Tire Tips
When it’s time for new tires, the choices can be overwhelming for Hamilton drivers. Let’s look at some common tire categories.
Summer Tires
One category at Putney’s Brake and Alignment Service is known as “summer tires”. Summer tires are designed to be driven on Ontario roads when temperatures are generally above 7 degrees. Their tread design is optimized for traction on dry Hamilton roads and they’re also able to effectively displace water on rainy roads.
The rubber compound gets a little hard and stiff as temperatures drop below 7 degrees. And the tread which handles dry roads so well, can get packed with snow and mud, which provides very little traction for Hamilton drivers in those ON conditions.
If you live where its summer all year round, these tires will work well for you. If you like maximum performance in warm Hamilton weather, but still live in ON where it gets cold and snowy, you’ll want to change your summer tires for winter tires as the weather starts to change.
Winter tires
Winter tires are designed to work very well in snow and ice. Their tread is designed with many channels and grooves that throw the snow out of the tread as the wheel turns. This means the tire is always be able to bite into the snow.
The rubber compound used in winter tires is specially formulated to be flexible at temperatures below 7 degrees. This maximizes cold weather traction for Hamilton drivers. When it gets warmer, the softer rubber will wear faster on warm dry pavement than summer tires, so change them out once the Hamilton weather has turned. For many Hamilton drivers, an all-season tire is the answer. You will give up some of the performance at the extreme ends of the summer tire/ winter tire spectrum, but you will find a long wearing tire that gives both good ON expressway performance and winter traction.
Outside of these three main categories, some Hamilton drivers with trucks and SUVs like a tire that is designed for both on-highway and off-highway use. They can handle the rocks and bumps off-road, but still work well on Ontario streets. Again, many options depending on the relative emphasis on on-road verses off-road.
You can research this on your own through our website FIND MY TIRES or talk with your Putney’s Brake and Alignment Service tire professional and let him help you find the tire that’s right for the way you drive in Hamilton.
Stop by or give us a call.
(905) 522-4621
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