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When winter comes with its ice and snow, you’ve got to know that your car has the grip and traction it needs to get you safely through whatever Mother Nature sends your way. Searching for “winter tires near me” is the best way to make sure you and your vehicle are best prepared for the inclement conditions that come with colder weather. At Romeoville Toyota, we have a team of tire professionals who can help you find a set of winter tires that will work best for your car, truck, or SUV. They will inspect your current set of tires for tread level and depth, as well as any damage such as cuts, tears, bubbles, cracking, and uneven tread wear.
Any of these things can result in a poor ride for you and your passengers. It can also have a negative impact on your vehicle’s safety, as worn tires can increase your car’s stopping distance while adversely affecting acceleration, braking, and cornering. This can all result in an increased risk of a collision. This is especially so during the winter months. The tire team at Romeoville Toyota will make sure you get through the winter safe and sound with a new set of winter tires.
These days, most vehicles come equipped with a set of all-season tires, except for certain performance sports cars that feature summer weight tires for increased acceleration. However, this was not always the case. Until Goodyear introduced the Tiempo all-season tire in 1977, drivers had two sets of tires for their cars, one for summer and the other for winter.
So-called snow tires have deeper treads, softer rubber, and other features that make them ideal for getting your vehicle through snow, sleet, ice, and heavy rain. Summer tires, on the other hand, have harder rubber and shallow treads to improve speed and acceleration. All-season tires look to bridge the gap between these two tire types so they can be used in all weather conditions. However, as with most compromises, all-season tires can reduce the fast performance you’ll get with summer tires and the added grip and traction of winter tires. While all-season tires might be fine if you live in a place where it is warm year-round, this is probably a risk not worth taking if you get cold weather with snow and sleet during the winter where you live.
The main concern during winter weather is slippage. The last thing you want to have happen is to skid on ice or snow. This happens when water or ice builds up between your tires and the roadbed, with the cold stiffening the rubber on your tires. If you have ever had this happen to you, then you know the helpless feeling you get as your car slides across the highway while you pray that there isn’t another vehicle or pedestrian in your path. This loss of control is one of the most dangerous conditions you can experience. It is a truly helpless feeling as your brakes won’t help you, and your steering control is limited at best. The key is to make sure this doesn’t happen in the first place. This is where winter tires come in.
Winter tires are designed to make sure the rubber doesn’t stiffen up in cold temperatures. They also have deeper treads with specialized designs to give you better road grip while channeling water, snow, and ice away from your tires, so they don’t build up, causing you to skid. As a result, winter tires give you the greatest traction and grip. Water can be your worst enemy, especially in cold weather. If you’ve ever watched a Grand Prix or NASCAR race, then you will know that if it starts to rain heavily, they will halt the race to prevent injury. Those smoother performance tires on the racecars are just not made for inclement weather. This is what can happen to you when you use summer or all-season tires in heavy winter conditions.
Snow tires have a specialized design that makes them ideal for getting you through all that winter can dish out. This consists of three key component parts that set them apart from summer and all-season tires: tread rubber, tread depth and patterns, and biting edges. Let’s look at each of these in greater detail.
As temperatures drop, things start to stiffen up and shrink. This is especially the case with the rubber treads on your tires. As a result, the treads will give your vehicle less road grip. This increases the chances of skidding. Manufacturers of winter tires address this concern by using a softer and more flexible rubber compound for the treads of their winter tires. This reduces the amount of stiffening and shrinkage on the winter tires, so they are better able to give you the grip you need when driving in cold temperatures.
Winter tires also feature deeper treads with unique patterns. If you have ever looked at a set of summer tires, you will see shallow treads with fairly straight patterns. This is designed to give you the minimum grip needed to keep you on the road. All-season tires have slightly deeper treads with more of a zigzag pattern. Winter tires go beyond this with special channels designed to get snow, slush, and water away from the treads. You may have actually seen this if the car in front of you on the road is sporting a set of winter tires. You see a stream of water and slush spitting out to the sides of the other driver’s tires. That is a set of winter tires doing what they were built to do: keep water from building up and causing a hazardous situation.
The final special aspect of winter tires is the number of biting edges, which are the slits on the tread blocks. These literally help the tires bite into snow and slush on the road, giving you better traction than you will find on the set of all-season tires that probably came with your car. While all-season tires also feature some biting edges on their treads, they lack the number and density of the ones that come on a set of winter tires.
If you are looking to stay home this winter, then you’ll be fine with those all season tires. But when cabin fever sets in, you’re going to wish you had bought a set of winter tires.
Romeoville Toyota is your Illinois Toyota dealership. We carry the full lineup of Toyota cars, trucks, and SUVs, with a vast inventory of new, used, and certified pre-owned models. We also carry some great used cars made by other top automakers, so you will have an amazing selection of vehicles right here at our dealership.
If you want to finance your next vehicle, our team of dedicated professionals will work with you to get you a lease or loan on competitive terms that fit your budget perfectly. Our goal at Romeoville Toyota is to make sure that you get the car you want at a price you can afford. When it comes time for service on your vehicle, head over to our service center, where our team of trained technicians will help you with everything from routine maintenance to major repairs. We can assist you with all your service needs with high-quality parts, including tire sales and repairs. This is why folks all over the Illinois area head to Romeoville Toyota when their vehicles are in need of repairs and maintenance.
As you can see, there is nothing like a set of snow tires to get you and your passengers safely through the Illinois winter. Winter tires are specially designed with softer rubber to provide needed road grip as the mercury drops throughout our area. They also have other features on the treads, such as additional biting edges to make sure you have the traction you need to avoid skidding and slippage caused by snow, sleet, and rain. This will help prevent your car from sliding into a potentially disastrous collision.
Stop in to our tire center at Romeoville Toyota and let our specialists get a set of winter tires for your vehicle. They will check to make sure to fit them snuggly to your car’s wheels, so they are properly set and balanced. With your new set of winter tires, you will have the peace of mind you need to venture out, even on the coldest and snowiest days here in Illinois. You can leave your old all-season or summer tires safely stored at home, waiting for the spring.
