Changing tires from winter tires to all-season tires at the end of the winter is essential, but you will need to make sure that you don’t do it too early as if you get a returning spell of winter conditions, you will be in problem if you have all-season tires. The change should always be done as late as possible when the chance for returning winter conditions will be very low or non-existing. You can always change earlier if you can sustain from using your car if the winter returns. Returning winter tends to be quite short with some snowfall that then melts away. If you are very dependent on your car you should wait to change until you more certain that the winter will not return and then change to all-season tires.
The safety will also depend on how safe the tires that you will change to are. The tires should be premium tires in good condition. They should be free from cuts and cracks and they should have sufficient remaining tread depth for safe driving. You need to check the tread depth on all four tires on a regular basis and make sure that the tires are rotated between the seasonal changes and if needed also during the season. An electric car or hybrid will have a higher tire wear and can often need a more frequent tire change. When you reach a tread depth of 5/64 inch difference between the front and rear tires it is time to rotate and if the tread depth reaches 5/32 inches it is time to replace the tires with a new set.
It is essential to know that it isn’t safe to drive with all-season tires when you have winter conditions. The all-season tires will become hard and will not be able to provide sufficient grip even on dry tarmac. They also don’t have the tread pattern and design aimed to create grip on snow and ice and can’t handle heavy slush to be able to safely prevent slushplaning from occurring. For winter conditions you will need to use tires that are approved for winter use. These tires include the snow tires also known as winter tires and then you have some winter approved all-weather tires.
If you use any of these you can drive safely when you have snow, ice or slush, the winter tires are also better than all-season tires at low temperatures as they remain soft compared to all-season tires that will become hard at low temperatures. This happens at around 45° Fahrenheit when it is advisable to already start using winter approved tires. The all-season tires should only be used during the warm seasons. The winter approved tires except the all-weather tires should only be used during cold temperatures. The all-weather tires can be used all-year round as they can handle both weather conditions that are present during both summers and winters. This makes them a good and convenient choice for areas with varying weather conditions.
For more information regarding all-season tires for the upcoming seasonal change, visit: www.nokiantires.com
