Beware, These Tires Are Illegal Right Now In Iowa

By now Iowans have likely changed out their snow tires and have switched to their summer tires. A lot of Iowans probably don't even worry about this and use All-Weather Tires. These types of tires provide pretty good traction for any weather condition barring incredibly heavy snow or if you're driving on a sheet of ice.

If you have All-Weather tires all you really have to worry about is that they're properly filled with the correct amount of air and that you get them rotated every 3,000-5,000 miles, so they can wear out more evenly.

If you are someone who changes from summer tires to winter tires each year, it's time to switch back to your summer tires if you haven't. This is especially important if they are studded.

I would like to assume most people who put studs on their cars get rid of them once the snow is gone. That would be one heck of a bumpy ride but did you know it's actually illegal to drive around with studs in your car this time of year?

According to Iowa Code 321.442

No tire on a vehicle moved on a highway shall have on its periphery any block, stud, flange, cleat, or spike or any other protuberances of any material other than rubber that projects beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire except that it shall be permissible to use.

If you have tires with studs that project more than one-sixteenth of an inch beyond the thread of traction, those are only allowed to be used from November 1 to April 1 of the next year. The only vehicles allowed to use these types of tires year-round in Iowa are school buses and fire trucks.

If you have winter tires that are not studded, you still want to change those either way. Using a set of winter tires throughout the year will wear down the tread a lot more quickly during the summer months. According to Continental-Tires, "the softer tread of a winter tire wears out a lot quicker on warm tarmac." Not only that, you'll spend a lot more on fuel. The rolling resistance of a winter tire is substantially higher than a summer or all-season tire.

Part of owning a car is taking care of all that comes with it but here is a friendly reminder for anyone who needs to change out of their winter tires to do so.