By Colleen Rothe

Much of the nation is being blasted by severe winter weather. Frigid temperatures and lots of snow and ice precipitation are making me wish that I had some snow tires on my vehicle, especially since we invested in some for our other vehicle. The vehicle with the snow tires seemingly makes four-wheel drive unnecessary, even in our hilly neighborhood, which currently is covered with ice and 10 inches of snow.

Snow tires have been designed and manufactured specifically to perform well under the winter conditions the country is experiencing. These tires are modified in both their tread and the type of materials which they are constructed. The rubber used to create snow tires is typically more pliable than your summer or all-weather tires. Therefore, the softness of these tires is not ideal for the hotter seasons – in July your snow tires will be worn quickly.

But getting winter tires, as the industry terms it now (they are also known as traction tires), can be a pretty confusing mess. This is what I learned when trying to determine the best route to go.

First, if you’re going to invest in winter tires, be sure to invest in the rims. Taking tires on and off rims adds additional wear and tear on the tires. When you consider that a good set of winter tires will run you upwards of $800, spend the extra dough and get rims. Also, you can save the labor after the initial investment and each season, by changing out the tires yourself, only having to perhaps pay for a balance and/or alignment if necessary. You don’t have to spend a lot on the rims – they just need to be the same diameter and have the same bolt pattern as your vehicle’s original wheels. You could even get the rims from a salvage yard for use with your traction tires. That way, when the white stuff melts away, you just have to change back into your warm-weather set of tires. Quick. Easy. Inexpensive.

Also, if you go with winter tires, you need to replace all four tires. You may think that putting just two on the front of your front-wheel drive vehicle would work, but transportation safety experts say this actually makes it harder for your car to maneuver on winter roads. Putting just two tires on the drive wheels of your car will make the car much more likely to spin out while braking or cornering. Basically, the wheels that do the steering won’t grip as well as those that provide the power, so the car won’t respond when the steering wheel is turned – it will simply plow straight ahead.

For those that think that all-season tires are good enough, think again, before you’re stuck at home because winter roads are impassible for your vehicle, simply because of the tires it has. All-season (also known as all-weather) tires are designed to cope with all sorts of conditions, including dry roads and rain, but are not really for any one condition. They are generally made from harder materials that don't conform to the road surface as well in low temperatures. Think of all-season tires as sneakers and snow tires as heavy-duty snow boots. It is possible to walk down a snowy, icy sidewalk wearing sneakers – but it's a lot easier and safer to do it with proper boots. As well, if you have performance tires on your car during the winter, you’re wearing high heels on an icy walk.

Your local tire place probably has all their snow tires out in front, clearly labeled with the tree and snow symbol. Some may be sold out and you just might be stuck having to rely on your four-wheel-drive pick-up-truck neighbor for a ride to the grocery store. But if you can hang out until summer, you might be able to whittle down the cost of winter tires to half, since many stores have a huge sale on winter tires after the season. It’s the same principle as stocking up on holiday wrapping paper and bows for the following year on Dec. 26.

The bottom line is that once you’ve driven on a set of proper winter tires for your vehicle, you’ll never go back. It’s akin to driving in the rain as opposed to snow. Even without plowed streets, your tires grab the surface and you’re down the road – safely.