20' GT RWD in West Texas with Summer Tires, not sure of the smartest option

[geltez]

I currently live in Midland, TX where weather in the winter is most of the time Summer Tire weather. There are quite a few instances of cold snaps and owning PS4's, they are not the most ideal. My concern is cracking and premature wearing during those times. Now there is a chance of potentially moving to Northern Virginia in the future and considering this vehicle is RWD, would I be better off having a winter and summer set OR just switch to All Seasons and be done with it? I currently have the new OEM rims that are powder coated black and have the older OEM rims just sitting around. If I were to have another set, I would utilize the old OEM rims as a winter. What should I do? Give me some tire recommendations!

FYI I will most likely need to commute during inclement weather because of my job.

 

[stoopid]

All season v dedicated winter tires has been discussed on the forum (and most other car forums) before. There's plenty of pros and cons lists regarding this topic online (like, a couple thousand). Instead of asking for rando opinions on this forum, I would suggest googling 'winter tire setup versus all seasons' and gravitate toward the opinions of those most qualified to answer this question.

Ultimately the decision you make will come down to cost, willingness to change out tires, frequency/necessity to HAVE TO drive in foul weather (versus working from home or just taking a sick day), and where you do end up living.

 

[bfglitch]

Currently living in Northern VA and also have a RWD which came with PS4 summer staggered. Granted this will be my second winter with the car and I haven't really had a chance yet to drive it in the snow. While the PS4 summers are nice, in Northern Va it's really difficult to actually enjoy them. Traffic lights every where, cops every where, people who like to go 10 mph below the speed limit in the left lane or the same speed as the person next to them, potholes, road construction, nails on the road etc etc etc. But when you DO finally get a chance to enjoy the car, it's nice to have them.

With that said I do have a set of winter tires on now but I bought them second hand, and I did tire swap on the OEM wheels since I currently don't have second set of wheels. I've been doing the debate on winter or A/S tires for the future and I may decide to continue swapping, but I would like to do a little wider front and rear during the summer, and go square on 18's for the winter. It's also not too difficult for me to go out, jack the car up, and swap wheels when I need to since I live in a townhouse and can store my tires/wheels in the basement.

Also, I don't really have to drive a whole lot since I work from home. Guaranteed though while you're driving around with an inch or two on the ground, there will be lots of others on the road, many of which have no clue what they're doing in the snow.

Honestly it really all comes down to what works best for you. I know some people who live in a condo or apartment, keep their winter tires in storage and carry their jack all the way out to their car. Some people just don't want to bother so they use A/S.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Michelin summer tires will not chip or crack right down into the teens, as long as you are driving calmly. if you insist on doing burn outs or cornering hard on them when brittle they will let you down. the grip is also adequate at those low temperatures on a dry road, again as long as you drive calmly. when you get a cold snap drive on your summers that way and wait it out. you would be unhappy on winter tires 99 to 100 percent of the time where you live.

 

[JSolo]

Living in a cold climate I had summer and dedicated winter tires. I suppose living in a warmer climate, summer and all seasons for winter will do.

No issue with rwd car in winter/snow climates with right tires. Drove my camaro (4th gen) for many winters this way, never got stuck.