When the mercury drops, the rain turns to snowflakes, and the roads start to glare with ice – It’s time to swap out those all-season or summer tires for a set of winters. Tires are specially formulated to give you the highest level of handling, braking, and, most importantly, safety in winter driving conditions. To keep your tires performing at their best, make sure to follow these winter tire maintenance tips.
With all the technology that goes into making high-performing winter tires, it can mean a fairly decent investment. So, make sure that you protect your investment by following a few simple tips to improve their longevity and effectiveness.
How to maintain your winter tires in a few simple steps:
1. Regular Tires Rotation
To make sure that you tires wear evenly over the course of their life, make sure to rotate them regularly. When tire wear is uneven, it can lead to a number problems like poor traction and reduced braking effectiveness. The generally recommended guideline is to rotate your tires every 6,000 miles / 9,600 km to 8,000 miles / 12,800 km. But make sure to check the guidelines for your tires. This simple process can make a big difference in the life and effectiveness of your winter tires.
2. Balanced Tires
Balancing your tires regularly is another simple way to improve the effectiveness and life of your winter tires. They’ll help give you steadier and more predictable handling, which are especially important on slippery winter roads. Unbalanced tires can also cause unwanted vibrations, uneven wear, and potentially early tire failure. Ensure your tires are balanced at the beginning of the winter season!
3. Proper Tire Pressure
A side effect of the cold weather driving (other than having to defrost your door handle to get in!) is that it can cause tire pressure to drop. Low tire pressure isn’t ideal, as it affects your handling, braking, and also fuel efficiency. Avoid this by checking your tire pressure regularly. Refer to your owners manual to find the ideal PSI level for your tires and try to maintain that for the duration of the winter season.
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4. Tire Alignment
If you can feel your car pulling more to one side or the other, you may have an alignment problem. Properly aligning your tires ensures that the rubber meets the road at the correct angle. Other than the issues it causes to handling, it can also lead to your winter tires wearing out prematurely. So, make sure to align your tires at the start of winter to keep them in the best shape through the season.
5. Install Identical Tires
While it may be tempting to replace a tire with something cheaper when the need arises, it’s generally recommended to stick with identical tire models. Mixing up different models and brands of tires can make your handling unpredictable, which is the last thing you need on slippery winter roads. If you do need to replace tires, try to keep them the same brand, model, and size as the others on the car.
6. Properly Store Tires
Proper winter tire maintenance continues even when they’re not on your car. Storing your tires correctly makes a big difference in their lifespan and effectiveness. When you’ve swapped your winters for the all-seasons, keep your winter tires in a cool and dry spot that is away from direct sunlight. If you have the space, try to store them vertically (standing up), or if that’s not possible, you can stack them, but no more than four high; otherwise, you’ll risk deforming them.
7. Secure Tire Valve Caps
Lastly, this may seem like a small and insignificant detail, but the little things can add up! Make sure to keep your valve caps tightly secured. The valve stems can often pick up a lot of road gunk, like dust, debris, and moisture, leading to slow air leaks. When your tires are on and off the car, make sure your valve caps are on there and are tightened.
Ensure the safety of your passengers, keep your car handling effectively, and prolong the life of your winter tires by simply checking off this list of things every winter.
By adding these tidbits to your seasonal tire-swapping routine, you’ll ensure you’re getting the most out of your winter tires while protecting your investment for many winters to come.