to learn more about how to get snow tires for your vehicle. We hope to hear from you soon!