Tires in Ottawa

We order through the major Ottawa distributors, so in practice we can get almost anything. The lines we fit most often — and the ones the manufacturer rebate programs usually cover — are Michelin, Goodyear, BFGoodrich, Pirelli, Hankook, Laufenn and Nexen. Each has its own page here explaining what it is actually good at.

No, and we would rather be straight about that than have you drive over for nothing. We order in from our Ottawa distributors, usually the same or the next business day, and we quote the full installed price before anything is ordered. That quote includes mounting, balancing, valve stems or TPMS service kits, and old-tire disposal.

Two ways, and the difference matters. Some programs are a per-tire discount applied at our counter, so your invoice is simply lower. Others are mail-in or online rebates paid by the manufacturer as a prepaid card, which means you pay the full price here and claim the money back afterwards. We will tell you which kind a program is before you buy. Current programs, amounts and dates are on our specials page.

Go by temperature, not by snowfall. Once daily highs are consistently at or below about 7 °C, an all-season compound has already stiffened and a winter compound is already the better tire. In Ottawa that is usually the second half of October. Booking then also means you are not trying to get an appointment in the same week as everyone else in the city.

All-season tires carry an M+S marking, which describes a tread pattern and has no test behind it — they are not winter tires. All-weather tires carry the three-peak mountain snowflake, meaning they passed a standardised snow traction test, and they are built to stay on the car year-round. Winter tires also carry the snowflake but use a soft compound meant only for cold weather, and they outperform all-weather tires on ice and deep snow.

No. Ontario has no winter tire requirement. Two related facts are worth knowing: since 2016 every Ontario auto insurer has been legally required to offer a winter tire discount, generally in the 2–5% range and not applied automatically, so you have to ask. And Quebec does mandate winter tires from December 1 to March 15, which matters if you cross to Gatineau.

Four, in almost every case. Mixing tire types or significantly different tread depths across axles gives you different grip front and rear, which is how a car ends up rotating under braking on a wet ramp. On an all-wheel-drive vehicle it is stricter still — mismatched rolling diameters can damage the drivetrain. Ontario’s safety inspection standard also has rules about mismatched tires.

Ask us. If you have nowhere sensible to keep a second set — no garage, no basement space — it is worth a conversation about what storage looks like for your situation.