Summer tires in cold weather ?

[Chuck99]

I am considering buying a CT4 V Blackwing and noticed it came with summer tires. I live in the snow belt but will probably never drive the car in the snow. However will most likely drive it in cool or cold weather. Kind of difficult to avoid the cold.

At what outside temperature do this tires become unsafe to drive on due to lack of traction?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[ngoni]

Under 40°F you should switch to a winter tire.

 

[DCV]

I never take my 4BW out of its less than 40. Even then it’s not getting traction till it’s about 50 with the stock summer tires. If you live in the snow belt and it’s cold but not too much snow, get all season tires on spare wheels. In the summer all season tires feel too greasy and don’t grip.

 

[Chuck99]

I've had quite a few cars over the years but never had one with summer tires. The current situation is that there's really no room in my townhouse size garage to store an extra set of tires.

I don't drive my current nice car in the snow but do take it out on cold dry days in order to keep the battery charged & help prevent flat spots on the tires. And it's always there if needed in an emergency.

I've been doing a lot of searching & didn't find too many people using all season tires on their Blackwing. Guess I just wouldn't drive it in real cold weather.

 

[Super Saloon]

I live in the Midwest and have the OEM tires mounted to Apex wheels and put a dedicated winter tire on the stock wheels. If you put an all season tire on your Blackwing you are doing the car and yourself a huge disservice. The OEM tires are very, very good. Tires are probably the most important component for performance. Understand space is limited but is there anywhere inside you can store them or have you considered getting a tire holder that you can bolt to the wall in the garage so it doesn’t take up floor space?

 

[hawk02]

I've driven the PS4Ss in temps as low as 23 degrees. I wouldn't recommend doing it all the time but as long as you use common sense and drive within the speed limit you'll be fine. The tires will take some time to get heat in them so the ride will be rough until that happens.

 

[Super Saloon]

The PS4S for the Blackwing has a Cup 2 compound in them. If you’re driving them in cold temperatures you can damage the tire. This happened to me with my Cup 2s on my RS while I was waiting for winter tires. I drove over gravel on the road and it took chunks out of the tire. I wouldn’t risk it.

 

[Roadhawk]

I...have the OEM tires mounted to Apex wheels and put a dedicated winter tire on the stock wheels. If you put an all season tire on your Blackwing you are doing the car and yourself a huge disservice. The OEM tires are very, very good. Tires are probably the most important component for performance.

Totally agree....and I have done the exact same - mounted the stock PS4s on (much lighter and great looking) Apex wheels and mounted Alpine snows on the stock wheels. Its a great setup that I highly recommend. The Alpine's are great driving tires for a snow tire in cold weather conditions and no all-season will be an acceptable substitute for the PS4s IMO.

 

[Dirkbg]

I'm the same as Super Saloon, OEM Michelins on Apex wheels, AS Falken 460s on the OEM wheels for cold season (never snow). If you have space problems, clean the wheels and tires as you take them off, stack them two high in your living room and get a nice piece of glass cut to lay across the tire/wheel stacks and you'll have a perfect auto enthusiast coffee table.

 

[Chuck99]

Thanks for all the information.

I didn’t realize the constraints of having summer tires & just thought they lost some grip when cold.

What do you do when the temperature changes during the day when you’re out? Sometimes this happens unexpectedly.

I’m in Illinois & yesterday it was in the mid to upper 40s when I went out but it colder at night. I know it got down to at least 37° and maybe colder. Sometime the temperature swings are greater. Is there a best safe practice to drive back home if the temperature drops below 40°?

 

[Dirkbg]

Drive carefully. You can break traction in a blink of an eye with the OEM tires in colder weather, especially if damp or wet pavement.

 

[Sergio]

Maybe set the traction control to snow & ice?

 

[Chuck99]

Seems odd they'd have a snow & ice setting for a car with summer tires.

 

[DCV]

No, they probably assume you’ve put winter tires on it. Porsches do that, you go to a menu in the dash and click on winter tires option.

 

[Sergio]

The mode button has a snow & ice setting.

 

[Super Saloon]

Thanks for all the information.

I didn’t realize the constraints of having summer tires & just thought they lost some grip when cold.

What do you do when the temperature changes during the day when you’re out? Sometimes this happens unexpectedly.

I’m in Illinois & yesterday it was in the mid to upper 40s when I went out but it colder at night. I know it got down to at least 37° and maybe colder. Sometime the temperature swings are greater. Is there a best safe practice to drive back home if the temperature drops below 40°?

I’m also in Illinois. The 20+ degree swings the same day generally aren’t an issue. If it’s 30 in the morning and 55 mid day the winter tires can accommodate. Same with if it’s 40 in the morning or 65 in the afternoon the summer tires are fine.

The bigger issue is when it’s 75 out then snows two days later. If you have a second car you can drive this is less of an issue. I have a Miata and I have the summer tires equipped for warmer days and I still have the winter tires equipped on my Blackwing for the colder days. If you only have one car you can drive I would leave the winters on for longer. I think it’s safer to drive a winter tire in 70 degree temps than it is to drive the OEM summer tires in the snow. I’m going to wait until it’s consistently in the 50s to swap to my summer setup in the BW.

 

[1Evil55]

I drove my BW5 home in 20F with no problems. Being that I was in break in mode there was no possibility of me stabbing the pedal as much as I wanted to. If it was snowing I would have had a harder time.

 

[Chuck99]

The Owner’s Manual says “If the tires have been subjected to -7 °C (20 °F) or less, let them warm up in a heated space to at least 5 °C (40 °F) for 24 hours or more before being installed or driving a vehicle on which they are installed.”

This morning it was about 35°F . If the car was parked outside what does this mean for drivability? Presuming it never got down to 20° is it OK to drive, even though it’s not 40°? I’m not sure how what happens in this “gray” area.

I’ve driven cars with old hard tires & they are not safe. I don’t plan to do anything stupid but would like to know what I’m dealing with when using summer tires.

 

[Finally-a-V]

Are we mice or are we men? I had a 2011 Charger R/T with the actual Road and Track package. It came with Goodyear F1 ultra summer tires. I drove it to work in the winter when I lived in Virginia....no, not in the snow, but if dry and above freezing. Just use a little caution (especially until the tires "warm up" a bit) and some common sense.

Side note: That car was awesome....and those tires stuck like glue....in the summer

 

[obeykube]

Also, just a note, driving summers in the winter and winter in the summers, regardless of weather conditions, and just being not the operating range for the tires, will wear them MUCH faster. It is going to be more economical of you to get a spare set as folks are suggesting if you are keeping the tires long term.