Summer Tire Changeover Month is a holiday that takes place during the month of April in the United States. The purpose of this holiday month is to encourage people to change from their winter tires to their summer tires.

Traditionally, people in the U.S. who live in areas that receive a lot of snow keep their winter tires on from November to Tax Day (which falls in April). It is important to do this because using winter tires on warm, dry pavement will cause the flexible tread rubber to quickly break down. This can shorten the lifespan of winter tires and can also result in poor vehicle performance.

The History of Summer Tire Changeover Month

During the 19th century, John Boyd Dunlop invented one of the first workable tires. Over the next 32 years, minor improvements were made to tires until they were completely redone using synthetic rubber.

After WWII, people were searching for an alternative to rubber tires, and this is when Michelin first created the radial tire method of constructing tires. Each U.S. state has its own rules about when studded winter tires can be used and when a vehicle must switch to summer tires.

This is because different parts of the United States experience different types of weather. Using studded tires on dry pavement is not only bad for the vehicle, but it is also damaging to the road. That’s why rules were passed in 2004 to encourage people to use tires that are appropriate for the season they are driving in. This is when Summer Tire Changeover Month originally began.

Some Amazing Tire Facts

Okay, since we’re on the subject of changing our tires for the summer months, we might as well list some facts about tires that we learned through our research. We hope that the following random, and amazing, tire facts are as entertaining as they are informative to our readers.

• More tires are produced by Lego for their playsets than by any other company. They sell over 318 million tires per year.
• Toyo Tires uses walnut shells to improve their tires’ gripping power.
• Tires filled with nitrogen instead of air do not have pressure fluctuations due to changing temperatures.

Observing Summer Tire Changeover Month

This is the perfect month for people not only to change over to their summer tires but also to take the time to get a good look at their tire alignment. If a person did not equip winter tires this past year, they can take the opportunity to have their tires rotated instead.

People can also spread the word about this holiday online simply by using the hashtag #SummerTireChangeoverMonth. Let’s remind everyone that it’s time to change their tires and get ready for the spring and summer driving seasons.