Summer Only Tires

[DonD]

I'm well aware that the manufacturers say don't use summer only tires in cold weather, usually below 40.

I won't intentionally ignore that guidance.

Has anyone here had to use the tires on the GT1/2s for sure for any distance in sub 40 weather and if so, any adverse outcomes? Don

 

[NIU_Huskies]

I've used the stock tires for over 2 years straight all year round. No issues, except blowing both tires on the left side of my car in a water-filled pothole a few weekends ago. But I relate that more towards a common problem when running any low profile tires. My next set of tires will have at least 45 aspect ratio all around.

 

[DonD]

I've used the stock tires for over 2 years straight all year round. No issues, except blowing both tires on the left side of my car in a water-filled pothole a few weekends ago. But I relate that more towards a common problem when running any low profile tires. My next set of tires will have at least 45 aspect ratio all around.

Might appear I'm not reading what you wrote, just wanted to confirm that your post is referring to "summer only" tires?

I used some summer only Bridgestones that I wanted to get some extra mileage out of before replacing them. Never had an issue and once clawed my way up the hill to the house in 6" of snow. Some wheelspin but nothing out of control. Thanks, Don

 

[MerlintheMad]

Wow! Six inches of snow, uphill, with summer tires? Inconceivable. Your winter experience on summer tires exceeds my own. The most I have done "below 40" with the Michelin summers is a drive in the high Uinta mountains at c. 20F, with slush trying to freeze in patches. I went gingerly, i.e., 35 MPH max, slower on the curvier bits: no tire slide, no issues: this was mostly coming back down, so, no hill climbs for me. Hah.

I take the warning very seriously. But I don't panic when the *ding" at 39F sounds. My first ride in cold and snow was c. three weeks into my car: on Hwy 6 over Soldier Summit: it got down to freezing and I paid special attention to any feeling of losing gription: never happened then either: the roads were wet and slightly slushy in spots: this was before I even knew about the temperature warning on summer Michelins.

A friend of ours on here (hasn't been active for quite some time) told me that his first winter in his Stinger he barely made it through on his Michelin summers: the real warning came as he commuted to work of a morning, and SLID to the bottom of the hill on 10200 South (pointing to 4000 West): that is quite a decent grade, and it was covered in new snow and he white-knuckled to the bottom. He got A/S on the front when he soon thereafter lost a tire (details lost), so, as I recall, he finished out the winter and went into the rest of the year on A/S in front, OEM Michelin summers in the rear: THAT I would never recommend, mixing tires like that.

 

[NIU_Huskies]

Might appear I'm not reading what you wrote, just wanted to confirm that your post is referring to "summer only" tires?

I used some summer only Bridgestones that I wanted to get some extra mileage out of before replacing them. Never had an issue and once clawed my way up the hill to the house in 6" of snow. Some wheelspin but nothing out of control. Thanks, Don

Correct, I still have the stock Michelin PS4 tires on my car.

 

[DonD]

Correct, I still have the stock Michelin PS4 tires on my car.

Awesome! I took the Stinger out yesterday and forgot it was 31, chickened out and drove back to the house, 2.5 mi in total and switched out to the other car with good all season tires.

Thanks to all the useful replies. Don

 

[MerlintheMad]

^^^Lol. You don't need to worry at freezing. Just don't hoon with the car when below the recommended MPH (40). Just drive like a normal, non enthusiast, person.

 

[JSolo]

Had summer tires on my camaro. Remember one winter day, before I had a chance to switch over, just a dusting of snow. Maybe 1/4" inch. I had to drive the mile+ home idling in first gear. By some miracle I caught a green light before the hill near the house and made it up. If I had to stop, don't think I'd make it up. Lesson learned.

I got my G37 mid december. It came with bridgestone re050 tires. Another summer only tire. I drove the car the first few weeks with these tires in the dry only (late dec, 20'sF). Took it very easy accelerating, braking and turning to let the tires warm up. Ended up in one piece. Would I drive them in the snow? ABSOLUTELY NOT!@#

 

[CDv6]

Not sure if your year has the same tires, but this is from Michelin's documentation for the PS4 tires that came on my '18 GT2...

As the temperature of the compound nears freezing, the grip level of the tire begins to degrade. Michelin does not recommend using UHP Sport Summer tires when tire temperatures drop below 40°F (5°C) or on snow and ice.

At tire temperatures below 20°F (-7°C) Michelin UHP Sport Summer tires may develop surface cracks in the upper sidewall and tread area if flexed.

Although I certainly don't want to damage my tires, I also don't want to risk a saavy attorney going after me for something like this in the event I'm in an accident. (I have no idea if this has ever happened before, but I don't want to be the one to have it tested on.)

 

[DonD]

Had summer tires on my camaro. Remember one winter day, before I had a chance to switch over, just a dusting of snow. Maybe 1/4" inch. I had to drive the mile+ home idling in first gear. By some miracle I caught a green light before the hill near the house and made it up. If I had to stop, don't think I'd make it up. Lesson learned.

