Quote:
Originally Posted by davyk31
Or just icy conditions that haven't yet cleared ?? Summer tyres shouldn't be that bad unless its very cold or snowy.
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Ice conditions 'underneath' the rain could be a possibility, that is a lethal combination.
Up here where we get changes of seasons as we drive,
tyre performance can change in seconds. I remember one of my first encounters with RFTs when the temperature suddenly dropped mid journey, from something like 8C to 1C, in a couple of miles. It started raining (snow in the rain) the tyres chilled and the ride and handling just fell apart. Was like a completely different car to drive, nervous and twitchy, even when dropping off the speed. My passenger could feel the ride had changed in just a mile or so. Quite enlightening, got me experimenting in the wet and at low temperatures and realised RFTs are inclined to run stone cold, don't get up to working temperatures or pressure, hard as rocks. Will drop 0.25 - 0.3 bar from normal during cold temperature running, or fail to heat the same (0.25 - 0.3 bar) pressure over distance, on cold and wet roads.
Nothing like a conventional tyre in the same conditions. One of the reasons I moved to winter tyres, as summer RFTS couldn't be trusted, even without snow and ice. Winter RFTs still run cold, but at least the rubber compound and tread design give a better chance of holding suitable running characteristics.
HighlandPete