No one likes to have to change out their tires multiple times per year, but if you live in an area with extreme temperatures, having a dedicated set of tires to match the season is helpful. You may wonder if you can just leave a set of winter tires on your vehicle long after the frigid months have departed. After all, if they can handle snow and ice, they can handle anything, right? This isn’t advised because these tires were made for the winter and can cause your ride to suffer if left on for the rest of the year. Here are some of the dangers of leaving winter tires on too long that you’ll want to keep in mind the next time you’re considering not changing them out once the warmer weather hits.
What Makes Winter Tires Special?
Winter tires are specially designed to take on dangerous road conditions caused by inclement weather, like snow and ice. Not only is the rubber utilized in winter tires different from other types of tires, but these tires also have a specialized tread pattern that’s meant to travel over slick and slippery conditions. The rubber is designed to remain flexible, even during extremely low temperatures, so that freezing conditions don’t affect the ability to do their job. Deeper tread is also something that winter tires offer, allowing you to latch onto the roadway, even when it’s covered in snow, providing you with enhanced traction and stability in these environments.
Safety Issues
When you’re traveling through snowy or icy conditions, you’ll want a vehicle with tires made for such situations. These tires enhance your vehicle’s ability to maneuver on the road, brake efficiently, and take on twists and turns safely. All in all, these tires are best suited to harsh winter climates and low temperatures in order to do their job properly. That’s why you see so many drivers switching out their tires when the winter months are approaching. What happens when warm weather returns and you choose not to switch them out for your regular tires? A lot, as it turns out.
Rolling around with winter tires in the summertime can impact your safety, which is something that many drivers don’t realize. You would think that since these tires can take on harsh environments, they could easily take on a bright, sunny drive down the interstate. Actually, winter tires are composed of a softer rubber optimized for colder temperatures, which allows them to maintain their flexibility in cold weather. When the weather is warm, it causes the rubber to overheat, loosen up, and can cause wobbling. In addition to making for an uncomfortable ride, this also causes decreased traction, as these tires aren’t able to grip dry, warm road conditions as effectively.
You’ll also notice a difference when it’s raining because not all precipitation is the same, especially for winter tires. These tires are made to grip the road in icy and snowy conditions. However, using them while it’s raining can cause you to hydroplane due to reduced traction, which can be dangerous. You’ll also need to keep in mind that winter tires require a bit more distance between you and the car in front of you, so if they happen to brake suddenly, you may not have enough room to stop safely. Your safety and the safety of those around you are of the utmost importance, and if you’re considering leaving your winter tires on during the warmer months, you run the risk of causing an accident.
Performance Problems
Winter tires were not made for summer weather, and when you have a part on your vehicle that wasn’t made to travel in the situation it’s traveling in, it causes your vehicle to work harder. This, in turn, affects performance. When you keep winter tires on when the weather turns warm and pleasant, fuel efficiency suffers, as your vehicle is working harder to grip the road with tires that weren’t meant for this time of year. You’ll also notice that it’s more difficult to handle your vehicle due to decreased traction, as mentioned above.
Ride quality suffers as well, as keeping winter tires on during temperate weather can make for a rougher ride. You may notice a vibration while you travel or a wobbling, due to the soft rubber. This makes for a louder ride, which can take away from the overall quality of your journey. Although this may not be as big of a priority as your safety, an uncomfortable ride can negatively impact your experience behind the wheel. This can all be alleviated by swapping out your tires for the correct type to match the climate.
Potential for Tire Damage
In addition to safety and performance issues, keeping your winter tires on for too long causes them to wear at an alarmingly rapid rate, especially since they’re overworking, trying to grip road conditions that they weren’t made for. This all comes back to the soft rubber that they’re made of, as this tends to wear at a much faster rate when left on all year round. Hot weather also contributes to the rate at which these tires wear out, causing you to have to replace them more often than if you were just to use them in the wintertime.
This soft material heats up very quickly, and if it’s already hot outside, your tires can get hot and start to become damaged beyond repair. This not only makes for an unsafe ride but also another expense to worry about. Keeping these tires on your vehicle also decreases their lifespan because they’re not designed to be on your car constantly. This impacts their longevity, causing you to have to replace them sooner than you originally planned.
Other Important Reasons
Nowadays, it’s important to save every penny you can, seeing as everything is just so expensive. Choosing to keep your winter tires on once the weather gets warmer may seem more convenient; however, it’ll end up costing you in the long run. You’ll need to pay for a new set of winter tires more often, which won’t come cheap. Winter tires can be a bit pricey, so having to replace them more often just isn’t in everyone’s budget.
It’s also not practical to keep them on all year long, as they don’t offer the performance and safety you require when traveling in hot, dry environments. There’s no reason to keep them on in these conditions, seeing as they don’t offer anything extra to your ride. In fact, they take away from it.
Choosing to keep your winter tires on for longer than necessary can cause issues, not just with the performance of your vehicle and the longevity of your tires but also with your safety, which is something that isn’t worth risking. If you have winter tires on your vehicle, once temperatures go above 45 degrees consistently, remove them. You’ll want to store them properly, cleaning them, wrapping them up in airtight storage bags, and keeping them in a cool, dry space until they’re needed again. This will ensure that they will continue to hold up and offer you a safe and controlled ride when the weather turns harsh during those frigid winter months. If you were thinking about keeping your winter tires on all year, even just for a moment, now you know that it’s not a good idea, especially when you want to make the most out of every journey you embark on next.
