Winter Tires In Mississauga

Why Buy Winter Tires?

Not sure what kind or size of tires, rims or wheels your vehicle needs? We answered the most common questions we get asked by our customers here so you can find the information you need. If you have a question that isn’t answered, you can contact us at our parts department at any time! We’re experts at dealing with the common issues that winters tires have driving in the Toronto area.

How does the winter tire insurance discount work?

As of January 1st, 2016, Ontario legally requires that your car insurance provider gives you a discount on your rates if you install winter tires on your vehicle. Each insurance company may offer you a slightly different discount — for example, one may give the discount based on your whole policy but another gives it based only on the collision coverage. However, in general the winter tire insurance discount comes to around 3 to 5 percent of your policy. If you have questions about this discount and how it works, contact your insurance provider!

Should I have a separate set of rims for my winter tires?

When you have two sets of tires for the colder and warmer seasons of the year, you can either have each set of tires on their own rims or have the tires themselves switched on and off the same rims. The one advantage of having only one set of rims is you have less of an upfront cost to purchase only new tires, and not new rims as well.

Having separate rims for winter tires helps prevent any rust or damage to your all-season tire rims from all the ice, snow, slush and salt from the roads in Mississauga’s winters. It also costs more to have your tires swapped on one set of rims than to have the whole wheel — with tires and rims — changed between summer and winter tires. Lastly, you can damage or wear out the rims and tires faster when you only have one set of rims.

How can I find out the right tire size for my car?

For people who are new to shopping for tires, you’re going to be confronted with the problem of figuring out the right size of tires your vehicle needs. Different years, makes, models, and sizes of a car, truck, van or SUV will require different dimensions for tires and rims. So how you can find out all of that information? There are a number of potential locations where you can look up the tire size code for your vehicle:

• The inside of the driver’s door — look for a sticker that lists the tire size
• Your owner’s manual — check the index or appropriate chapter
• The sidewall of your current tires — this may be difficult if your tires are old and worn

What you are looking for is something like this: 195/65R/15. That is a very common tire size for a sedan, such as the Chevrolet Cruze. It represents a type of code that will tell you everything you need to know about what size tire to get. Here’s how that breaks down:

• 195 = the width of the tires you need, measured in milometers from the inner sidewall to the outer sidewall
• 65 = the number indicates the aspect ratio, or profile height, of the tire, which is determined by dividing the height of the tire from the rim by the width. In this case, 65R means that the tire’s height is 65% of the width
• 15 = the last number represents the diameter measured in inches for the rim that the tire can be mounted on

If you have any problems or questions about how to find the right tire size for your vehicle, you can always call us or bring your vehicle in for help!