Has anyone ever had damage to summer tires from driving in cold DRY conditions?
If so, how cold was it, and what was the damage?
To be clear, I know they are harder and have less traction when cold, so I take it easy below about 45 degrees. I also know they have almost no traction in snow, and stay off the road the few days it's snowy. I have S.Drives on my NSX, Potenza RE050A's on my DD, Pilot Super Sports on my previous DD, all summer tires obviously. I have driven all these year-round for years without tire damage. Most winter days here are over 40, but I have driven these summer tires many times in the 30's, and some in the 20's. Here in central NC it doesn't snow enough to justify winter tires for me, you'd only use them for about a week.
Recently, we had a record-setting cold Polar Vortex where it stayed below freezing for a week, below 10 degrees a couple nights, which got me looking into this. I found Tire Rack and GM advising not to use summer tires below freezing or 20 degrees, respectively. My guess is both are being very conservative in their recommendations for warranty and liability reasons.
Tire Rack says-
If ambient temperatures drop to near- or below-freezing, driving or rolling a vehicle equipped with summer performance tires risks the possibility of tread compound cracking. Tread compound cracking is a permanent condition that requires the tires to be replaced. The other condition that can be caused by running summer performance tires in cold temperatures is the possibility of chipping away the edges of the tread blocks.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=273
GM had a bulletin saying not to move summer tires below 20 degrees, or they could be damaged-
http://cccorvette.org/tech/TireCracking_GM_13-03-10-001A.pdf
Just wondered what others had experienced.
If so, how cold was it, and what was the damage?
To be clear, I know they are harder and have less traction when cold, so I take it easy below about 45 degrees. I also know they have almost no traction in snow, and stay off the road the few days it's snowy. I have S.Drives on my NSX, Potenza RE050A's on my DD, Pilot Super Sports on my previous DD, all summer tires obviously. I have driven all these year-round for years without tire damage. Most winter days here are over 40, but I have driven these summer tires many times in the 30's, and some in the 20's. Here in central NC it doesn't snow enough to justify winter tires for me, you'd only use them for about a week.
Recently, we had a record-setting cold Polar Vortex where it stayed below freezing for a week, below 10 degrees a couple nights, which got me looking into this. I found Tire Rack and GM advising not to use summer tires below freezing or 20 degrees, respectively. My guess is both are being very conservative in their recommendations for warranty and liability reasons.
Tire Rack says-
If ambient temperatures drop to near- or below-freezing, driving or rolling a vehicle equipped with summer performance tires risks the possibility of tread compound cracking. Tread compound cracking is a permanent condition that requires the tires to be replaced. The other condition that can be caused by running summer performance tires in cold temperatures is the possibility of chipping away the edges of the tread blocks.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=273
GM had a bulletin saying not to move summer tires below 20 degrees, or they could be damaged-
http://cccorvette.org/tech/TireCracking_GM_13-03-10-001A.pdf
Just wondered what others had experienced.
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