[AllaVodka]

Live down in texas, have summer tires on year round because it rarely gets cold. Supposed to drive from Houston to San Antonio tomorrow and back the following day. Both drives in the morning.

Weather tomorrow morning will be in the 40's for a few hours. And Sunday will be in the mid to high 30's for a few hours.

How big of a deal will this be for my tires, and safety.

Thx

[Jvac]

Originally Posted by AllaVodka

Live down in texas, have summer tires on year round because it rarely gets cold. Supposed to drive from Houston to San Antonio tomorrow and back the following day. Both drives in the morning.

Weather tomorrow morning will be in the 40's for a few hours. And Sunday will be in the mid to high 30's for a few hours.

How big of a deal will this be for my tires, and safety.

Thx

Hasn't been a problem for me. I'm up in Dallas and I run summers year round. I've never broken grip in the cold unless it's also wet and I'm being an idiot.

[AllaVodka]

Originally Posted by Jvac

Hasn't been a problem for me. I'm up in Dallas and I run summers year round. I've never broken grip in the cold unless it's also wet and I'm being an idiot.

Cool, I've just heard people say the rubber can harden and crack. But I'm assuming they have to be exposed to an avg temp that low over time, for that to happen

[visionaut]

You’ll be fine - just realize they’ll be “more slidey” cold.

It’s prolonged exposure near freezing that the rubber compound gets stiffer and loses traction. Since you’ll be highway driving they should also warm up to temp well.

And avoid icy spots at all costs - it ain’t just the hard wrong-compound rubber for winter, it’s they have no edges/siping with summer tread, and your tire width is also likely wider than ideal for ice/snow/sleet…

[CajunBMW]

I'm next door in Louisiana and do the same thing. My 340 has summer tires year round and I have not noted any issues over the many years I have had the car. I don't try to push it when it is really cold. I will not usually drive it on snow and ice unless there is an emergency. If it is really cold, I am lucky as I can take my X1 that my teen usually uses. With her away at college, I can use that car, which has all season tires if needed.

[Jvac]

Originally Posted by AllaVodka

Cool, I've just heard people say the rubber can harden and crack. But I'm assuming they have to be exposed to an avg temp that low over time, for that to happen

Yeah, it'd have to be colder than that for a long time. Plus they warm up when driving on them. Just take it easy until they get warm and all will be ok

[AllaVodka]

Originally Posted by Jvac

Yeah, it'd have to be colder than that for a long time. Plus they warm up when driving on them. Just take it easy until they get warm and all will be ok

Sweet ty. I'm from the northeast so I'm used to awd and all seasons lol. Still adjusting to the limitations

[weehe126]

Most 200 TW tires say don't go below 20F for a consistent extended period of time. 300-400TW summer tires can probably go even lower.

[AllaVodka]

Originally Posted by weehe126

Most 200 TW tires say don't go below 20F for a consistent extended period of time. 300-400TW summer tires can probably go even lower.

Hmm what does the TW mean? I'm running the bridgestone potenza s001 rft tires.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...=245YR8S001RFT

[visionaut]

TreadWear rating. Many Ultra summers and all race-type tires with super-sticky compounds ( and corresponding low TreadWear ratings) have warnings for that temp. And not even just for lack of grip and the great potential for cracking while driving - even parked sitting at that temp can cause a semi-permanent flat spot in such compounds.

[StuKatz]

Originally Posted by AllaVodka

Live down in texas, have summer tires on year round because it rarely gets cold. Supposed to drive from Houston to San Antonio tomorrow and back the following day. Both drives in the morning.

Weather tomorrow morning will be in the 40's for a few hours. And Sunday will be in the mid to high 30's for a few hours.

How big of a deal will this be for my tires, and safety.

Thx

The rubber will harden a bit, just remember to take it easy as braking distance will increase and reduced lateral grip.

[Billfitz]

The temperature won't bother them a bit. Besides, after driving a bit they'll warm up. Winter tires use a softer compound so that they'll remain flexible at far lower temperatures than 30F. Using summers at 20F or lower would be a problem.

[ggrcrash]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

The temperature won't bother them a bit. Besides, after driving a bit they'll warm up. Winter tires use a softer compound so that they'll remain flexible at far lower temperatures than 30F. Using summers at 20F or lower would be a problem.

