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(NC)-Summer tires, winter tires, all season tires. The choice is up to you. One thing's for sure, though - Canada has four distinct seasons with four distinct types of driving weather. Here's some information from the Rubber Association of Canada to help you decide what type of tire to buy:
. Summer tires are designed primarily for dry and some wet driving; they are not for use in snow, ice or other winter or heavy rain conditions. They have a very smooth-looking tread design, with minimal or no sipes. Sipes are small slits in the tread that help improve traction.
. All season tires provide a good balance of quiet, comfort and handling for most Canadian drivers. The tread design has more grooves and sipes than summer tires, providing better wet traction. They can be identified by "M+S" branding on the side of the tire and can therefore be used in moderate snow and slush conditions.
. Winter tires offer a combination of specialized tread designs and compounds providing effective traction in Canada's difficult winter conditions (i.e. snow, ice, sleet, rain and low road-surface temperatures). At temperatures below 7°C, standard compound tires begin to lose elasticity, resulting in reduced traction.
Winter tire compounds retain elasticity to grip at much lower temperatures. Typical winter tread designs have larger grooves and tread blocks that have many more sipes than the typical all season tire.
Tires marked with the RAC mountain snowflake symbol molded on the sidewall have been tested to provide a minimum 10 per cent better traction in severe snow conditions. Many winter tires provide 30 to 50 per cent better traction in winter conditions.
. Caution - winter tires should be installed in sets of four. Failure to follow this recommendation could result in severe and dangerous handling conditions.
Visit betiresmart.ca or vehicles.gc.ca for more tips on tire selection and maintenance.