Tires Sales and Services in Boulder

A: This depends on several factors. It’s a good idea if your area gets a lot of snow or you frequently go to areas that do, like to the mountains. If your daily commute is long and you can’t afford to be late or absent. If you drive a rear-wheel-drive vehicle. Bill, the owner of Independent Motors, drives a Prius and has a separate set of snow tires. His partner has an all-wheel drive vehicle, but the deciding factor is she doesn’t have to drive much in the winter so she doesn’t require snow tires.

Many people think because they drive an all-wheel drive vehicle, they don’t need snow tires. It’s true all-wheel drive vehicles provide better traction when taking off and accelerating. But they don’t provide any more traction when braking and little more when turning. Braking and steering are by far the most important safety aspects of operating a motor vehicle.

A: Most all-wheel drive vehicles require the rolling circumference of all tires be close to the same with the tread depth difference no more than 2/32” between them. This is because all 4 tires need to roll close to the same speed or it can cause damage to very expensive components. What this means to you is when one or more tires need to be replaced, the new tire’s tread should not be 2/32” greater than the most worn tire. If so, they all need to be replaced at the same time.

A: Not necessarily. There is no reason to if the tires coming off the vehicle are evenly worn and you haven’t hit something hard like a curb or pothole recently. If your vehicle pulls to one side when driving straight and there are signs of uneven wear it is a good idea to have the alignment checked and performed as necessary.

A: here are no brands that are the best for every model and driving condition. At Boulder Tire, we are a Bridgestone, Firestone, Continental, General and Toyo Dealer. We choose these because they are considered to make some of the very best tires with great selections. We are also affiliated with most tire manufactures; Goodyear, BFGoodrich, Cooper, Hankook, Kelly, Kumho, Michelin, Nexen, Nitto, Nokian, and Yokohama. We recommend tires we think will provide you with the best results for your specific driving conditions.