I'm not so sure about the temperature thing about summers tires...I have always used summer tread tires for all of my previous cars...from a Mustang GT, Audi A4, granted that one was AWD, E90 XDrive also AWD, and I used to live in Westchester NY, and the snow was real, about 3 months out of the year, never a problem. Granted, I never drove in a driving snow storm, but plenty of times unplowed streets. Never wrecked not one, Knock on wood...I have a 428xi grand coupe now, but I live in Florida, so temperature isn't an issue anymore. Then again I never drove like an idiot either.

[COKen]

About 6-8 years ago, when Dallas had its big ice storm, I drove from east Texas to Denver in my 435i with summer tires. I tried going south of Dallas to avoid the storm, but that didn't work and I was on ice covered back roads all day with out any issues. I know the summer tires are crap in cold weather, but I didn't have any issues until I got home and my street had about 1/2 inch of snow on it and I almost didn't make it up the hill to my house. The cold didn't cause any damage to the tires.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by ggrcrash

I'm not so sure about the temperature thing about summers tires... I used to live in Westchester NY, and the snow was real, about 3 months out of the year, never a problem.

I lived in Peekskill and worked in White Plains, so I'm familiar with the winter road conditions there. Traction on snow is provided by the tread pattern. A softer rubber compound gives better grip on all surfaces in below freezing temperatures. A winter tire, and for that matter an all season tire, addresses both those needs, a summer tire doesn't address either.

[Th3Walrus]

Agreed. They probably weren't UHP summer tires if you were able to move at all on a snow covered road. UHP summer tires are like driving around on ball bearings with any snow or ice on the road, and forget about getting up any incline.

[Jvac]

Originally Posted by Th3Walrus

Agreed. They probably weren't UHP summer tires if you were able to move at all on a snow covered road. UHP summer tires are like driving around on ball bearings with any snow or ice on the road, and forget about getting up any incline.

This is pretty true. Tried going for a drive around my neighborhood last year when it snowed. My Firestone indy 500s couldn't do a damn thing

[ggrcrash]

Originally Posted by Th3Walrus

Agreed. They probably weren't UHP summer tires if you were able to move at all on a snow covered road. UHP summer tires are like driving around on ball bearings with any snow or ice on the road, and forget about getting up any incline.

Actually I am pretty sure they were, I remember the Mustang were Goodyear gatorbacks, can't remember the size, what do you expect, it was back in 1988. the Audi wore Continental sport contact 2's, again, it was a while ago, think they are up to sport contact 6's now...The e90 wore something by Yokohama, name escapes me at the moment..But like I said, never drove like an idiot either...Didn't take many hills, the ones that I did were already plowed anyway.

[AllaVodka]

Originally Posted by ggrcrash

I'm not so sure about the temperature thing about summers tires...I have always used summer tread tires for all of my previous cars...from a Mustang GT, Audi A4, granted that one was AWD, E90 XDrive also AWD, and I used to live in Westchester NY, and the snow was real, about 3 months out of the year, never a problem. Granted, I never drove in a driving snow storm, but plenty of times unplowed streets. Never wrecked not one, Knock on wood...I have a 428xi grand coupe now, but I live in Florida, so temperature isn't an issue anymore. Then again I never drove like an idiot either.

Interesting. I'm actually from westchester as well. Moved to Houston in 2020 and am moving back in 3 months. Unsure how my rwd 340i will perform in the winter (obv with snow rims/tires)

[freakystyly]

The tires wont "feel" right but it's not going to hurt. As mentioned, not all summer tires are hockey pucks (sorry, Canadian ) in the cold.

It's when there's freezing rain, snow, etc. when you might want to reconsider. Also, remember you probably wont be the only person with summer tires.

[agentorange]

We get some surprisingly cold morning in Vegas in the winter. In those conditions I notice that the road noise goes up and the grip definitely goes down. Curved freeway ramps are attacked like grandma in a Buick Century.

[CajunBMW]

Originally Posted by agentorange

We get some surprisingly cold morning in Vegas in the winter. In those conditions I notice that the road noise goes up and the grip definitely goes down. Curved freeway ramps are attacked like grandma in a Buick Century.

Agree that raised ramps are super dangerous on summer tires whenever the temps sit near or below freezing. I try to avoid them when the temps are low when driving my car with summer tires. Luckily if it gets too cold they just close the overpasses so no worries, other than you have to take the back way to where ever you are going. We don't use salt or sand really since it rarely gets cold, so it is easier, I guess for the police, to just close the roads.