5 reasons why you need winter tyres for the chilly season
10th Dec, 2021
It’s not a job that everyone bothers with, but changing your tyres to suit the season can be one of the most worthwhile seasonal maintenance jobs you can do. Winter tyres have a different type of grip that means they offer greater control and safety when driving in the cold weather, so it could make all the difference between driving safely, or ultimately finding yourself saying – yikes, I need to scrap my car! Let’s get a little more specific – here are our five top reasons why winter tyres are a good investment.
1. They’re a lot safer than the alternative
As we’ve touched on above, winter tyres are much safer than standard tyres because they are specifically designed for using in cold, icy and snowy conditions.
Winter tyres work by having more grooves at different depths to improve safety. These grooves improve braking and grip, meaning they give you more control over your car in more treacherous conditions. Here’s something to think about, though. Winter tyres only work better at below 7 degrees Celsius. While there’s no problem with them all year round, in higher temperatures they wear away much quicker, and don’t offer the same amount of protection. But you can always take them off, keep them and switch back next October!
2. They aren’t just for snowy conditions
If you’ve already been weighing up the idea of getting winter tyres to your friends or family, you may have heard a couple of people say that they don’t need winter tyres because there’s rarely snow in the U.K. Well, that may be right but winter tyres and snow tyres are two distinct things. It doesn’t have to be snowing for road conditions to be actively dangerous, and the extra grip that winter tyres provide can make them worth their weight in cold. Don’t fall into that particular trap!
3. Winter tyres are similar price to standard tyres
Even though winter tyres are less popular than standard tyres, they are a similar price. Buying a set for your car this winter could only set you back about £70 each, depending on where you shop. And their versatility and suitability across a large chunk of the year means that they’re well worth the money however much you spend. You can’t put a price on safety! (OK, well technically you can but luckily it’s affordable.)
4. Snow is already coming
While in most years snow and frost are only forecast for January and February time, 2021 has already seen the first sightings of snow, with more to come. Further predictions are that there will be even more of the white stuff across the country, and while the temperatures plummet, this could turn even just a small amount of snow into a heavy covering of ice. It’s here that winter tyres will really pay their dues. (And it’s not always limited to the winter months either – who could forget the Beast from the East in March 2018?)
5. They offer greater durability and longevity than ‘summer’ tyres
In the cold temperatures, normal (or summer) tyres will wear more quickly than their winter counterparts. So not only are they less safe than winter tyres, but they will end up becoming balder sooner. Buying winter tyres – which you can take off and store when the warm weather arrives – are slower to degrade, which means that you get more use and better value for money.
Ultimately, the choice is yours! Winter tyres should be invaluable in helping you to avoid accidents – but we know that they can still happen. If ever your car ends up written off though, or simply less worth than it might cost to repair, rest assured that Scrap Car Network is here to help. Working with a nationwide network of dealers, we’re able to get the best price for your scrap car. And what’s more, our online valuation service can give you a price in under 10 seconds! Fill in your postcode and car reg number and you’ll have a quote in seconds. Curious to find out how much your car is worth?
