I have never before had a car with summer tires. What is the minimum outside temperature in which a car with summer tires can be safely driven?
When temperatures go below 10 degrees C, the rubber on summer tyre's gets 'harder' and they lose their grip.
With winter tyre's it's best to not use them above 10 degrees C,or they will wear down quickly.
Darn, I always taught the Swedish government was quite rational, asks for a change in legislation. In Belgium we hardly see snow, most people change to winter tyre's while temps are above 10 degrees C, the tyre companies are really pleased with this. Snow tyres are also forbidden here. I manage to drive all year with summer tyre's , is a bit more fun too, keeps you on your toes >Were live the winter temp can go between +15/C to -20/C in a day or two :/
Also the M/S tires that we use have the best grip in snow and awful grip in the wet.
So for me in the south of Sweden should use the EU model M/S for best result but they are illegal in Sweden!!
Darn, I always taught the Swedish government was quite rational, asks for a change in legislation. In Belgium we hardly see snow, most people change to winter tyre's while temps are above 10 degrees C, the tyre companies are really pleased with this. Snow tyres are also forbidden here. I manage to drive all year with summer tyre's , is a bit more fun too, keeps you on your toes >![]()
Indeed the spike tiresThe goverment can be pretty anal sometimes, but the list with Ok tires is made for our safety, so in a way it is a Win.
Half of Sweden have constant snow between December and April, thats the reason for it.
Those are true winter's, here even winter tires are not obligated by law, because most parts of the country never have "hard" winter conditions.
Snow tires, like the ones with spikes?
Good on ice, useless on snow!
Indeed the spike tiresMust be cool to drive on frozen lakes with them
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Gonna say it in dutch: Een man naar mijn hart!Oh Yea!
I start to behave as a ******* when i got the chance to do it![]()
Gonna say it in dutch: Een man naar mijn hart!
Should be something like this in Swedish (dont kill me if it's badly translated): En man till mitt hjärta! >![]()
This is extremely helpful. Thank you.@Swdea : If anyone on this forum has an understanding of the temperature limits of summer tires, it's a Swede like @johan .
Even so, I'll add some info:
- In the interest of measuring in Fahrenheit: In the U.S., most tire manufacturers emplore folks not to run on summer performance tires below 40 degrees F -- and a couple forbid it to the point where warranties will be void if the tire is found to have deterioration consistent with low-temperature use.
- Some summer tires will deteriorate quicker than others, both performance-wise and physically. In past years, both Goodyears and Yokohamas both had a reputation for exhibiting cracking in temps as low as the high teens F. When I had the Yoko Advans on my 718 the first nine months or so of ownership, I watched them CAREfully during the winter here in Texas, particularly during a couple of times where overnight temps dipped into the teens F. They ended up being fine.
- The above points are compounded (pun partially intended) by storage on (and of) max summer tires. Generally, they should not even be exposed, either indoors or outdoors, to temperatures below 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit or so. So for even those who use winter tires, the summers need to be stored somewhere that's protected from the elements and (somewhat) heated.
In my experience, as well as the experience of two good friends who have done tire testing for Continental and Goodyear (part of the reason I have some knowledge about all of this), one can run most summer tires:
- Down to about 38 degrees F, after which the rubber hardens to the point where, as one of those pals likes to say, 'it's like driving on hockey pucks'.
- At that temperature, the tires are still driveable and will still grip somewhat, but they will not 'warm up' like they usually do, and they do not take lateral (cornering) or stretch (braking/acceleration) stress well. Basically, drive like you're driving in an area that might have ice. One can generally tell when summers are near or at this point if the tires emit a high-pitched 'squeak' on polished concrete while the steering wheel is being turned.
- Never, never, ever drive on summer tires below the freezing point F. Even if the tires can take it, there's too much environmentally that can cause bad things to happen.
Hope this helps.
Another way to notice that it starts to getting Cold is when the front tires start to jump at low speeds/Sharp turns.
This happens to me at about 50F, with the yokohamas. They are very unimpressive when it gets a bit cold. The rears are super easy to spin under acceleration if there is even the hint of dampness on any paint. I'll be switching to winter tires in a few months, and dumping the yokohamas for michelin pilot sport 4s next year.
My dealer recommends installing winter tires when the outside air temperature is less than 45 degrees (F.) 90% of the time.I have never before had a car with summer tires. What is the minimum outside temperature in which a car with summer tires can be safely driven?
I'll "run" summer tires down to close to freezing here in Texas. However, any snow and it will be parked, period.
You have to be extra, extra careful running summer tires in Temperatures below 40 degrees.
Also, if Summer tires get well below freezing for any period of time, I do not advise driving on them until they are allowed to come back up to temperature. Some summer compounds will crack and otherwise when cold and caused to flex.