Winter Tires vs. All-Season Tires

Your tires play a vital role in ensuring you experience safe and comfortable Lawrence, KS drives. With that being said, it’s important that you have the correct tires for your driving habits so you don’t have to worry about losing control on the St. Louis, MO roads. When you’re shopping for new tires, you’ve likely come across winter and all-season tires, but which option is best for your needs?

When comparing winter tires vs. all-season tires, you’ll want to think of all-season tires as the jack of all trades for every season while winter tires were designed for winter driving. Compare winter tires vs. all-season tires today with the service experts from Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City and we’ll help you discover the following:

• The benefits and drawbacks of winter tires
• Winter tire storage information
• The right tire pressure in the winter

The Benefits & Drawbacks of Winter Tires

While winter tires are great for driving around Wichita, KS when winter hits, there are certainly some drawbacks you’ll want to consider. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using winter tires:

Advantages

• Unique Rubber Compound: Many all-season tires are made of a rubber compound that can freeze and get brittle when temperatures drop. Winter tires utilize a special rubber compound that stays flexible during the cold to ensure you’ve got maximum grip.
• 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. The grooves reduce the amount of snow and ice build-up so you’ve got better traction when driving in inclement weather.
• 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: If temperatures climb back up and the roads are dry, driving with winter tires can cause significant wear on the tires, meaning a decreased lifespan.
• 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

As we mentioned, you don’t want to keep your winter tires on year-round because they’re not necessarily made to tackle summer roads. As a result, there are some winter tire storage tips we want to provide you so that you can keep your winter tires in excellent condition. Additionally, driving in the winter comes with some nuances you’ll want to be aware of for maximum safety. Here are some winter tire tips and driving information to keep in mind: 

• Store Clean Tires: It may seem obvious, but you’ll want to clean your tires before you put them in storage. Storing tires without cleaning them could lead to corrosion and decrease the lifespan of your tires. Make sure you cover your tires after you clean them.
• Clean & Temperature-Controlled Storage: You’ll want to keep your tires in a clean and temperature-controlled space so that they don’t experience increased wear. Additionally, you’ll want to stack your tires and rotate them occasionally to avoid any spots or unusual deformities on your tires.
• Tire Pressure: Your tire pressure in the winter will almost always drop as the cold temperatures cause air to become less dense in your tires. We recommend you add the correct tire pressure to your tires when they’re still cold as 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 Pressures in the Winter With Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City!

Whether you need help checking your tire pressures or guidance with winter tires, we’ve got you covered at Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City. Our service experts in Merriam are here to help you keep your vehicle running smoothly. Let us know if you have any questions today about vehicle maintenance!