Live in areas that experience extreme weather changes alternating from summer to extreme winter with snowfalls. You should know the importance of changing your vehicle’s tires with the changing weather. To ensure your safety when driving, you should always ensure that you change the summer tires to winter tires during the winter.
During the winter, dangerous conditions such as hail, slush, and snow build up in areas you might want to navigate with your vehicle. Here are some dangers that come with driving in summer tires instead of using winter tires during the winter.
1. The Danger Is That Summer Tires Lose Grip When It Is Cold
Summer tires are not designed to perform in very low temperatures. Unlike winter tires online, summer tires do not hold traction and grip through ice, slush, and snow.
The compound used to make summer tires help in holding grip during the summer, and their tread is specifically designed to provide traction in hot temperatures. This compound becomes inflexible when subjected to very low temperatures, such as temperatures experienced during the winter.
The summer tires compound loses traction automatically due to the inflexibility caused by low temperatures experienced during summer. When this happens, the automobile property of the tire drops automatically and this inhibits performance. When tires lose flexibility, they turn rigid, automatically stopping the vehicle’s movement.
2. The Danger Of Difficulty In Stopping The Car On Slippery Roads
If you are using summer tires during the winter season, you risk losing control of your vehicle and getting the vehicle damaged, and worst, getting hurt yourself. You can barely stop a car using summer tires on an icy road.
This is dangerous because if an instance stop or turn is needed, the vehicle might lose control and result in an accident because they lose grip and slip. When tires lose traction, extreme force applied to the gas pedal is dangerous. On the other hand, winter tires do not lose traction on wet roads or when subjected to extreme winter conditions.
3. The Danger Of Cracking The Track Compound Used In Summer Tires
The track compound used in summer tires can crack if the tires are exposed to temperatures below the freezing point. This is common, especially when using the vehicle in extremely chilly regions. Cracking of the tires is a permanent condition that will cost you to replace the tires altogether.
Another case of cracking because of using summer tires instead of winter tires during the winter conditions is the chipping away of the edges of the tread blocks. This is normally due to significant temperature differences and tires that are not adaptable to such extremely low temperatures.
Most insurance companies do not cover losses that result from using the wrong types of tires in harsh weather. The insurance company will consider it damage from ignorance and will not compensate you for any loss.
Torn and cracked tires are unsafe for driving, and you can consider replacing them with winter tires online to avoid future risks.
4. The Danger Of Losing Traction
Compared to the summer tires, the winter tires have higher resistance to rolling. This property increases the efficiency of winter tires during winter conditions. The resistance to rolling also has the advantage of reducing the noise produced while driving.
The tread on summer tires results in poor performance when the tires are subjected to snow and icy conditions. Winter tires outperform summer tires in winter conditions because summer tires have poor acceleration.
Summer tires resist rolling in low temperatures, and this situation causes long-distance brakes on snowy and icy roads. The tread in summer tires is deeper compared to the winter tires online. The deeper tread makes the summer tires dig into the ice or snow, resulting in the vehicle getting stuck.
The difference that makes winter tires not get stuck in ice or snow is that they are designed softer, and this property makes them less vulnerable in extremely low temperatures.
Summer tires are designed with a rubber compound that is only favorable for warm or hot temperatures. When the temperatures drop, summer tires lose traction immediately, even if it is not snowing or icy.
You should note that winter tires online are best modified for the winter conditions, and you should not have to experience the dangers of using summer tires during winter to learn.