(BPT) – As winter warms into spring, there’s something else heating up: the travel plans of adventurers everywhere. Millions of Americans are preparing for their spring and summer journeys, but there’s one thing many are overlooking – a factor that will determine whether their trips are safe and successful.
Their tires.
Tires are the only part of a vehicle that touches the road, so they’re a pivotal part of every road trip. The right set of tires can even take drivers further than they’d otherwise be able to travel. Here’s how travelers can use their tires to extend their adventures.
1. Extend your terrain
Before fine-tuning final trip details, it is vital to make sure you’re riding on the right rubber. This time of year all-season tires will do the trick most places, but it’s important to note that they aren’t built for driving in winter conditions. If you’re headed way up north or into high elevations, it’s worth considering all-weather tires like the Nokian Tyres WRG4 or the all-terrain Nokian Tyres Outpost, since they are certified for winter driving and provide a true four-season solution in areas with unpredictable weather.
If you want to know whether a tire has the OK for winter driving, look for the three-peak mountain snowflake on the sidewall. That’s a certification indicating a tire has been tested in snow. If you live somewhere that experiences sustained winter conditions, it’s still best to drive a dedicated winter tire during that season, then switch to an all-season or all-weather tire in the spring and summer.
2. Extend your toughness
If you’re headed off the beaten path, you can extend your adventure with a set of tough all-terrain tires. Some tires are even reinforced with special fibers that help them resist potholes, ruts and rocks. That includes puncture-resistant Aramid fibers, the same material used in aerospace and bulletproof vests.
Nokian Tyres recommends finding a set of tires – like the Outpost – that is reinforced to help you avoid punctures and blowouts on your journey. If you’re going off-road, also consider an all-terrain tire with a high-tech tread pattern that helps you tackle the versatile conditions you’ll face. You’ll want deep tread, the ability to channel away water, and a tire that rides smoothly over gravel and bumps.
3. Extend your travel
Did you know tires could help you save gas mileage? The less friction created between the tire and the road, the further you can travel on a tank of gas. Some tiremakers have doubled down on decreasing the rolling resistance of their products, which increases fuel-efficiency, helping put money back in drivers’ wallets … which comes in especially handy when gas prices are high!
Nokian Tyres crafts tires that have low rolling resistance, a feature that also lowers CO2 emissions created when your vehicle expends energy propelling itself along the road. And drivers of electric vehicles are big fans of the efficiency that results from low rolling resistance, since it extends the range they can travel on each charge.
Before you hit the road this season, make sure your tires can extend your terrain, toughness and travel. To learn more about a new tire that accomplishes all three of those goals, visit NokianTires.com/Outpost.