Are You Tired of Learning About Tires? All-Season vs All-Weather, What You Need to Know

Hello September! While it may not quite be fall yet, the evening air is becoming crisper, the leaves are changing colour and those autumn winds are beginning to blow in. With colder weather just around the corner, our team at Advantage Ford wants to offer you some helpful tips and tricks for ensuring your vehicle is prepared for the winter months.

Tires are an important variable in the safety, life, and efficiency of your vehicle and at Advantage Ford we are passionate about providing our customers with comprehensive information on how to best equip your vehicle for Calgary’s unpredictable weather. Our last blog referenced winter and summer tires, their purpose, when to swap them out and other helpful seasonal tips. Today’s blog is all about “All Season” and “All Weather” tires and how to know whether they are the right pick for your vehicle. We sure hope you aren’t tired of learning about tires quite yet!

All-Season Tires

Let’s start with all-season tires. While practical and affordable, all-season tires are not usually the right choice for Calgarians – or anyone living anywhere with snow and temperatures below seven degrees for months on end. You see, the more practical name for an “all-season” tire would be the “three-season” tire. While great for driving in the spring, summer, and fall, the all-season tire will not offer you safety or security in the winter months. Like the summer tire, all-season tires can safely handle temperatures above seven degrees Celsius. Their treads are slightly deeper than your average summer tire and therefore if you live in place with a relative amount of rain or slush, they can offer you some extra grip. Nonetheless, as soon as those temperatures drop and the snow begins to fall, all-season tires treads will get clogged or blocked with snow, making them like driving ice skates.

All-Weather Tires

All-weather tires, on the other hand, are suitable for Canadian winters. Equipped with the handy snowflake symbol, this is the first sign that all-weather tires are certified for cold weather conditions. All-weather tires are fantastically engineered with special rubber that stays flexible in almost all weather conditions, including those below freezing. They have deep treads with complex patterns that can grip rainy and snowy roads, efficiently. They are built to last and can grip on just about anything (ie: wet asphalt, fluffy snow, packed snow, ice, etc.). So if you are looking for an option that is good year-round and has a good life expectancy, all-weather tires are probably right for you.

At Advantage Ford we encourage you to talk to one of our trusted experts if you have any questions pertaining to tires and what might be the right fit for your vehicle. Tires are an investment that protects you and your passengers out on the road; make sure you find the perfect fit for you! Stay warm and stay safe Calgary!