previously i never considered actually replacing tires on a car every winter - seemed insane. but turns out serious car people actually do this … and depending on what region you live in you can actually gain quite a bit of performance by using summer tires 3 out of 4 seasons and winter tires in winter … as opposed to just using all season tires year round.
this isn’t gimmicky BS like installing a cold air intake or aftermarket exhaust etc - this is something that makes an actual difference in performance, and more importantly safety.
in the article linked Edmunds actually MEASURED the difference and it is SIGNIFICANT.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/tire-test-all-season-vs-snow-vs-summer.html
i never thought the idea of winter tires sexy because we die like men - who needs winter tires in the snow ? well … there is another way to look at it …
by using winter tires in winter you can now use summer tires in summer instead of all-season tires and that gives you better performance. and unlike safety, performance is sexy.
and by switching tires for winter you actually gain both safety in winter AND performance in summer.
the other thing i didn’t understand is that you don’t actually switch tires - you switch ENTIRE WHEELS. we SAY that you switch to winter TIRES but actually you switch to winter WHEELS that have tires pre-installed on them. switching tires would be a LOT of work but switching wheels is something you can do yourself - you just need a place to store an extra set of wheels.
this also allows you to use cheap wheels in winter when the roads are covered in potholes ( at least here in the North East ) and fancy low-profile wheels the rest of the year.
one thing to watch out for is Tire Pressure Monitoring system. make sure your extra set of wheels has the right sensors for your car.