summer tires in the winter?

[perryair]

not to drive on, cause i know better than that but even to literally just be mounted on my car?

i live in nashville and wintertime isnt too severe but usually does come with a few days of 20 degrees or colder and cause i dont have a garage for either my brz or my dd, i'm hesitant to buy summers because i don't want the compounds to crack. anyone that's a tire guru have thoughts?

[churchx]

If just some days in winter see -5C then average temps probably are by 10dg warmer .. my choice would be normal summers for well, summer, and all season tires for winter. From all seasons i've seen very often mentioned/positively spoken about michelin pilot sport A/S 3.

[Tcoat]

If just parked the summers are fine. The cold only harms them if driven.

[perryair]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

If just parked the summers are fine. The cold only harms them if driven.

but when you read the mfr notes it literally says that just being in 20 degrees or lower can cause damage to compounds. is that ignorable or real?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by perryair

but when you read the mfr notes it literally says that just being in 20 degrees or lower can cause damage to compounds. is that ignorable or real?

If tires were damaged just by cold temperatures then all stored in unheated warehouses would be junk. Tire are pretty durable when not in use.

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

If tires were damaged just by cold temperatures then all stored in unheated warehouses would be junk. Tire are pretty durable when not in use.

Not entirely true... most of the current EHP summer tires can actually have the rubber compound damaged if exposed to freezing temperatures. The sticker on my AD08R's specifically said not to store below 10* C.

That said, if it's not a super sticky ~200TW tire and just a normal summer tire then it'll probably be fine. I wouldn't personally let a Rival, RE71R, AD08R, R1R, RS4, etc sit out in freezing temperatures though.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by wparsons

Not entirely true... most of the current EHP summer tires can actually have the rubber compound damaged if exposed to freezing temperatures. The sticker on my AD08R's specifically said not to store below 10* C.

That said, if it's not a super sticky ~200TW tire and just a normal summer tire then it'll probably be fine. I wouldn't personally let a Rival, RE71R, AD08R, R1R, RS4, etc sit out in freezing temperatures though.

Fair enough. There are always exceptions. I was refering more to your "normal" summer passenger car type tires.

[Cole]

Originally Posted by wparsons

Not entirely true... most of the current EHP summer tires can actually have the rubber compound damaged if exposed to freezing temperatures. The sticker on my AD08R's specifically said not to store below 10* C.

That said, if it's not a super sticky ~200TW tire and just a normal summer tire then it'll probably be fine. I wouldn't personally let a Rival, RE71R, AD08R, R1R, RS4, etc sit out in freezing temperatures though.

FWIW, my RE71Rs sat in the pool shed (not insulated) all winter. I inspected them in the spring when i put them on and no visible damage. Have been regularly checking the tires since then, and they still look fine.

[perryair]

Originally Posted by Cole

FWIW, my RE71Rs sat in the pool shed (not insulated) all winter. I inspected them in the spring when i put them on and no visible damage. Have been regularly checking the tires since then, and they still look fine.

but they also werent supporting the weight of your car while at those temps. those of us in the south dont typically have sets of winters laying around nor sometimes places to even put them.

i'd like to think about getting a set of super sticky tires cause my brz is more of a weekend warrior, but the possibility of cracked tires because they were sitting through the random 10 degree winter day that we get sometimes down here makes me a bit apprehensive.

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by Cole

FWIW, my RE71Rs sat in the pool shed (not insulated) all winter. I inspected them in the spring when i put them on and no visible damage. Have been regularly checking the tires since then, and they still look fine.

Look fine, and have the same grip, are two very different things. You won't see cracks, but if they were damaged by the cold they'll behave like they have been heat cycled out.

[SuperTom]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

If just parked the summers are fine. The cold only harms them if driven.

Not true check with the manufacture recommendations a lot of summer tires will crack up even if just stored in subfreezing temps.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by SuperTom

Not true check with the manufacture recommendations a lot of summer tires will crack up even if just stored in subfreezing temps.

Meh. And most will not be harmed in the least. They are tires made out of synthetic compounds not delicate tropical plants. They receive more "damage" from 15 minutes of track use than from being in the cold. If stored cold though you need to let them warm up gradually and most certainly do not try to use them at those temperatures.
Sure, as said, some very expensive top of the line tire may suffer from extreme cold but the guys using those tires are not asking the question.

[Cole]

Originally Posted by wparsons

Look fine, and have the same grip, are two very different things. You won't see cracks, but if they were damaged by the cold they'll behave like they have been heat cycled out.

Have noticed some drop off in the grip, but my grand hopes of being able to make it to autox crashed and burned for the second summer in a row. Ah well, maybe next year when I get another fresh set of them.

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Meh. And most will not be harmed in the least. They are tires made out of synthetic compounds not delicate tropical plants. They receive more "damage" from 15 minutes of track use than from being in the cold. If stored cold though you need to let them warm up gradually and most certainly do not try to use them at those temperatures.
Sure, as said, some very expensive top of the line tire may suffer from extreme cold but the guys using those tires are not asking the question.

Rule of thumb, if the tire can heat cycle out then I'd be worried about storing in freezing temps. If you don't know what that means, or the tires aren't a super sticky tire that'll heat cycle out then you'll be fine.

Even if they are damaged by the cold, they'll still be sticky... just not at the same level as before. It's not like they'll go from super sticky to being hockey pucks.