Winter tires Versus All-Season Tires - Which is right for you?

Are All-Season tires good enough for winter?

The answer depends on where you live and what kind of driving you do. In general, are you having to drive in cold & snow? If you are, then you want winter tires. All-seasons are made of a hard compound that doesn't perform well on ice and snow.

Winter tires are very soft and make a huge difference in your control, and your ability to stay safely on the road. We all know that snow tires are designed to reduce your stopping distance, which greatly reduces winter accidents.

Do I really need Snow tires?

• All seasons - If the temperature outside rarely drops below freezing, and you face little snow, which is often slushy when it comes anyway you can look at the all seasons marked by "M+S", meaning Mud & Snow. In particular you should look at your tire for good amounts of siping, which are the little groves on each pad on the tire.
• Winter Tires - If the temperature drops below 5 F (-15 C), you will want the specially designed rubber compounds of snow tires which stay soft in these cold temperatures. You'll also be seeing enough snow & ice that you'll know you got your moneys worth out of your winter tires.

How much tread should I have on my tires?
October 02, 2007

The law for minimum tread depth on your passenger car tires is 2/32", which happens to be the distance on american pennies from the top of Lincoln's head to the edge of the coin. So place Lincoln upside down, and put the penny in a groove in your tire. If even a small amount of his head is covered by the tread, your tires are fine, according to the law.

That's the law in most states. Personally, I'll drive with tread that low in summer, as I live in an area where we get almost no rain for 3 months straight. The rest of the year, I want more tread. If you hit a lot of water on the highway with only 2/32" tread, you could be in for some hydroplaning, and the scare of your life. Definitely not worth the risk! And don't take the car out in the snow when you're near minimum.

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Run Flat Indicators - Can they save you money?
September 04, 2007

A tire pressure monitoring system (AKA run flat indicators) tell you when your tires' pressure is too low. Now that it's after September 1st, 2007, all light motor vehicals sold in the US have to have some kind of Tire Pressure Monitor (TPM).

The Run Flat indicators only warn you when you're running at 25% - 30% below the minimum PSI. At this point Fuel efficiency is certainly a factor, but so is your safety! Your load capacity is reduced with lower pressure, so if your running near full load on your vehical, you can't rely on your TPM!

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Pitching machine tires
September 27, 2006

I don't normally talk about tires for anything but vehicals that people ride, but as a guy that works in a tire shop, I get asked a lot of strange questions. Here's one I just got:

What are the best replacement tires for pitching machines, and where can I buy them?

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Need to save Money on Gas? Proper tire inflation is the trick to save!
August 30, 2006

Would you like to save $300 on gas every Year? Gas stations all across the continent are giving you a free coupon to save money on gas! How do you get this coupon? Easy just drive down to your gas station and stop at the air station! By having your car at the right tire pressure can save you big bucks at the pump, help you stop faster, and also extend the life of your tires!

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