by Preetvy Ramasamy

Created on: December 19, 2011

Snow tires are easy to set. There are no prerequisites, all one needs is to get their hands a little dirty.

It is recommended to change all four wheels of your car if you go for snow tires. Snow tires are made specifically to dig into snow and give more grip to your car and hence provide a better driving experience on snow. However if you change only your drive wheels - that is the one the engine revolves – the difference between the grip of the two pairs of wheels will produce a speed difference between the rear and front of your car and hence make the whole car spin. In the case of a front-wheel-drive car you might experience spinning when braking and cornering too, while in a rear-wheel-drive car, you might get unresponsive steering.

Changing all four wheels is the way to go.

Step 1

First, you will want to get you car somewhere flat, dry, safe to work and possibly warm if you can manage. Set the car to park mode if you have an automatic or to neutral if you have a manual gearbox. Set the handbrakes on and proceed, as a measure of security, to block the wheels with bricks or anything similar that ensures the car will not roll in any eventuality.

Prepare your four snow tires to be placed and get them within reach so as to get the job done fast.

Step 2

Next, you want to remove the hub-cap of all your tires, if you have any.

Step 3

You will notice a small arrow pointing upwards on the chassis or lower door frame indicating where to place the jack to lift the car. There is one next to each wheel. Place the jack and lift the car. Lift the car up until the wheel is about twenty centimeters above the ground.

Step 4

Using a spanner, loosen the nuts on the wheel. The standard is counter-clockwise for unlocking. A good advice is to keep the nuts in a box so as not to squander them.

Step 5

Remove the wheel and replace it by a snow wheel. Tighten the nuts with a spanner by turning clockwise. Trying to tighten the nuts too much may get the car off balance of the jack, so be cautious.

Step 6

Lower the car to the ground and check that the nuts are as tight as possible.

Step 7

Replace the other three tires similarly.

Nice drive!

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