• A Quebec Ministry of Transport study showed that a proper winter tire can improve braking by up to 25% over an all season radial tire, and can improve collision avoidance by about 38%.
• We tested a vehicle equipped with Goodyear Nordic tires in winter temperatures, and found that (compared to all season tires) our stopping distance while traveling at 60 km/h (37 mph) was up to 18 metres (60 feet) shorter.
• Other tests on ice show that even at 24 km/h (15 mph), vehicles equipped with winter tires stopped from one half to a full car length shorter than identical vehicles driving on all season tires.

All Season Tires vs. Snow Tires

Many drivers wonder why some tires are called "all season" if winter tires are recommended for cold weather and icy conditions. It's very much like comparing everyday shoes to winter boots. While all season tires will continue to provide safe all-weather performance, snow tires are simply much better suited for snow and icy conditions.

All season tires are a compromise intended to perform well under a wide range of conditions—dry roads, wet roads and hot temperatures—as well as providing durability over long mileage. This compromise prevents them from being ideal for any one condition.

Snow tires are referred to many as snow tires because they deliver superior snow and ice performance. Their cold weather rubber compounds are only part of the difference. Channelling treads, a large number of tread sipes (tiny slits in the tread blocks), and an open tread block pattern all combine to provide improved traction in deep snow and slush.

2 Winter Tires vs. 4 Winter Tires

It's a common misconception that putting snow tires on just the vehicle's drive tires (ex.: the front tires in a front wheel drive) is almost as good as having four winter tires. The faulty logic behind this idea is that you'll have optimal traction where it is needed most: to start the car moving. But this "compromise" runs counter to the goal of improving your vehicle's handling in winter.

If you use dissimilar tires on your vehicle, you can find your overall handling declines in performance. Mixing tires with different tread patterns, internal construction and size degrades the stability of your vehicle and should be avoided.

With different tires at the front and rear of your vehicle, each end of the vehicle won't react and perform the same as the other in dry, wet, slushy and snow conditions. Especially in emergency situations, you'll find that your vehicle may understeer in one condition and oversteer in another. It is imperative to keep the same level of traction at all four corners of the car; otherwise, you'll lose the full benefits of ABS or traction control systems. By installing four winter tires, you maintain the most balanced and controlled handling possible, so you can accelerate, brake, handle and better steer your vehicle through winter's challenges.

For maximum safety, it is strongly recommend that you install four winter tires at the same time. Transport Canada recommends that snow tires are installed in sets of four. Every one of our tire manufacturers recommend four winter tires be used on rear wheel, front wheel or four wheel drive vehicles. And in the province of Quebec, the law requires that winter tires be installed on all wheels of passenger vehicles (cars, SUVs and light trucks) during the winter season effective December 15th until March 15th.

For all these safety reasons, it is Canadian Tire’s policy to install winter tires in sets of four.

Each season you save the cost of mounting and unmounting tires from your rims, plus you also eliminate the additional tire wear this can cause. If your car is equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system, this can also avoid any damage to the system or its components. And by selecting specialized winter rims, you'll have your winter tires mounted to wheels that can withstand the rigours of Canada's harsh winter conditions.

Steel or Alloy Rims

Winter tires and rims aren't just about practicality—they can be about good looks too. There was a time where when you chose winter rims, there was pretty much only one standard to choose from. This is certainly no longer the case.

Steel rims are the standard rims you'll see on most vehicles during Canada's harsh winters. These practical rims are painted with a black finish and specially coated to resist corrosion. You'll find a complete selection of designs at Canadian Tire, including OE rims with an original factory fit, and Multi-fit rims, designed and guaranteed to fit multiple vehicles.

Winter alloy rims offer the aesthetics of performance vehicles, and are clear coated with a rust-free, resilient finish to withstand harsh weather conditions. By using alloy wheels, you not only improve the looks of your vehicle but also the performance. Alloy's extra strength provides longevity as well as positively affecting tire wear. Alloys are 15-20% lighter than steel, and the weight reduction will improve steering response and handling, as well as help improve acceleration and braking.

• Anti-lock braking systems (ABS) help prevent your tires from locking and skidding by selectively releasing pressure and pumping the brakes. So while your anti-lock brake system helps maintain steering control and directional stability, your stopping distances may be longer. Better traction will improve your ABS effectiveness when you need it.
• Traction control helps prevent spinning your tires by reducing the engine's power and/or applying the brakes. So while traction control also helps maintain directional stability, your acceleration may be slower. Winter tires improve your vehicle's grip in colder temperatures, working with traction control for better control.
• Vehicle stability systems sense when your car deviates from your intended course (determined by your steering and braking input) selectively brakes any of the four wheels and/or reduces engine power to help correct oversteer or understeer. This system's ability to assist you is limited by the capabilities of your tires.
• Four wheel drive (4WD) and All wheel drive (AWD) vehicles distribute power to all four wheels, making it possible to accelerate more effectively when one or more wheels may have less than optimal grip. This will help you get started from a full stop more easily and will help you around corners, but offers no improvement in traction itself. As a result, your vehicle may lack the necessary traction for effective slowing or stopping—a dangerously deceptive situation..

