Tire Tips From Your Kendalls Automotive Tire Professional

When it’s time for new tires, the choices can be overwhelming for Winnipeg drivers. Let’s look at some common tire categories.

One category at Kendalls Automotive is known as “summer tires”. Summer tires are designed to be driven on MB roads when temperatures are generally above 7 degrees. Their tread design is optimized for traction on dry Winnipeg roads and they’re also able to effectively displace water on rainy roads.

The rubber compound gets a little hard and stiff as temperatures drop below 7 degrees. And the tread which handles dry roads so well, can get packed with snow and mud, which provides very little traction for Winnipeg drivers in those MB conditions.

If you live where its summer all year round, these tires will work well for you. If you like maximum performance in warm Winnipeg weather, but still live in MB where it gets cold and snowy, you’ll want to change your summer tires for winter tires as the weather starts to change.

Winter tires are designed to work very well in snow and ice. Their tread is designed with many channels and grooves that throw the snow out of the tread as the wheel turns. This means the tire is always be able to bite into the snow.

The rubber compound used in winter tires is specially formulated to be flexible at temperatures below 7 degrees. This maximizes cold weather traction for Winnipeg drivers. When it gets warmer, the softer rubber will wear faster on warm dry pavement than summer tires, so change them out once the Winnipeg weather has turned. For many Winnipeg drivers, an all-season tire is the answer. You will give up some of the performance at the extreme ends of the summer tire/ winter tire spectrum, but you will find a long wearing tire that gives both good MB expressway performance and winter traction.

Outside of these three main categories, some Winnipeg drivers with trucks and SUVs like a tire that is designed for both on-highway and off-highway use. They can handle the rocks and bumps off-road, but still work well on MB streets. Again, many options depending on the relative emphasis on on-road verses off-road.

Talk with your Kendalls Automotive tire professional and let him help you find the tire that’s right for the way you drive in Winnipeg.

Stop by or give us a call.

Kendalls Automotive
1605 Lee Blvd
Winnipeg, MB R3Y 1S3
204-275-3572
kendalls.ca

At Kendalls Automotive we install quality NAPA replacement parts.