Not many people can tolerate the hassle of changing their tires according to the weather. However, when you live in extreme conditions, you will have to make some changes to your car’s tires to ensure better, safer, and more extended performance.
Winter tires are the only way you can get through thick layers of snow without slipping. However, winter tires have low popularity because they tend to wear much faster than regular tires.
Snow tires are made with a soft material that does not last long, leading to quick wearing out. These tires do not work well in warm temperature due to the rubber compound. Moreover, the deeper treads on winter tires work better on snowy roads but not on dry and warm surfaces.
What are Winter Tires?
Winter tires are soft-rubber tires used to drive over snow. They are also called snow tires because, until recent years, it was not possible or practical to use winter tires to drive on anything by snowy roads. These tires provide perfect grip on snow, but anything less than that will render the tires useless.
What temperature is bad for Winter Tires?
Winter tires tend to wear faster during hot weather. These tires will only work best when the temperature is 7 degrees Celsius or below. It is due to the negative effect of heat on the tire’s material.
So, you should install these tires only when the temperature falls down to 7 degrees Celsius or lower. In any other circumstances, winter tires will be less effective and get damaged after a few road trips.
Once the temperature rises above 7 degrees Celsius, you should replace your snow tires with summer or all-season tires.
Do Winter Tires Wear Faster?
When we think of performance, winter tires perform much better than regular tires when the roads are covered with snow. However, if you use them to drive on warm summer roads, you will feel a decrease in performance and longevity.
Winter tires tend to wear much faster than regular tires. Even when you drive them only on snowy or icy roads, they are not likely to stay with you for as long as summer tires.
How long do snow tires last?
The durability of winter tires depends on their build quality and how you maintain them. Some snow tires can last 60,000 kilometers, while others can go over 80,000 and even 100,000 kilometers.
Since these tires are not ideal for warm weather, you cannot use them throughout the year. So, your snow tires will last longer if you only drive on them during cold weather.
Winter tires are more effective during chilly weather, but their quality degrades with time. After that, they won’t give you their best performance even during the snowy season. That is why these tires need replacement after two or three cold seasons.
On an average, your winter tires can last up to five years. After this period, the tires will become inefficient and unable to work even in frosty conditions.
However, the life expectancy of winter mostly depends on your mileage. If you don’t use your car for long road trips, your snow tires will be in perfect shape for at least seven years. In case you take your vehicle out even during the summer season, do not expect your winter tires to last longer.
Why Do Winter Tires Wear Faster?
There might be a reason why winter tires are such a high performance but have such low longevity, right? There are two distinct reasons why winter tires are not meant to last as long as regular tires.
Soft Material
As mentioned earlier, winter tires are made of such a rubber compound that they are very soft. They only get hard during the winter season. This flexible rubber is perfect for delivering the required performance in winter. However, it is not adequate during hot weather conditions.
The soft material’s low durability is not weather-specific. Due to their soft construction, most winter tires can wear faster than regular tires, even at their required temperature requirement.
Tread Pattern
Winter tires are made with deeper grooves and irregular edges to provide a better grip in snowy conditions. While this is perfect for letting the tires perform well in slippery and snowy conditions, it makes tires wear faster.
The sharp edges are made with small rubber patterns that are easy to wear out.
Prevention of Winter Tires from Wearing
Most manufacturers mention the expected distance for which the tires can perform perfectly. This is done to avoid expectation conflict with the customer. However, you should remember that the manufacturer expects the tires to be used in an optimum way.
As a rule of thumb, winter tires will wear out faster than regular tires, no matter what you do. However, you can increase the tire’s life with proper care and usage by about two to three seasons. Below are a few things you can do to ensure winter tires’ longer durability.
Keep track of tire rotations
Most modern cars are front-wheel-drive ones. Therefore, the front wheels tend to take much more beating than the rear ones, with the only exception of regular rotations.
To enhance durability, you can exchange the front and rear tires after half of the tire’s expected distance is covered.
Avoid driving in warm weather
Just like regular tires are not optimum for winter driving, winter tires are not perfect for warm weather. It is best to use them only in the temperature recommendation by the company to reduce wear.
If the manufacturer has no recommendation, it is best to follow the 7o C rule. You can keep spares so that when temperature goes above 7 degrees, you will have another type of tire to go with.
Consider using LT tires
If you drive an SUV, you might want to consider light-truck-rated winter tires. These tires can take heavier weight and abuse than the ones recommended for your car. Therefore, they will last longer.
The extra weight of LT tires will increase fuel consumption, but they will have a stronger grip during poor weather conditions. The main reason behind the durability of light truck tires is the hard rubber material used in production.
Monitor Air Pressure
Freezing temperatures cause a reduction in the air pressure and a fall in the mercury. You have to maintain the air pressure in your snow tires if you want them to last longer.
Monitoring your tire’s air pressure is the simplest way to prevent them from wearing out. If your tires are inflated, they will perform better even during bad road conditions.
In case you are driving with under-inflated winter tires, the risks of failure will increase. Also, you won’t have full control while turning your vehicle if the air pressure of your tires is not adequate.
Regular Maintenance
If you want your snow tires to last long, you need to make sure that they are always in perfect shape. Regularly check for tire rotations, balancing, and alignments to keep them strong for another season.
Your snow tires should be aligned and balanced so that there is no unwanted damage because of the unevenly dispersed weight.