As the weather turns cold and roads become much more treacherous, it is vital that you have the right tires on your vehicle to keep you in control while behind the wheel. When looking for snow tires for sale, you should choose a dealer that offers the best tires and provides expert service to ensure your tires are replaced and secured properly. The last thing you want is for a tire to come loose or to have other issues that compromise how well you can control your vehicle. Even in the best conditions, that can be a recipe for disaster; with snow and ice on the road, it is all the more likely to end in tragedy.
Here at Thomas Nissan of Joliet, we understand the needs of drivers when dealing with the snowy road conditions and rough weather that comes with living in the Chicago area. We enjoy working with all of our customers, whether you are looking for a new vehicle, you are interested in a pre-owned option, or if you are shopping for snow tires for your car, truck, or SUV. No matter what you need to stay safe on the road and get where you need to go, we are here to help. Come visit us at Thomas Nissan of Joliet to learn more and see what we can do for you today.
A snow tire is essentially a tire that is designed and engineered to perform well in cold temperatures on roads with snow, slush, and ice. Also called winter tires, this type of tire is specially designed for the type of extreme cold that makes other kinds of tires less effective. Even if you have “all-season” tires, you should switch to snow tires in the winter to ensure you are safe on the road. Despite their name, all-season tires are really best in warmer weather, but they work well in both wet and dry conditions – they are not designed to maintain their effectiveness in the kind of serious cold we get here in Joliet and the surrounding area.
You need snow tires in order to keep control of your vehicle because they remain soft and pliable in cold temperatures and have tread designed for snow, slush, and ice. Different snow tires can have some differences in how they are designed, but they all use rubber that is created for the harshest winter weather. In order for tires to work well when you are driving, the rubber in them remains soft so that they can grip and contour to the road while you maneuver; this is what gives you control. Typical summer and all-weather tires are designed to do this very well in most conditions when the weather is warm – drivers in parts of Arizona, California, Texas, and similar areas can use summer or all-season tires year-round without issue.
The problem is that these standard tires stay nice and soft when the weather is warm, but when it becomes very cold, the rubber in them hardens. As soon as the temperature drops below about 45 degrees and stays there, these tires become firm, and they no longer grip the road as well. Snow tires, however, are made using rubber that has been engineered to remain soft and pliable when the temperature drops severely. This means that even if roads are completely clear and dry, snow tires still work better than summer or all-season tires in cold conditions simply because they provide better grip to keep you in control.
Beyond the engineering of the rubber used in them, the surface design and texture of snow tires also tend to differ from all-season options. Snow tires are made with large grooves between the blocks of tread, and the tread has a lot of ribs and sipes – additional smaller grooves breaking up the surface area even more. This design lets the tires easily scoop up snow and slush, which is then ejected from the tire, allowing the surface of the tread to make contact with the road. So winter tires are engineered to stay soft in cold temperatures and to handle snow and slush better than summer or all-season tires.
As we said, snow tires become more effective when the weather is cold – so you should make sure you have them on your vehicle once the average temperature drops below 40 or 45 degrees. While this can vary from place to place and year to year, in general, you want to make sure you get snow tires put on your vehicle around the middle of November. Sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving is usually a good general rule to keep in mind to ensure you have the right tires on your vehicle at all times.
You should then keep snow tires on your vehicle until the weather warms up and is again over 45 degrees throughout most of the day. Again, this can vary, but we typically recommend swapping back to your other tires in early April, right around tax day. Changing between snow tires and all-season or summer tires will help your snow tires last longer since you are not using them all year long. You will still need new snow tires every so often, but this should help keep them usable and effective for quite a few years.
Here at Thomas Nissan of Joliet, we are always ready to help you with anything you need. We truly believe in the importance of your tires since so much of your control over your vehicle really comes down to the condition of your tires and having the right ones on your car. Our certified service center is ready to help you with anything you need; we can handle multiple issues at once, so you can get your oil changed, have snow tires put on, and your suspension checked out all in one visit. This is just one way we make your life easier and get you back on the road as quickly as possible.
You can schedule service right now by giving us a call or through our website, letting you get in and back to your day quickly. We also offer Nissan Express Service, which requires no appointment and ensures you get quick, expert service that is convenient and provided by certified technicians specialized in working on Nissan vehicles. This includes a complimentary multi-point inspection to ensure your Nissan is in great shape and to warn you about any issues that might otherwise go unnoticed until they become a bigger problem. Even if you do not have a Nissan model, we are ready to help you with whatever you need and to make sure you have the right tires to stay safe this winter.
Proper maintenance for your vehicle might not be the most exciting thing about owning a car, but having the right tires on for the winter means you can focus on enjoying the season and stay in control on the road. Here at Thomas Nissan of Joliet, we pride ourselves on offering the highest level of customer service, and that extends well beyond simply shopping for your next car. We want to ensure you enjoy it and stay safe for many miles ahead. Call or come visit us today for all of your service needs, and we will make sure your car is in great shape.
