Your Kia SUV is designed, first and foremost, to be safe in every driving condition. At the same time, it makes sense to increase your safety whenever possible, especially during Reno's cold winters. That's why we're proud to offer a full lineup of winter tires in our service center at Tom Dolan's Reno Kia so that you can enjoy the best traction all season long.
Why Winter Tires?
While all-season tires can handle the winter weather fairly well, they still make compromises to ensure that they work during the summer, as well. Tires designed specifically for the winter, though, make zero compromises, meaning that you can enjoy optimal handling and safety, even in the worst weather in Carson City.
The biggest factor that can make winter driving dangerous around Truckee has to do with ice or snow on the road. These substances can greatly reduce the friction that's supposed to exist between your tires and the road, thus leading to skidding, fishtailing, and other problems. A key component of a winter tire, then, is that it can increase the amount of grip that's available so that you can safely navigate these difficult conditions.
Winter Tire Difference
One key difference between winter tires and all-season or summer tires is that winter tires use different rubber compounds to keep them from stiffening up during cold weather. This ensures that the tire remains pliable to maintain traction and provides plenty of responsiveness around corners when driving in Tahoe. Pliability is key for any tire. However, since summer and all-season tires contain more synthetic materials to provide outstanding performance during the warm months, they relinquish their ability to have optimal handling during winter weather.
Winter tires also have unique tread patterns to effectively route ice and snow away from the roads of Sparks so that you can maintain contact between your tires and the pavement. Specifically, winter tires have deeper grooves in the tread compared to other types of tires. Oddly enough, these grooves are meant to collect snow so that the snow in the tires can provide extra grip as it meets the snow on the road. Given the importance of these grooves, you'll want to replace your winter tires when they get down to 4mm in depth, compared to 2 or 3mm for all-season tires.
A Word On Snow Tires
It used to be drivers who lived in areas where extreme winter weather was the norm had to opt for studded snow tires. These tires featured metal studs that could easily grip into ice so that traction was assured. The good news is that advancements in winter tires have essentially made studded tires obsolete. In fact, some states have outlawed studded tires because of the damage they can do to the road. Therefore, if you want an extra measure of safety during the winter, all you have to do is invest in a quality set of winter tires for your Kia SUV.
Changing Tires
If you already have winter tires, you'll want to be sure to put them on your vehicle as the seasons change. We can perform this changeover for you in our service center. We will also ensure that the air pressure in each tire is at the right level and double-check to ensure that the tread depth is acceptable. If you'd like, we can also check the alignment and balance of each tire to ensure your tires wear evenly. We want you to be able to have confidence wherever you drive this winter, so we will do all we can to make sure that your tires are up to the task.
Schedule Your Winter Tire Appointment at Tom Dolan's Reno Kia
If you would like to schedule an appointment to purchase winter tires or have your current winter tires installed, contact us through our website today.