We can already feel it, especially in the morning. Winter is on the way and although we haven’t gotten our first snowstorm, we know it’s coming. Winter poses added challenges for motorists caused by snowy and icy roads, but as many of us know the best way to deal with that is a good set of winter tires.
There’s really no way around it, you need winter tires in winter. Even if you have all-wheel drive, you need winter tires. Whether your vehicle is front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, or AWD, a good set of quality winter tires will guarantee that you remain safe on the road regardless of what it’s doing outside. It doesn’t matter what your vehicle’s transmission and powertrain are doing, the only thing connected to the road are your tires. The only thing that will happen with an AWD vehicle in winter with summer tires is four wheels spinning instead of two!
All-season or summer tires can’t remain pliable when the temperature dips under 7 degrees. That means that you are essentially driving around on rocks which in turn increases stopping distances and hinders handling. The road doesn’t need to be covered in snow for summer or all-season tires to lose their effectiveness either. Read on.
The other important component of winter tires is their tread depth. Thanks to their deeper treads, winter tires evacuate the snow on the road faster and more efficiently. All-season tires tend to have shallower treads and summer tires are even worse. That means that the snow can compact on the surface of the tire which reduces grip. Lastly, winter tires have small suction grooves that are designed to “suck” the ice and help you stop.
Where Should You Buy Your Winter Tires?
Now that we have established that you need winter tires, the next thing you want to make sure is that you get the right tires. That’s why we recommend dropping in and speaking with our experts at our Tire Centre. See, not all winter tires are created equal and not all winter tires perform on specific vehicles. Your Mazda has a range of winter tires that are optimal for it, and we have all of these tires in stock.
What matters most when choosing winter tires is getting the right tires for your vehicle and only a team of Mazda experts who also know tires can guide you. It’s always a good idea to take full advantage of this knowledge especially since you aren’t paying more for your tires here. We can also store them and install them on site. Lastly, we have a full range of winter wheels available as well. They will look as good as your original wheels but will be considerably less expensive. If you should happen to grind them on a sidewalk covered in snow this winter, it won’t hurt as much!