Do you need snow tires?
What are the benefits of having snow tires?

Although "Snow Tires" is what most people call them, here at Bernardi Volvo Cars Natick we like to call them winter tires because they are built for better road grip in ALL winter conditions not just snow. Winter tires have a soft rubber compound that remains flexible as temperatures drop to better conform to the road for more controlled handling. They also have unique tread patterns with wider grooves to enhance traction on snow and ice by providing channels to drain water and expel snow.

  Now some of you reading this may say "I have AWD so I don't need winter tires"; not so fast. AWD is great at getting your car moving from a dead stop and accelerating smoothly in a straight line when the pavement is slippery. It's able to do this because it sends more power to whichever wheels are getting the most traction and less power to the spinning wheels. But if you don't have enough traction in the first place, the AWD system can't compensate, especially when cornering or stopping. If none of the four tires has enough grip, you could be in trouble. This can also be said for vehicles with 4WD because again, winter driving is all about cornering and stopping not accelerating from a dead stop. Remember, it's called four-wheel drive not four-wheel stop. 


In short, winter tires will always outperform all-season tires under snowy, icy and frigid conditions no matter if you drive a Front-Wheel Drive, AWD or 4WD vehicle. 

We hope this article has been helpful. If you're interested in getting more information on winter tires please give our service department a call. Â