If you’ve been looking for the best all-weather tires for your SUV, minivan, light truck, sedan, coupe, or any other vehicle, Putney’s has a wide variety of all-weathers for drivers in the East Hamilton area of Ontario. But are all-weather tires the best choice for you and your vehicle?
All-weather tires, as their name suggests, provide reliable performance in all weather conditions. These tires were first produced and sold in the 1970s to provide drivers with a tire whose performance wouldn’t vary with the seasons. For drivers in a place that has four distinct seasons—such as East Hamilton—such a tire was very desirable.
In order to create such a tire, engineers had to sacrifice some qualities present in other tires. All-weather tires can handle hot, dry roads and they can handle wet, watery roads. Slick surfaces can still pose a problem, though, so it’s wise to drive extra carefully in the rain.
All-weathers can also handle cold temperatures. Unlike summer and all-season tires—which are different—all weathers can handle temperatures well below seven degrees Celsius. This is the temperature at which the rubber compounds used in summer and all-season tires begin to stiffen, reducing their handling and stopping abilities. All-weathers are great for driving over leafy autumn roads, muddy spring streets, and snowy streets in winter.
While all-seasons and summer tires experience longer braking distances and poor edging in winter, all-weathers have special tread designs and tread patterns that help them grip roads covered in light snow.
You can tell that all-weather tires are safe for winter driving because they contain the Transport Canada pictograph of mountain peaks and snowflakes. This little logo means these tires pass the test as a snow/winter tire.
Are all-weather tires as good in winter as specially designed winter tires? In a place like East Hamilton, yes, they probably are. Winter tires have some advantages over all-weathers when it comes to driving over rough, packed snow, or icy and gravelly roads, but for city driving, you can rely on all-weathers in winter.
At Putney’s, we have many tire offerings, not just snow tires and all-weather tires. How about summer tires? If you want to get the best performance possible in summer, these tires might be preferable to all-weathers. Summer tires are specially designed to provide ultimate traction for sharp turns and handling on hot, dry pavement.
If you really care about getting the perfect driving experience, then we have summer tires you can choose from for those long summer road trips. Many drivers, however, have no problem using all-weather tires in summer. It’s all down to personal preference; it’s not a safety issue like trying to use summers or all-seasons in winter.
At Putney’s, we carry the best all-weather tires for SUVs, hatchbacks, and all other passenger cars. If you would like to book an appointment to have all-weathers installed on your vehicle, you can do so here. To learn more about all-weather tires, or our other products and services, you can contact us via our website or call us at 905-523-7535.
