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Why a winter package is best.

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  • Seasonal tire changes are less costly. When your tires are mounted on dedicated wheels changing them is cheaper. It’s easier to sell a used package than just tires. They have a much higher residual value. 
  • More durable and affordable together. The optimal winter wheel packages is a smaller diameter wheel with tires that have a taller sidewall to maintain the same overall tire and wheel assembly diameter. The taller tires are more durable and often significantly more affordable than the just tires option.
  • It’s easier to sell a used package than just tires. They have a much higher residual value. Often ~$200-$400 more and can easily be inspected for air integrity at time of sale. 
  • The changeover is quicker and so less wait time. Typically time savings are 30-45 minutes.
  • Fewer pressure loss and balancing issues. Removing and re-installing a tire on a rim can be tough on both the rim and the tire causing the air seal to break down. Although rare the tire bead can even break during installation. That means more trips for service.
  • Protect your original equipment wheels. During the winter and in early spring you are much more likely to hit a pothole and damage a wheel with low profile tires. A replacement for an alloy wheel will still be a cheaper than a new original wheel.

What are the different types of tires?

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Winter Tires

Passenger Tires

These tires are ideal for drivers wanting to maximize performance in challenging winter driving conditions. They feature soft and pliable tread compounds that trade some handling in dry and wet conditions to deliver exceptional snow and ice traction.

SUV/Truck Tires

Optimal tires for drivers wanting to maximize performance in challenging winter driving conditions. These tires feature soft and pliable tread compounds that trade some handling in dry and wet conditions to deliver exceptional snow and ice traction.

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Winter Performance Tires

Passenger Tires

These tires are ideal for drivers of sporty vehicles looking to maintain the handling and performance capabilities of their vehicles during the cold weather months. They aren't as well performing in deep snow as a conventional winter tire but offer significantly better dry and wet weather handling.

SUV/Truck Tires

Optimal tires for drivers of sporty SUVs looking to maintain the handling and performance capabilities of their vehicles during the cold weather months. These tires aren't as well performing in deep snow as a conventional winter tire but offer significantly better dry and wet weather handling.

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LT Winter Tires

SUV/Truck Tires

LT tires are meant for heavy duty applications. The tires are specifically constructed to support more load and designed for higher inflation pressures. Higher pressure increases the tire’s load capacity. It is the air inside the tire that carries the load so an LT tire with a lower load rating in some cases may still carry more than their P-metric counterparts. Refer to the tire placard or owner’s manual to confirm whether LT tires are required for your vehicle.

Two ways winter tires help…

Loss Of Control and Stopping Distance

Winter tires stop faster than All-Season (3-season) tires.
The more your tires wear the less traction they naturally have. When comparing winter tires to all-season tires, the all-season tire looses its ability to corner once their tread has worn below 50%. That can lead to understeering or oversteering. This specialized traction also helps you stop faster keeping you safer and improving your reaction time on snowy and icy roads.

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What is downsizing?

The best practice for winter packages is to select the smallest diameter rim such that it doesn’t interfere or contact the vehicle’s braking system. All packages supplied by our dealership are guaranteed to properly fit your vehicle.

Benefits of winter package downsizing:

  • Better winter performance: downsized tires are often narrower with a higher sidewall profile. The narrower tires cut through snow and the flexibility of a higher sidewall creates a larger contact patch with the road.
  • Taller sidewalls are more durable better able to resist winter road hazards including potholes.
  • Downsizing allows you to save money on tires and rims. Tires are cheaper because the sizes are more common (supply and demand). Rims are more economical because it takes less material to make a smaller diameter rim.
In the figure above, Wheel B has a smaller diameter than Wheel A. However the overall diameter of Tire/Wheel Assembly B(29") is the same diameter as the Tire/ Wheel Assembly A(29"). This is because the tire used in assembly B has a higher sidewall height(6") than the tire used in assembly A(5”). This approach of combining a smaller diameter wheel with a higher sidewall tire to maintain the same overall diameter is called downsizing or minus sizing.

What is TPMS and should I get it for my tires?

Most but not all vehicles today come equipped with TPMS or a Tire Pressure Monitoring System. These systems either directly or indirectly measure the pressure in your tires and alerts you in the event of tire pressure loss. Should the tire pressure fall below a certain level, a warning light is presented to the driver giving the driver time to fix the tire. The early detection can save the tire from being driven on flat and help avoid an accident due to severely under inflated tires.

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There are two types of TPMS in the market: direct and indirect. Direct TPMS uses a physical pressure sensor in the wheel to monitor tire pressure. Indirect TPMS uses the wheel speed sensors used by the anti-lock brake system to indirectly measure pressure. The speed sensors measure the rate of revolution each wheel is making. When a tire loses air it becomes slightly flat and effectively a smaller diameter. It then must rotate faster than the other wheels in the vehicle. This is detected by the speed sensor and the owner is alerted of the tire pressure loss.

Our winter package quotes include sensors should your vehicle need direct sensors to measure pressure. That said, TPMS sensors are not required in Canada so are optional and you can elect to not purchase them. Depending on the vehicle and the cost of the sensor this can save you $250-$400 on the cost of a winter tire package. The downside of this is of course that for most vehicles with the TPMS no longer operational the warning light will show up continually on the dash. You’ll have to monitor tire pressure by every so often looking at your tires and measuring the pressure using a gauge.

Please note that for run-flat winter packages sensors are not optional and must be installed.

WHAT ARE RUN FLAT TIRES