Cooldown sends customers to tire shops to winterize vehicles

DENVER — Wednesday’s cooldown brought a first glimpse of winter for folks in the metro area and that has many people wondering if they might need new tires. 

When the temperatures drop, Les Schwab Tires in Thornton heats up.

“Today we’ve been pretty busy. We’ve been pretty busy doing a lot of tires,” said Marco Muniz, store manager. 

Muniz juggled the steady stream of customers coming in. He knows in a Colorado winter, having the right tires is key.

“It’s very, very important,” Muniz said. “We do get some pretty good snow and then we get the sun that comes out and melts away all the snow and then it gets pretty wet. So I would recommend all-weather tires. What an all-weather tire is a tire that you can run all year round, that is considered a traction device.” 

Down the way on Interstate 25, tires are on Brian Karlberg’s mind, too. 

“New tires, change-outs, things like that, we’ll be pretty busy,” said Brian Karlberg, owner of Astro Automotive. 

And it’s not just for safety. It’s the law. 

Colorado’s traction laws require drivers hitting state highways during winter storms or in poor conditions to have a four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicle.  With that, you have to have chains or a traction device or all-weather, winter or snow and mud tires. And those tires must have a 3/16th tread depth.

Karlberg said an auto shop can check the depth tread for you. Or, you can check it yourself with the right change. 

“If you don’t have a tread depth with you, you could always use the quarter,” Karlberg said. “You just want to turn it upside down, put the quarter in and then, if you can see the top of the head then that’s not a good sign, time for a new tire.” 

While this late October cold snap didn’t bring much mess on the roads, it’s only a matter of time. Karlberg knows you don’t fool around with mountain snow.

“No, no,” Karlberg said. “We want everyone to stay safe on the road, keep the traffic flowing.”

Not sure what kind of tires you need or what will work best for your vehicle? Both Muniz and Karlberg said, “Just ask.”