SPOKANE, Wash – Steve Liberty owner of Liberty Tire Pros says during this time of year his shop can change around 2000 tires. He added that one style, although it has a place, isn’t as popular, studded tires
“We sell probably about two-thirds less actual studded tires than what we used to probably 10 to 12 years ago,” said Liberty.
He says that’s in part because there are so many great and safe tires for customers to choose from, “there’s a lot of options not with the technology that they have.”
According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, studded tires are only legal between November 1st and March 31st, and there is a reason, “they wear down our pavements a lot faster,” said Karen Strauss the State Pavement Management Engineer from WashDOT.
Strauss added that studded tires play a part in the rutting of the roads which ultimately can lead to cracks and potholes, “As the ruts get deeper, you’re actually shaving away the amount of pavement that can carry a vehicle’s weight. And as that pavement gets thinner and can’t carry the weight, you’re gonna get cracks.”
Strauss says the rutting average is approximately 0.2 to 0.3 millimeters a year and the threshold is half an inch.
WashDOT says the rutting on asphalt costs up to ten million dollars a year and rutting on concrete costs twice as much at up to twenty-three million dollars a year.
However, Liberty says studs are here to stay, “there is a place for the studs I mean, there are people who do need studded tires that live in some pretty remote areas on this side of the mountains.”