I got my G37 mid december. It came with bridgestone re050 tires. Another summer only tire. I drove the car the first few weeks with these tires in the dry only (late dec, 20'sF). Took it very easy accelerating, braking and turning to let the tires warm up. Ended up in one piece. Would I drive them in the snow? ABSOLUTELY NOT!@#

That's the tire that I clawed up the hill in with our Pontiac G8GT. I was sufficiently concerned that I took the car to Discount Tire, explained and asked them to inspect one of the rear wheel tires. They did and found no concerns.

Regarding a Camaro, the G8 replaced a Z-28. Before that I had a 1985 Mustang GT. In slick conditions, the Mustang would happily spin out with the slightest provocations. The Camaro was a model of stability by comparison. If I spun out in it (I never did) it would have been my fault. Don

 

[PythonNF]

That's the tire that I clawed up the hill in with our Pontiac G8GT. I was sufficiently concerned that I took the car to Discount Tire, explained and asked them to inspect one of the rear wheel tires. They did and found no concerns.

Regarding a Camaro, the G8 replaced a Z-28. Before that I had a 1985 Mustang GT. In slick conditions, the Mustang would happily spin out with the slightest provocations. The Camaro was a model of stability by comparison. If I spun out in it (I never did) it would have been my fault. Don

I tried driving on my Michelin summer only tires in a light dusting of snow and almost put the Stinger into the fence when turning into the driveway of my curling club. Needless to say, I have 4 Pirelli sotto zeros on the car now.

 

[RM7]

I'm well aware that the manufacturers say don't use summer only tires in cold weather, usually below 40.

I won't intentionally ignore that guidance.

Has anyone here had to use the tires on the GT1/2s for sure for any distance in sub 40 weather and if so, any adverse outcomes? Don

No, they usually don't say that. They usually say they don't recommend it, and then less than 20, they say don't do it because they may crack. Not all of them crack, but not good to be taking chances at those temps anyway. The thing is, your tires may not be at 40 degrees due to several reasons, the air temp may be less, but the pavement will generally be warmer if it's been warmed by the sun for a few hours, or you drove from your garage where the temp was warmer, etc. Then with some driving, they tend to heat up a little too. It's not an immediate death sentence with temps at 40 degrees or anything. You do need to be watching for freezing temps though, as if you are getting down to 20 degrees, you are getting into the possibility of black ice (frost deposited on the road) and of course any other precip will be freezing somehow, so that's where you wouldn't want to be driving for various reasons.

Life is kinda short to not have a car with summer tires during summer...

 

[DonD]

No, they usually don't say that. They usually say they don't recommend it, and then less than 20, they say don't do it because they may crack. Not all of them crack, but not good to be taking chances at those temps anyway. The thing is, your tires may not be at 40 degrees due to several reasons, the air temp may be less, but the pavement will generally be warmer if it's been warmed by the sun for a few hours, or you drove from your garage where the temp was warmer, etc. Then with some driving, they tend to heat up a little too. It's not an immediate death sentence with temps at 40 degrees or anything. You do need to be watching for freezing temps though, as if you are getting down to 20 degrees, you are getting into the possibility of black ice (frost deposited on the road) and of course any other precip will be freezing somehow, so that's where you wouldn't want to be driving for various reasons.

Life is kinda short to not have a car with summer tires during summer...

Valid comments. Thanks, Don

 

[Redleg94]

No, they usually don't say that. They usually say they don't recommend it, and then less than 20, they say don't do it because they may crack. Not all of them crack, but not good to be taking chances at those temps anyway. The thing is, your tires may not be at 40 degrees due to several reasons, the air temp may be less, but the pavement will generally be warmer if it's been warmed by the sun for a few hours, or you drove from your garage where the temp was warmer, etc. Then with some driving, they tend to heat up a little too. It's not an immediate death sentence with temps at 40 degrees or anything. You do need to be watching for freezing temps though, as if you are getting down to 20 degrees, you are getting into the possibility of black ice (frost deposited on the road) and of course any other precip will be freezing somehow, so that's where you wouldn't want to be driving for various reasons.

Life is kinda short to not have a car with summer tires during summer...

The general guidance that I've gotten, and follow, is that when you have sustained daytime temperatures below 45F, it's time to consider putting on the winter tires. It's safe to put the summers back on when the sustained daytime temperatures are over 40F.

What you switch to for the winter really depends on where you live and how you drive. Where I live here in Northern New Jersey, I like to run all-weather tires like Nokian WR G4s. They're winter-biased all season so they CAN work as a year-round tire, but the performance does suffer in the winter. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find an all-weather tire that will fit the stock 19" set up.

 

[Rodtheviking]

Michelin tire guidance:

Note: Tires exposed to temperatures of 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed in any manner, such as by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle.

Flexing of the specialized rubber compounds used in Max Performance Summer tires during cold-weather use can result in irreversible compound cracking. Compound cracking is not a warrantable condition because it occurs as the result of improper use or storage, tires exhibiting compound cracking must be replaced.

When its that cold, I'm driving my Tundra anyway.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find an all-weather tire that will fit the stock 19" set up.

I have Nitto Motivo UHP A/S. Would you like to take a shot at explaining the difference between A/S and "all weather" tires? I've never developed a clear idea of the asserted difference.

