Sure you can have winter tires on your motorbike or car even if there is no snow on the roads. However, if you don’t use the right tires for the winter conditions, you could end up spending more money than you like.

Besides, there are plenty of other drawbacks to using the wrong tires for specific weather conditions. So, let’s share some information to help you decide whether using winter tires in wet weather only is a good call.

Tires Are Purposely Designed for Specific Weather Conditions

The reason you should use specific winter tires, summer tires, or all-season tires is because they are purpose-built. The purpose of each tire type is to handle seasonal conditions and promote user safety.

Some factors that affect tires include the sipes, sidewall, tread design, and rubber compound. These factors also affect tire performance in summer and winter driving.

All-Season Tires

 A set of all-season tires is suitable for driving on smooth road surfaces in various weather conditions. These tires perform well on dry pavements or in wet conditions. But, although they can handle mild storms or light snow, they work better in warm weather.

Nevertheless, these tires are not suitable when the temperatures go below 45°F or 7.22 °C, which is a good time to fit proper winter or snow tires. The rubber compound in all-season tires is just not flexible enough to adapt to cold weather road conditions.

Studless Winter Tires

Rubber compounds in these tires are designed for colder conditions. Likewise, the tread depth and irregular tread patterns offer better traction in wet, slush conditions than all-season tires. These qualities make studless tires ideal for wet weather when no snow is present.

Studded Snow Tires

Studded tires are best for use on icy roads. As the name states, these tires have studs in addition to the qualities of the studless winter tires. However, these tires are made to grip snow, so are ideal for more than just wet roads.

Snow Tires vs. Winter Tires

Although there doesn’t appear to be much difference between winter tires and snow tires, the degrees of tire tread, studs, and other factors do matter. So, it is better to use the right winter tires for wet weather instead of snow tires.

Here are some of the pros and cons of fitting winter tires in Canada:

Pros

• Winter tires have better traction on wet surfaces than snow tires.
• Using winter tires for wet weather translates to Improved braking.
• Users can extend the life of their all-season tires by fitting winter tires.

Cons

• Winter tires offer better handling in wet conditions but have poorer handling than all-season tires so cautious driving is necessary.
• Winter tires are subject to rapid wear and tear, especially if fitted for driving in the wrong weather.
• Using winter tires with studs for winter driving when there is no snow will cause damage to the asphalt, resulting in potholes.

TreadNation Program Benefits

Take advantage of the TreadNation program benefits that are exclusive to Saskatchewan drivers through a FFUN Dealership. Here you can buy your tires at cost, store your tires, and get free tire rotation for a better winter driving experience, so book your appointment today.