So, whether your vehicle has anti-lock brakes, traction control, a vehicle stability system, four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, it is your tires that provide the real traction. The only thing you can do to increase traction—to get more grip and control—is install tires best suited for winter driving safety.

Are New Winter Tires Expensive?

The mistake many people make is looking at the cost of purchase alone. Using winter tires will extend the life of your all season tires—they won't "wear out" sitting in the garage or basement while the winter tires and wheels are on the vehicle. Investing in winter wheels (also called winter rims) at the same time will eliminate additional mounting costs each season and protect your Original Equipment or aftermarket wheels from alloy-corroding winter salt, slush and grime. With this perspective, winter tires and wheels may be one of the most economical purchases you can make. We have excellent prices on tires, alloy wheels, steel wheels and complete Winter Tire & Wheel Packages.

What If My Car Has ABS Brakes?

ABS braking won't improve your tire's traction—it simply limits your vehicle's braking to keep you from locking up your tires. By using tires specifically designed for your driving conditions, you'll provide your ABS brakes with more grip to work with and maximize your vehicle's winter performance.

What If My Car Has Traction Control?

While traction control will help keep you from overpowering your tires, it doesn't actually improve your tire's traction; it simply limits your car's acceleration to the traction level of your tires. The only way to maximize your vehicle's winter performance is to provide your traction control with more grip to work with by using tires specifically designed for your driving conditions.

What If My Car Has Front-Wheel Drive?

Front wheel drive has become common because of the advantage it offers for acceleration. But its advantage can be multiplied by using winter tires designed for the road conditions you'll encounter. Part of a front wheel drive car's acceleration advantage is because it has 60% of its weight over the drive wheels. This helps you get started, but does very little to help you stop. A front wheel drive car's weight distribution is not the best for handling and cornering. Dedicated winter tires will enhance your car's braking, handling and cornering, making your winter driving more enjoyable.

What If My Car Has All-Wheel Drive?

With an All-Wheel Drive vehicle, more tires share the torque of your vehicle, which provides performance in getting your car moving, but does nothing to assist with braking. The ice and snow performance that winter tires provide will increase your vehicle's ability to start moving, and also help reduce its stopping distance in winter conditions.

Winter Driving Tips and Techniques

• When climbing hills, use higher gears to maintain better traction and avoid spinning your wheels.
• When driving downhill, put your vehicle in a lower gear before you begin your descent. If you must change to a lower gear while already descending a hill, do it very gently to prevent sliding.
• If you need to brake unexpectedly and don't have ABS brakes, avoid hard braking. Give the brake pedal a few soft taps rather than one hard push to avoid skidding.
• If your vehicle begins to skid:
• Release the accelerator and gradually steer in the opposite direction that you're skidding.
• Resist the temptation of using your brakes as this will cause you to skid more.
• If you overcorrect the skid, you'll end up skidding in the other direction. If this happens, gradually steer back the other way.
• Enter corners appropriately to avoid understeering or oversteering:
• Adjust your speed before you enter a corner.
• Coast and steer through the turn, without using the accelerator or brake.
• As you start to straighten your vehicle, gently accelerate out of the curve.
• If you are understeering, and begin to lose control of the front of your vehicle:
• Do not hit the brakes or adjust your steering angle.
• Lift your foot off the accelerator.
• Look ahead, and carefully decrease the steering angle to regain tire grip.
• Once you regain grip, steer smoothly back in your intended direction.
• If you are oversteering and begin to lose control of the back-end of your vehicle:
• Gently accelerate to transfer weight to your rear wheels while steering in the same direction your rear wheels are sliding.
• Don't steer back in your original direction until your car recovers.
• In rear wheel drive vehicles, be sure the oversteer isn't a result of simple wheel spin. If it is, release pressure on the accelerator to eliminate the wheel spin.
• Getting Unstuck: If your vehicle gets stuck and you think you can get it out on your own, follow these steps:
• Clear snow from around the tires.
• Place sand, salt or traction mats along the path you intend to take.
• Try to drive out very slowly. Avoid spinning your wheels, which will only create a deeper hole.
• If you cannot just drive out, you may want to rock the car with short taps of acceleration or driving back and forth.
• If you still cannot get unstuck, you may require the assistance of a tow-truck or another vehicle with a tow rope.

