Winter driving is highly hazardous, and you need the right tires to give you the traction you need on wet and icy road surfaces. A set of good-quality snow tires will provide you with the grip you need for safe steering, cornering, and braking on snow, sleet, and ice. Below your Chevy dealer gives you tips for choosing the right winter tires to ensure your safety in freezing winter weather. 
Advice From Your Chevy Dealer: 4 Tips for Choosing Winter Tires for Your Chevy
1. Choose Tires for Your Winter Driving Conditions
Choosing the correct type of tires for the winter conditions you drive in is crucial. Fitting a set of good-quality snow tires are not just a precautionary measure; it’s vital for traction on the ice and snow.
All-season tires are perfect to use throughout the year if you only have to navigate wet and muddy roads, but if you drive in severe winter conditions on sleet and ice, you need a set of snow tires to give you maximum traction. Snow tires are more effective in harsher winter weather and ensure a shorter braking distance and increase handling on slippery road surfaces.
2. Check the Rubber, Grooves, and Sipes
The rubber composition on snow tires is more flexible and softer in freezing temperatures. When the temperature falls below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, you need a set of snow tires with deep grooves for traction and wide sipes to channel water away.
The deep grooves in snow tires direct the ice away from the tire for continued contact with the road. The sipes or slits you see in snow tires prevent skidding and give you that extra grip. The increased traction ensures safe braking and cornering on wet and slippery roads in winter conditions.
3. Look Out for the Snow Tire Symbols
When you pick tires for use in winter, look on the tires’ sidewalls for symbols that indicate which conditions a tire is best suited to. Tires designed for use in winter have a three-peak mountain and snowflake and the M+S symbols on the sidewalls.
The M+S Symbol
If you drive in moderate winter conditions, tires with the M+S symbol will give you the necessary traction for braking, steering, and cornering. If you drive on snow, sleet, and ice, you will need extra traction.
The Three-Peak Mountain and Snowflake Symbol
If you drive in harsh winter conditions, choose snow tires that give you the traction you need. The tires are specifically engineered to provide the traction required to perform well on freezing roads covered in sleet and ice and have been tested and certified for severe winter conditions. Look out for a symbol on the sidewall that looks like three mountain peaks with a snowflake in the middle.
4. Purchase a Complete Set of Snow Tires
Buy a set of snow tires and always mount snow tires on all four wheels to ensure the same traction level to increase stability and safety. If you mount tires with different traction capabilities, it will affect your handling and braking performance. If you only fit snow tires on the front of your car, it will increase the risk of the rear tires skidding. If you only change the rear tires to snow tires, your front tires will lose traction.
Mount a set of snow tires to give you the necessary traction when you need it most on freezing winter roads. To ensure your safety on the roads in winter, visit Bommarito Chevrolet South County today for top-quality snow tires and expert installations performed by qualified Chevrolet technicians.
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