I am getting new snow tires, but i have never gotten new tires before. The tires i currently have good tread on them but not good enough to go driving through a canyon in a blizzard. What happens to the tires i have when I go and get new ones? does the mechanic just take them and give me nothing?
Not only will he “give you nothing” for the old tires, but he will also likely charge a disposal fee for the old tires–even if he is not going to dispose of them.
And ultimately they’ll end up being recycled into something. Perhaps even pavement on the road you’re driving on. Perhaps the flop-flops on the child’s feet in the Christian Children’s Fund commercial. Perhaps into one of those protective “blankets” you see construction crews using at dynomite blast sites. There are a number of different products they get recycled into.
If you want to keep the old tires…tell them so.
Here at my Ford dealer I see this a lot, and many times ( today for example ) they will elect to keep the best two.
When shopping, ask what they do about old tyres.
BTW I hope you are talking about WINTER tyres not Snow (old technology) tyres.
Consider getting a set of inexpensive steel wheels to mount the snow tires on. Then you can keep your current tires to use next summer. Tire Rack can sell you packages that have steel wheels with snow tires mounted and balanced, ready to put on.
Do you mean you will swap your regular (summer) tires for winter tires? If so, just go to Tirerack.com (or other retailer) and get new winter tires mounted on steel rims (you can buy wheel covers if you like too).
Just swap the entire tire/wheel and hold on to your summer tires/wheels for the spring.
No sense in dismounting tires from rims. That cost alone will probably buy you a set of steel rims.
You really don’t want to drive the Bizzaks all year anyway. The outer tread is soft and sticky and will wear quickly in warm weather. 4 good snow tires is way better than four wheel drive. I don’t know why C&C always recomend 4wd. Most of the cars I see in the ditch in the winter, including the first one of this season, are 4wd. 4wd does not help braking or turning. Snow tires do.
What becomes of the old tires is up to you based on the condition of the tires and the tread life remaining. If the tread is not worn down to the tread indicators, ask the tire guy to show you the indicators, then the tires will pass inspection and still have some miles left in them.
If you are buying replacement all season tires then you may want to keep one or two of the tires with the most tread left in case you get a non-repairable flat someday. Otherwise let the tire shop discard the old tires. You can keep them all if you wish.
If you are getting winter tires and plan to take them off in the summer then keep your current tires. As others have stated get another set of wheels, lowest cost you can find, to make changeover every spring and fall easier and much less expensive.
I just got snow tires, and they put the old tires in bags and put them in my trunk. When winter is over I will go back and have them put the all season tires back on. If you are going to be living where you need snow tires it makes sense to get rims too. Then its cheaper when you are having them switch the tires out twice a year.
Depending on where you drive and the amount of tread left, you may want to keep them and use them next summer. Get a good set of WINTER tyres for winter and then next summer switch back to the ones you now have.
Winter vs snow is advertising pure and simple. There is no old tech new tech. It is the same tech. There are no new techs where the rubber meets the road. Just a tweak here and there. The difference is lately non stud tyres are sold for winter traction in marginal conditions, usually a softer rubber so more traction less life. Where as snow tyres are sold with metal studs optional or included. It all depends on where you live. In the midwest like wisconsin or minnisota studs are a winter tyre. In connecticut they are uncommon so a winter tyre is normal.
That is not what the independent test results have shown and it is not what the apparent look of the tread design would indicate. Everything I have seen have shown that the new design is far batter than the old. The results appear to show that the non-studded Winter tyres outperform the studded snow tyres.
I have not had a lot of opportunity to compare them yet, but so far (last winter) the winter tyres subjectively seemed better to me.
I run studded snows and all-season - all on their own rims. Many shops will do the twice-a-year tire change free if the tires are all mounted and you are their customer. Many will also store the off-set for free. That’s a blessing as they are real heavy to be lifting around. If applicable, you can use one of the off set as a spare and get rid of the toy tire. Four new rims for $160 - $200. One shot deal. Saves you twice X 4 X $15+. ea = $120. each year. Two sets of tires go the life of two sets of tires. People might as well protect themselves and make one of those sets for winter driving.
In the old days ('60s and early '70s)we used to buy “snow” tires. They had large, solid tread blocks with deep reliefs. People aho wanted better traction had them “siped”. Siping is a cutting of slits into the tread blocks t create more flexability and more edges. This is better on icy and slick surfaces.
Today, technology has evolved to where “siping” comes right out of the mold. The terminology has now changed to “winter” tires. I don’t know if the siping is the difference or if it’s like the difference between a secretary and an administrative assitant…mostly just different words for the same thing. I’m gonna check this out the next time I’m at the tire store.
You say your tires currently have good tread on them but not enough to go through a snowstorm. I think that you’re very smart to be looking to replace them for the winter. Way too often people try to get the last 5,000 miles out of their tires and end up in accidents due to poor traction on bad roads.
Let’s say your tires cost $400 a set, and 30% oof the tread is left (before the wear bars). You’re really only sacrificing $120 dollars worth of rubber by putting on new tires the added traction of which could save your life. Really, really, really cheap accident prevention. Worth every penny IMHO.
If you really want to save them, do as others have suggested. Get a spare set of steel rims, mount some Blizzaks, and keep these for next summer.