Breaking in New Winter Tires

AfAfter installing your new winter tires, your car will feel and sound different on the road. The tires are designed to provide more traction on snow and ice, with different tread patterns and different handling. When you've installed new winter tires of any sort, take the time to get a feel for your vehicle's new traction and handling.

Your new winter tires will have a deeper tread depth and more open tread space than your all season tires. This feature that gives you greater traction also make tires more flexible, which may make your tires feel less responsive in handling.

Tires are constructed from several layers of rubber, steel and fabric that require a break-in period before they reach maximum performance. To give these components time to fully integrate, for your first few hundred kilometres avoid any aggressive driving—stay with easy acceleration, cornering and braking.

New tires may also have a mold release lubricant on them as a residue from the production process. You should be aware your vehicle might initially have reduced traction before this thin layer is worn away from regular driving.

Your tire pressure will change based on the temperature of your tires. This is why you should always check for tire pressure when your tires are "cold" before driving your car more than a few kilometres. It's also why it's important to check your tire pressure regularly as temperatures get colder.

As the temperature drops, so will your tire's inflation pressure. The rule of thumb is for every 5.6° C (10° F) change in air temperature, your tire's inflation pressure will change by about 1 psi (up with higher temperatures and down with lower). Throughout the year, this can mean a variation of 5 psi or more—enough to affect performance, wear and fuel efficiency.

In fact, many vehicle manufacturers recommend using a higher psi when using winter tires. A higher inflation pressure can increase tire stability, offsetting any reduced responsiveness from the wider treads or softer compounds of winter tires. Check your owner's manual, and ensure your winter tires are inflated to the recommended pressure.

How to Check Winter Tire Pressure

We've all seen the occasional underinflated car tire, so it's easy to think that we should know what an underinflated tire looks like. However, a tire can lose up to 30% of its pressure and still look identical to a tire that is at its proper inflation level.

Tires lose pressure in lower temperatures and over time—most tires naturally lose pressure of 1 to 2 psi each month.

When checking your tires' pressure in the winter, follow the steps listed here, but also take note of the following tips for winter:

• Be sure to check tire temperature in the morning, before driving any distance. An afternoon reading, when tires may have been heated by the mid-day sun, will read higher than a true "cold' reading.
• Checking your tire's air pressure in a heated garage can be misleading. Your tire's pressure will drop by 1 psi for every 5.6° C (10° F) change in air temperature when you venture out into the cold. Calculate to adjust for the temperature difference. For example, if it's 0° C in your garage and -11° C outside, your tire's inflation pressure will drop by about 2 psi outdoors.

Remember to replace your valve caps when you're done. If left off, moisture can freeze in the valve and allow air to escape.

How to Measure Tread Depth/Wear

In addition to the tread pattern and the special compounds used in winter tires, your tire's tread depth is a fundamental feature that provides its special handling abilities in snow. With use, your tires will wear, reducing tread depth and over time, reducing your tires' effectiveness in harsh winter conditions.

Tires are considered to be worn out when only 2/32" (about 1.6 mm) of tread depth remains. There are several ways to check your tires' tread depth to see if it is time to replace them.

Indicator Bars

Indicator bars are narrow sections of rubber in the tire's grooves running from one side of the tread to the other, used to indicate when the tire has worn down to the legal limit.

Snow tires usually feature an additional wear indicator, indicating deeper tread depths. Winter Wear Indicators (also called Snow Platforms) identify when a tire's tread depth is no longer beneficial for performance on snow—when tread depth drops below 6/32" (about 4.8 mm).

New Tire Tread Depth	Approaching Winter Wear Indicators	Approaching Tread Wear Indicators
Tread design, compound and depth to provide effective snow traction	Tire worn to about 6/32"—diminished snow traction abilities	While still legal at 2/32", the worn tire lacks the tread depth for beneficial snow traction

Tire Tread Depth Gauge

Tire tread depth gauges come in a variety of designs, including measurements in 32nds of an inch, millimetres and light indicators. Typical gauges will measure up to 32/32nds or 26 mm because few cars and light trucks have tread depths exceeding 1"/2.5 cm.

Digital tire tread depth gauges will include instruction manuals outlining their proper use. To use mechanical tread depth gauges, first check the scale to determine your units of measurement. Then press the gauge against a flat surface to ensure it zeroes out correctly before pressing against your tire to measure tire depth.

Keep in mind that for winter tires to be effective on snow, you should have 6/32nds or more—a substantially deeper tread depth. At 2/32" of tread wear, your vehicle will have reduced resistance to hydroplaning and little to no efficient traction in snow. If you've purchased your winter tires to handle snow covered roads, consider replacing your winter tires when your tread depth reaches 6/32nds or less.

Remember to measure the tread depth in several places on your tires. If your results seem inconsistent, your tire may have uneven wear, which can indicate a mechanical issue.