Winter weather in West Central Saskatchewan is a great reason to bring up the topic of winter tires.

Yesterday's unfavourable conditions brought it's fair share of inclement weather including steady snowfall, cold temperatures, and even freezing rain. All of these things bring poor driving conditions, and can lead to vehicle accidents and even bodily harm. 

Kyle Adamson, owner of Integra Tire in Kindersley has had the discussion between winter tires and all-season tires with folks many times; and explained the differences and benefits in a previous interview. 

“The main thing with a winter tire versus an all-season tire is the temperature at which they lose their elasticity or ability to actually do their job. With an all-season tire, at 7 degrees Celsius they start to harden. That means the tread doesn’t open up to actually grab anything. Essentially, it's just a hard rubber block you’re driving on.”

With steady cold temperatures seen throughout the better part of 5 months in Saskatchewan, Adamson explains why winter tires perform better.

“With a winter tire, that tire will be good to much lower temperatures. In each individual lug that is on that tire there's little cuts in it called siping. So that siping will actually open up as you drive. It reaches out and grabs onto the road. It grabs snow or grabs ice and it gives you more contact, more traction, so it starts to work more like a tractor tire.”

Putting on your winter tires before the snow flies in the fall and even later into April can be beneficial, adds Adamson.

“A winter tire is still great at dispersing moisture on the road, so even if it's raining, the winter tires job is to push everything out away from the tires so that they can make contact with the road. If we have those rain showers in late April and the temperatures like plus ten, that winter tire could give you better traction than your all-season tire will.”

When contemplating buying a set of winter tires, consider your safety and those around you.