 

[Redleg94]

An All-Weather tire is a winter-biased All-Season. It has the "three peaks" symbol that dedicated winter tires have, and have some of the tread features that winters tires have.

Where I live here in New Jersey the all-weather is a good choice for winter use and allows for me to put them on earlier and take them off later, while dedicated winters start to get squirrely at this time of year. At the same time, I'm not ready for dedicated summer tires yet because there are still those cold days.

This is the All-Weather that I've been using for the last 15 years, but doesn't have a fitment for the 19" Staggered wheels: Nokian WRG4


Here is the All-Season equivalent: Nokian zLine A/S

 

[MerlintheMad]

^^^So, the difference between A/S and "all-weather" is the winter focus on the "all-weather" over the "all-season" being less efficient in genuinely winter driving conditions. That means, to me, that in these transition times out of deep winter into spring (or visa versa out of fall into full-on winter), the A/S will out-perform the all-weather tire. And during those days in the depth of winter when the temperatures are well above freezing, the A/S will also out-perform the all-weather tire, vis-à-vis having more gription.

If winters were more harsh around here (they have been in the distant past), I'd likely go with the all-weather option. But actual winter conditions driving here in the Valley are rare events; the roads are 90% plus dried out by the following afternoon after a significant snow drop.

Do you or anyone you know of drive on their all-weather tires year-round? A/S tires are disparagingly referred to by enthusiasts as "No Season" tires. Wouldn't that pejorative apply even more-so for the all-weather tires?

 

[Redleg94]

^^^So, the difference between A/S and "all-weather" is the winter focus on the "all-weather" over the "all-season" being less efficient in genuinely winter driving conditions. That means, to me, that in these transition times out of deep winter into spring (or visa versa out of fall into full-on winter), the A/S will out-perform the all-weather tire. And during those days in the depth of winter when the temperatures are well above freezing, the A/S will also out-perform the all-weather tire, vis-à-vis having more gription.

If winters were more harsh around here (they have been in the distant past), I'd likely go with the all-weather option. But actual winter conditions driving here in the Valley are rare events; the roads are 90% plus dried out by the following afternoon after a significant snow drop.

Do you or anyone you know of drive on their all-weather tires year-round? A/S tires are disparagingly referred to by enthusiasts as "No Season" tires. Wouldn't that pejorative apply even more-so for the all-weather tires?

I did spend one summer on my all-weathers when my summers were worn out AND I knew that the all-weathers only had one more winter in them. I could definitely tell the difference between those and summers.

Here in Northern New Jersey, the winters usually are a day or two of snow followed by 2-3 days of slush and then dry, cold roads. The problem comes when we get the days that it warms up enough to melt the snow, but not enough to dry the roads, and then we have some ice the next morning. ON those days, I wouldn't want to be out with regular all seasons. IF I wasn't buying a second set of wheels already, then I'd probably just stick with all seasons and accept that there would be days when I would need to be extra careful. However, since I always get another set of wheels, I might as well get summers on the good wheels and use the stock wheels with all-weathers in the winter. This winter is the first time that I used real winter tires, and although they were great in the snow, I didn't like them once it got over 40F.

 

[vipeboy2000]

^^^So, the difference between A/S and "all-weather" is the winter focus on the "all-weather" over the "all-season" being less efficient in genuinely winter driving conditions. That means, to me, that in these transition times out of deep winter into spring (or visa versa out of fall into full-on winter), the A/S will out-perform the all-weather tire. And during those days in the depth of winter when the temperatures are well above freezing, the A/S will also out-perform the all-weather tire, vis-à-vis having more gription.

If winters were more harsh around here (they have been in the distant past), I'd likely go with the all-weather option. But actual winter conditions driving here in the Valley are rare events; the roads are 90% plus dried out by the following afternoon after a significant snow drop.

Do you or anyone you know of drive on their all-weather tires year-round? A/S tires are disparagingly referred to by enthusiasts as "No Season" tires. Wouldn't that pejorative apply even more-so for the all-weather tires?

for the average driver, i think all weather tires are the next big thing. I pretty much recommend them to people looking for new tires that live in an area that does get freezing temps and some snow.. originally all weather tires were developed for the northern european countries since the existing/US all seasons really are as you say, no season , or 3 season tires. Modern all weather tires now are as good/better in pretty much all situations as a good all season and multitudes times better in the winter.

All that said, for the driving enthusiast for a sporty car, i don't know that i'd consider them for the stinger(i dont' think they even have our size the closest may be a square set of 235/40r19 ), just like all seasons they are too compromised for warm dry/wet handling vs even a ultra high performance all season tire as those are made to excel in the wet and dry when temps are high. BUT if you were considering a regular all season grand touring tire or have more cooler temp days, i'd 100% suggest all weather tires like the crossclimate 2.
here's tire racks test data across michelin's lineup of uhp as/gran touring all season/standard all season/summer/ https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=270 you can see it's very close to the standard all season tire but better in the wet, but still not as good as the summer or uhp as in the wet in hot temps. the crossclimate2 would be much better than the other tires once temps drop though.