Aren't we glad...

...we didn't switch to our summer tires?

Depending on where you live within the GTA, you may have encountered some snow yesterday.

Nowhere near the Doomsday scenario presented by the weather forecasters - are those people congenitally pessimistic, or do they just predict the worst so everybody's happy if it doesn't turn out that bad?

But I did encounter a few snow squalls near the airport on my drive home last evening, and there were still a few mm of frosting on the deck of Kenzie World Headquarters this morning.

All melting now.

But remember - 'winter' tires are not just 'snow' tires any more. They are designed with tread compounds which remain more pliable when cold, so the tire can conform to irregularities in the road surface (in the GTA? Yeah, I know, hard to imagine...)  and therefore retain their grip.

Generally speaking, if the temperature is going to be below seven degrees Celsius for any appreciable percentage of the time, you should still have your winters on.

True, driving on them especially at higher speeds when it IS warmer than that will reduce tread life; it is a bit of a balancing act.

But weigh the cost of a new set of winter tires versus the cost of even a minor fender-bender, let alone a serious crash - it's a no-brainer.

And if you're still living with all-season tires (more accurately, 'no-season' tires, because they're no good in summer AND no good in winter), then shame on you...

 

Comments

[David Houston]

you city people are so gullible. I live in the snowbelt and have never used snow tires. However i do know how to drive in the winter which is impossible to explain to anybody living in the Toronto area

[Peter Stern]

"But weigh the cost of a new set of winter tires versus the cost of even a minor fender-bender, let alone a serious crash - it's a no-brainer."

Well I'm glad I didn't waste money on snow tires in the first place... and I've had exactly ZERO fender benders for the past 10 years... and all of the past 10+ years of driving were done on good quality all season radials (good quality defined as NOT Motomaster or some other off-brand with low ratings).

In a place like Toronto where the roads get salted and plowed regularly, you just don't need snow tires. All you DO need is that when driving in snow, be careful and drive at 1/2 of the speed you would normally go under dry conditions and leave 2-3 times as much space for stopping.

That's what I do to maintain my ZERO fender bender track record.

Shame on YOU for allowing yourself to be bought by the tire industry.