I recently bought summer tires and my plan is to drive our suv when the weather is wet. However, my question is when it's COLD and DRY, will my mini be okay to take out with the summer tires on. By cold I mean between 30's and 60's?? Thanks

 

I would speak with Alex at Tirerack about this for a more detailed answer, but in short I would say anything below 45 outside and the tires you are on wil slip and slide and feel like rocks until they are heated up, with the ground being cold any stopping you due will be compromised as will cornering.

 

Not really.... Summer tires are made of a softer compound that will stay hard during cold days, so you will not have good traction. If you do decide to drive on them just be sure that you are aware that they won't perform as you would think. You will also wear them out quicker.....

The rule of thumb that the Germans use is after Nov 1st or first temp drop to 45 (7 cel) you should have winters on.

 

Daflake mentioned that as temp drops, summer compound grip and traction goes down as the compound stiffens, which I understand. Then it states wear goes up, which does not make sense to me.

Can anyone explain why/how wear would increase on a soft compound tire as the temp drops?

Thanks

 

LOL, you misunderstood what I wrote. You will be using them thus they won't be in the same shape for the next summer. They will take an enviromental beating from winter roads, but the "wearing out" will be because you are using them year round...

You should choose the right shoe for the season. You wouldn't wear flip flops in the snow would you?

 

Summer tires are dangerous in the winter....when cold they have no grip!!!

 

They vary somwhat from tire to tire, however. I've had two max performance summer tires on my mini so far - Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Positions got pretty hard by 40 degrees or lower, but Dunlop SportMaxx SPs didn't get as hard until about 30 degrees or lower.

Go ask Alex, I think he'll know.

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the white knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "Off with her head!"
Remember what the dormouse said
Feed your head ...

 

MINIs are actually quite safe with all their electronic controls. My first winter with my MINI had only summer tires. I even took my car to the ski slopes in the spring and survived. Below about 7C the rubber gets rather hard and traction is greatly reduced. You will notice. Your traction control light will light up like a Christmas tree from time to time. However, if driven very carefully and your place is not subject to snow and black ice, you should survive.

However, most of us drive "normally" and not necessarily carefully. Including the guy in the other car. If, in your area, the temp drops below 7C (whats that? 40F? ) you should have winter or snow tires. Just better control, especially for accident avoidance.

No matter what tire you have, you cannot repeal the laws of physics so when the temps do get cold, please remember to exercise caution in your driving. Not only to maintain control of your car, but to be able to avoid that out of control car coming towards you.

 

I have had various summer only tires that I use year round but I live in a mild climate area. Driving in the rain has not been a problem. Driving in non-freezing weather (high 30s to 40 F) has not been a problem. However, driving back from MTTS 2010 I hit snow in the rockies and that was quite exciting with the summer tires. I had to drive very slowly and carefully. Also driving on rainy roads with a lot of hail on the roads can be exciting, especially for braking. Just be careful. Of course this all depends on the specific tire so as others have suggested talk to Alex at TireRack.

 

Clearly, the solution is to keep your tires warm in the winter by driving like a madman.


no, Not really.

 

I guess it depends on where you live. I've always had summer tires on my car and they have never been an issue, even driving in snow. You just have to drive more carefully. I've never lost traction or gotten in a dangerous situation.

 

I used to think the same thing until I actually got some winter tires. Changed my tune right away. I never realized that what I didn't have.... Traction! You tend not to really notice unless the temp changes drastically over night.

In Germany it was mandatory and if you had an accident with summers (even if dry) you were considered automatically at fault. To make matters worse, the insurance company could bail on you...

 

I like the German law, unlike here were you get a license in some areas by driving in a parking lot, you have to earn it in Germany, and actually have some understanding of how a car works, I wonder how manay accidents would be prevented if it was mandated here to have snow tires in area's were the temp drops below 40?

 

The simple fact is summer tires, and let's be 100% certain we are not talking about all-season UHP or all season hi-performance, but true "summer" tires...
Winter tires are at then other end of the spectrum of summers...most "summer" tires are only useful till about 40 f or so... Below that, and the shape will be lumpy for the first few minutes of driving from parking...they will feel like ovals for a block or two...
If you have max performance summers, and it gets warm, go for a drive, have fun!! The first time try to corner mildly or go up an incline at 20f, you may not go far... I compare it to a hockey puck...they slide great when cold(and are stored in a bucket of ice), but after a few minutes warmup and get grippy and bouncy...not so great for hockey!! It all comes down to the composition of the rubber, and at what temps it is desgined to operate...summer tires, warm, winter tires cold, both no compromises, or all-season, a compermise.

 

I had a set of Kuhmo summer tires on my old car and it was down right scary driving in the winter. Every time I would accelerate off an exit on the interstate I would slide on all the metal expansion joints. Also, on fresh pavement it would be rather unstable and feel like it was losing lots of grip. I agree with the ideas of the compound getting harder in the cold weather. I experienced this last winter in the mountains in western NC. I switched to a set of Kuhmo Ecsta ASXs and were extremely pleased with their winter traction, even in the snow.

 

There is no substitute for winter tires in cold climates. Period. The difference is day and night even over all seasons--especially when it snows.

 

I have not had a problem with summer tires during the winters here in NC. Unless it snows.