When You Should Change Your Tires to Winter Tires

Being season conscious is essential when it comes to tire changing. In Saskatchewan, there are two main
categories of tires used in the colder months: all-season and winters. All-season tires have tread patterns
designed specifically for dry pavement during warmer months. They provide good traction on wet roads
but may not perform well in in colder temperatures and snowy areas because they don’t grip as well.
Changing to winter tires is extremely important for Saskatchewan driver, to keep yourself and others safe.
Changing to winter tires provides a myriad of benefits and will mostly importantly help you lower the risk
of getting in an accident. But when is the right time to do so? When temperatures hit 7℃ or below, it’s time
to buy winter tires.

Why Change Your Tires at 7℃?

It is recommended to change your tires when the temperature reaches 7℃, which happens quite early in
Saskatchewan.

The main reason for doing so is that in cold weather, rubber becomes brittle and can crack or even
shatter under stress.

The right time to change your tires is when the daily temperature high is around 7
degrees Celsius. This comes as a surprise to some as there usually isn’t snowy or icy conditions present
at this temperate. So why change them?

Well, firstly, cold weather affects the performance of our tires. As
mentioned above, rubber tends to become brittle when it cools down. But worse than that, it actually starts
breaking apart. Rubber molecules starts separating from each other and eventually break up completely.
Once that happens, the tire loses its ability to hold onto the ground properly. The rubber compounds in
winter tires stay softer in cold weather than all-seasons (up to minus 40 C) to better grip the surface of the
road.

With this in mind, it’s advisable to get winter tires before the onset of the winter season, around the end of
September or early October. You can beat the rush and avoid wait times that come with the first snowfall, too!

Take advantage of the TreadNation program at a FFUN Dealership in northern Saskatchewan. Not only do we
offer great deals on new and used vehicles, our friendly staff would also love to assist you with keeping safe
during the winter season with some winter tires at cost! We’ll take care of everything, from purchasing the right
tireto you, to installation, storage, and more. We offer we-serve and self-serve options to find the perfect winter
tires for you no matter your prior knowledge and experience with winter tires.