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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Snow Tires a Canadian Must Have- Canadian tire tires

Snow tires are special tires designed to run on snow, ice, wet roads, sleet, slippery roads & mud. They have better traction & handling properties. Snow tires differ from regular tires in the following ways:

A tire or tyre is a covering provided on the circumference of wheels of vehicles. The functions of tires is to dampen oscillations due to uneven surface of the road, to prevent wear & tear of the wheel, to provide a high friction bond between the vehicle & the road for proper acceleration & handling of the vehicle. They are usually made of synthetic rubber.

Hardness- Canadian tire tires

They are made up of softer rubber, which heats up faster. The softness & hardness of tire rubber depends on the amount of carbon black in it. For summer tires, the amount of carbon black is more & for snow tires the amount of carbon black in the rubber is less. Rubber becomes brittle at lower temperatures hence summer tires are not suitable to be used in winters.

Treading- Canadian tire tires

 The crown or the outer perimeter of tires has jagged pattern on it known as tread. The function of tread is to provide grip in the work of rain or snow. The summer tires have smaller tread on them. The snow & mud tires have larger tread blocks on them hence they are noisier.

Grooves- Canadian tire tires

Grooves are voids on the tires designed to facilitate dispelling of water or snow. Deeper grooves provide better handling & control of the vehicle in snow.

Sipes- Canadian tire tires

 Sipes are small slits provided on the sides of tires to provide flexibility to tread blocks on the tyre. The function of sipes is to disperse water & snow. They improve traction by providing an additional biting edge to the tyre & are helpful on ice, snow, mud & sand.

Void Ratio- Canadian tire tires

 Void ratio is related to the amount of rubber coming in contact with the road. It is defined by the voids or open spaces on the tyre. A high void ratio accelerates the potentiality to drain water. For snow tires a high void ratio is necessary.

Aquaplaning- Canadian tire tires

of the functions of tires is to remove water from the treads on wet roads. When the tire rotates, the treads push water in to grooves & sipes, from where the water is pushed out. If the water does not go out properly then the vehicle slides which may cause accidents. This sliding of the tire on water is called aquaplaning. Hence the depth & pattern of treads is important.

Markings on Snow Tires- Canadian tire tires

 The tires designed for Mud & snow are marked with M&S. the icon of mountain & snow flake designates that the tire meets snow testing standards of American Society for Testing & Materials. It mandates that snow tires ought to have a traction index of over 110.

Metal studs. Most snow tires have metal studs fabricated in the tread. This provides better grip on snow & ice. A place where the weather is extreme, the law makes it mandatory to make use of snow tires. However snow tires are noisy & wear out fast on dry roads. Further, they wear out the road also.

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