Winter Tires vs. All-Season Tires

Few parts of your car are as important as your tires. They literally keep you on the road in Tifton and Americus, after all. Tire maintenance, like rotations and tread and air pressure checks, is important, but so is choosing the right tires for the way you drive. While GA weather tends to be mild in the winter, it’s still understandable if you’re wondering about winter tires vs. all-season tires. Even with our decent weather, your tire pressure in winter can drop with the temperatures. Will winter tires compensate for pressure changes? What about the best way to get winter tire storage? The Five Star Hyundai of Albany service department has all the details you need in winter tires vs. all-season!

The Benefits & Drawbacks of Winter Tires

While we tend to only think about winter tires when we get snow or ice in Camilla, there’s more to them than just their exceptional traction in bad weather. Here are some of the advantages of winter tires, along with some disadvantages, like winter tire storage:

Advantages

• Unique Rubber Compound: Winter tires can maintain their integrity in cold weather better than all-season tires because they’re constructed with a rubber compound designed to withstand the cold without becoming brittle. Cold weather can cause all-season tires to break down faster. 

• Specially-Designed Tread: You’ll often notice the grooves in a winter tire are different from an all-season tire, and that’s because they’re specially designed for winter driving. This is how winter tires conquer the icy roads.

• Biting Edge Design: In addition to the ability to reduce snow and ice build-up, winter tires also have a biting edge design that digs into deep snow and ice to allow your vehicle to easily drive in winter conditions.

Disadvantages

• Wear: Your winter tires might not last as long in GA as they do in colder states because warm, dry weather can cause undo wear and tear. 

• Swapping Out: While you can drive on a winter tire during the summer, it’s not recommended, so you’ll have to have a second set of summer tires to swap to when the weather gets warmer.

Winter Tire Storage Information & Tips

Winter tire storage is a serious factor in deciding to use them. Without proper storage, your tires can get damaged even when you’re not driving on them. Here are some tips that will help your winter tires handle the rest of the seasons:

• Store Clean Tires: Corrosive agents can be on your tires if you don’t clean them thoroughly before putting them in storage. 

• Clean & Temperature-Controlled Storage: This is particularly important since GA summers get so hot that you don’t want to store your winter tires in a garage or shed without air conditioning. That would be almost as damaging as leaving them on your vehicle in the summer. Avoid rubber breakdown by choosing climate-controlled storage.

• Winter Tire Pressure: Your tire pressure in winter will almost always drop with the temperature because the air in your tires becomes less dense. Add the correct tire pressure to your tires when they’re still cold. You don’t want to have low tire pressure when you’re driving.

• Tread Wear: Just because you have winter tires doesn’t mean you won’t experience tread wear. It’s best to regularly inspect your tire tread wear to ensure you’ve got the proper tire tread for when roads do become hazardous.

Check Your Tire Pressure In the Winter With Five Star Hyundai of Albany!

Stay on top of the health of your tires year-round with Five Star Hyundai of Albany! Stay on your Hyundai maintenance schedule for the health of your tires and the rest of your vehicle. You can learn more about how to keep your Hyundai in great shape when you visit our service tips.