New tires in Calgary, picked for how you actually drive

Most people walk into a tire shop knowing their tire size, maybe, and not much else. That's fine. Buying tires in Calgary comes down to a few honest questions. Do you want one set all year, or two sets you swap? How much highway driving do you do? How long are you keeping the vehicle?

We sell all-season, winter, all-weather and summer tires and help you pick the right fit for your vehicle and your driving. You'll get a couple of options at different prices, a plain explanation of what the extra money buys, and room to decide. If a manufacturer rebate is running, we'll mention it.

The four main types and who they suit

Every tire trades grip against tread life and temperature range. No single type does everything well in a city that can sit at minus 25 in January and plus 30 in July.

• All-season: built for mild climates. Fine here from spring to fall, but the rubber hardens below about 7°C and loses grip on snow and ice.
• Winter: a soft compound with deep, heavily slitted tread for cold, snow and ice. The right choice for most Calgary drivers from about October to April.
• All-weather: carries the same three-peak mountain snowflake symbol as a winter tire but can stay on all year. Good if you don't want to swap, with less ice grip than a dedicated winter tire and faster wear in summer heat.
• Summer: the best grip and handling on warm pavement, wet or dry. Useless in the cold, so you'd pair it with a winter set.

How to read the size on your sidewall

Your tire size is moulded into the sidewall as a code like 225/65R17. The 225 is the width in millimetres. The 65 is the sidewall height as a percentage of that width. R means radial, and 17 is the wheel diameter in inches.

Right after the size you'll see a load index and speed rating, something like 102H. Replacement tires should match or exceed what your vehicle's manufacturer specifies, and you'll find that on the sticker inside the driver's door jamb. Hybrids and EVs weigh more than comparable gas vehicles, so don't let anyone sell you a tire with a lower load rating just because it fits the rim.

When it's time to replace

New passenger tires usually start with 8 to 9 mm of tread. The wear bars moulded into the grooves sit at about 1.6 mm, and once the tread is flush with them the tire is done. In Calgary that's too late. Grip on slush and wet pavement drops off well before the wear bars, and we'd start planning a replacement at around 4 mm.

Tread isn't the only reason to replace. Sidewall cracks, bulges or visible cords mean the tire should come off now. Age counts as well: check the four-digit date code on the sidewall (week, then year). Rubber hardens over time, so a tire past six years deserves a close look, and ten years is generally the outer limit no matter how it looks.