Tire Tips From Your Courtesy Motors Ltd Tire Professional

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

One category at Courtesy Motors Ltd is known as “summer tires”. Summer tires are designed to be driven on BC roads when temperatures are generally above 7 degrees. Their tread design is optimized for traction on dry Vernon 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 Vernon drivers in those BC conditions.

If you live where its summer all year round, these tires will work well for you. If you like maximum performance in warm Vernon weather, but still live in BC 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 Vernon drivers. When it gets warmer, the softer rubber will wear faster on warm dry pavement than summer tires, so change them out once the Vernon weather has turned. For many Vernon 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 BC expressway performance and winter traction.

Outside of these three main categories, some Vernon 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 BC streets. Again, many options depending on the relative emphasis on on-road verses off-road.

Talk with your Courtesy Motors Ltd tire professional and let him help you find the tire that’s right for the way you drive in Vernon.

Stop by or give us a call.

Courtesy Motors Ltd
4313 31st St
Vernon, BC V1T 5J8
250-542-9111

At Courtesy Motors Ltd we install quality NAPA replacement parts.