Gregory Hyundai
Chicago Winter/Snow Tire Dealer
Gregory Hyundai understands all too well that just because it snows where you live doesn't mean you need a 4x4 or a car with all-wheel drive – you just need winter/snow tires. Winter/snow tires use softer compounds and dedicated tread patterns to provide better traction and performance once the roads are coated with the white stuff.
So, you’re wondering what makes winter/snow tires different from regular tires. Winter/ Snow tires have tread patterns specifically designed to dig down and bite into snow and ice. They are made from softer rubber compounds that retain their flexibility in cold weather and allow the tire to better conform to the surface of the road. Regular tires tend to get hard and brittle in colder temperatures. As a result, winter/snow tires keep a better grip on snowy and icy surfaces than regular all-season or summer tires. The experts at Gregory Hyundai know that grip is critical – not just to avoid getting stuck, but to ensure that the car can stop and steer. Life-saving safety technologies such as antilock brakes, electronic stability control and all-wheel-drive cannot do their jobs if the tires can't maintain their grip on the road surface.
Chicago Winter Snow Tire Dealer
Many of our customers wonder why their all-season tires aren’t good enough. At Gregory Hyundai we advise our customers that all-season (also known as all-weather) tires are designed to cope with all sorts of conditions, including dry roads and rain, but they are not optimized for any one condition. They are generally made from harder materials that don't conform to the road surface as well in cold temperatures. If you think of all-season tires as sneakers and snow tires as heavy-duty snow boots, it may be possible to walk down a snowy, icy sidewalk wearing sneakers – but it's a lot easier and safer to do it with proper snow boots!
Often consumers ask if they can get by putting only two winter/snow tires on just the drive wheels of their car instead of on all four. The professionals at Gregory Hyundai suggest that putting only two winter/snow tires on your car can be a bad idea. If you have a front-wheel-drive car and put snow tires on the front only, the back wheels won't have as much grip as the front wheels. This will cause the car to be more likely to spin-out when braking or cornering. Likewise, if you put snow tires on the just the back wheels of a rear-wheel-drive car, the front wheels that do the steering won't grip as well as those that provide the power, so the car may not respond when the steering wheel is turned. It may simply plow straight ahead. Our best recommendation is to always install winter/snow tires as a full set of four.
Chicago Winter Snow TIres
If you are questioning as to whether or not you should leave your winter/snow tires on your car year long, we warn that it’s not a good idea. Gregory Hyundai representatives will tell you that winter/snow tires tend to be noisier. Furthermore, the softer compounds from which they are made means they will wear out faster, especially in warm weather. Wear is critical, because winter/snow tires rely on their deep tread to dig into snow and ice. As soon as the snow is gone for good, remove your winter/snow tires and reinstall your regular tires. The good news: Since you're savvy enough to use snow tires, you don't need to stick with the all-season tires that came with your car for the rest of the year – you can choose a "summer" tire that will provide better handling, better traction in the rain, or a smoother, quieter ride.
A lot of people aren’t sure they want the added irritation of swapping tires twice a year. Gregory Hyundai suggests to take the opportunity of swapping from summer tires to winter/ snow tires to do a rotation. Rotating your tires saves lots of money through even wear, so it’s a perfect time to schedule a tire rotation! Once you drive with winter/snow tires in the winter weather, you will be sold on them. Winter/snow tires make such an impact on a car's handling in snowy situations that you will be a convert to winter/snow tires. Come on in to our dealership, and we will help you select the appropriate winter/snow tires for your vehicle, today!