How to decide when to go back to summer tires?

[Blek le Roc]

Do you wait until the record lows are above 40* (which would be super conservative) or if not, how do you figure out when to switch back?

 

[SilverRocket]

Here is the complicated logic I personally have used for years.

1) Will the temperature be below zero when I start the car and drive away? If yes, keep them on, if no:

2)Will the daytime high be at least 50F (10C) 2-3 days of the week. No, keep on,if yes:

3) If there's a freak snow storm or cold snap, do I have the luxury of not driving or using another vehicle. No, keep on, if yes:

4) Which tires do I want to make a sacrifice for. Do you want to drive slow to preserve the winter tire if warm or slow/carefully if the temperature drops?

Finally, if it's going to be wet and around zero, I don't take a chance and I keep the winters on. I rather risk damaging the winter tires with a little extra premature wear than finding an ice patch and the summers being useless. Plus, summer tires are likely much more expensive for a set, if the temperature drops below freezing, you could be damaging the high performance compound just by having them on not even driving.

It might be complicated but it's generally worked for me. There have been a few hiccups along the way, but those are exceptional, like the mini ice storm that hit last April, mid day while I was already at work. I limped my car home so it's still doable, just far from ideal.

 

[crepr12]

On the ITS I'm running all seasons...so no rush...But April is usually when I swap out the winter tires on the GT-R....Heavy snow/salt and the Tacoma gets all the winter action

 

[bpebler]

That’s some great info to go by. @Blek le Roc is in my area also. I was just going to wait until March/April, then again Sept/Oct for the temps & weather we might see.

 

[optronix]

I don't believe in the concept that winter tires wear prematurely because they're not driven in winter conditions. Maybe if you're taking your car to an autocross, but not just normal driving.

At the very least, even if they did, measure that against the costs you'd incur if you slid into a guardrail, or a ditch, or another car, or a pedestrian if you happened to be caught out in cold, wet conditions with summer tires.

Personally, it's not a big deal until I am actually about to take the car to an autocross event. Which is probably late March here in the mid-Atlantic.

 

[SilverRocket]

I don't believe in the concept that winter tires wear prematurely because they're not driven in winter conditions. Maybe if you're taking your car to an autocross, but not just normal driving.

At the very least, even if they did, measure that against the costs you'd incur if you slid into a guardrail, or a ditch, or another car, or a pedestrian if you happened to be caught out in cold, wet conditions with summer tires.

Personally, it's not a big deal until I am actually about to take the car to an autocross event. Which is probably late March here in the mid-Atlantic.

Define driving normally? I can smell the rubber of the tires when I park after a highway drive on a warmer day (45F+). If you drive like an NPC, sure, I'll give it to you, negligible wear, but for those suffering from a lead foot, I'd estimate a 10-25% loss of tread life. Like I've gotten around 30k miles on tires that should have otherwise lasted 40k.

That said, your benefit analysis comment goes directly to my final point, you need to choose what's worthwhile to you. I'm not going to get all preachy to others what they should or shouldn't do, just give them both sides of the situation to consider.

Cooking the winter tires a bit because I don't want to drive like a grandma while also remaining safe when temps drop back down is a no brainer, at least for me.

 

[optronix]

Define driving normally? I can smell the rubber of the tires when I park after a highway drive on a warmer day (45F+). If you drive like an NPC, sure, I'll give it to you, negligible wear, but for those suffering from a lead foot, I'd estimate a 10-25% loss of tread life. Like I've gotten around 30k miles on tires that should have otherwise lasted 40k.

That said, your benefit analysis comment goes directly to my final point, you need to choose what's worthwhile to you. I'm not going to get all preachy to others what they should or shouldn't do, just give them both sides of the situation to consider.

Cooking the winter tires a bit because I don't want to drive like a grandma while also remaining safe when temps drop back down is a no brainer, at least for me.

So you're basing your hypothesis off of smell? How scientific.

Also possibly irrelevant because all seasons do not suffer the same fate.

Finally, please learn to stop being defensive and ease up on the "preachy" accusations.

 

[Frenzal]

You don't want to drive with winter tires in the summer because they have no grip (hot temp). Same thing if you drive with summer tires in winter (cold temp).

Winter tires will wear out faster in hotter temps. But there won't be any real difference for a few days/weeks in spring or fall...

 

[SilverRocket]

So you're basing your hypothesis off of smell? How scientific.

Also possibly irrelevant because all seasons do not suffer the same fate.

No, I'm saying I do not get the rated tread life on a tire like the Hakka R or Michelin X-Ice (full on winter tires) and it's not a mystery why because I accelerate hard and generally cruise at speeds that would have most (non car) people clutching their pearls. All this in the short 4-6 weeks after most of the snow melts, but temperatures are still around freezing.

I just so happen to notice that after these spirited drives in late winter/early spring, the tires are definitely hot upon arrival and have an aroma.

I don't even think all-season tires are part of this conversation. If they are, the answer is totally different, I'd just say May 1st, end of story

 

[optronix]

No, I'm saying I do not get the rated tread life on a tire like the Hakka R or Michelin X-Ice (full on winter tires) and it's not a mystery why because I accelerate hard and generally cruise at speeds that would have most (non car) people clutching their pearls. All this in the short 4-6 weeks after most of the snow melts, but temperatures are still around freezing.

I just so happen to notice that after these spirited drives in late winter/early spring, the tires are definitely hot upon arrival and have an aroma.

I don't even think all-season tires are part of this conversation. If they are, the answer is totally different, I'd just say May 1st, end of story

Fair enough... but why do you drive like that on winter tires? For me, even on all seasons the driving experience is compromised; even just beginning to cross the threshold of "lazy commuter driving" towards "enthusiastic driving", the steering feels mushy and the whole car feels like it took sleeping pills. It's not fun... I guess I drive like an NPC, typically. I can live with that.

To each their own.

 

[ST675R]

I'd estimate a 10-25% loss of tread life. Like I've gotten around 30k miles on tires that should have otherwise lasted 40k.

Isn't that normal to get about 75% of the warranted tread life?

 

[SilverRocket]

Fair enough... but why do you drive like that on winter tires? For me, even on all seasons the driving experience is compromised; even just beginning to cross the threshold of "lazy commuter driving" towards "enthusiastic driving", the steering feels mushy and the whole car feels like it took sleeping pills. It's not fun... I guess I drive like an NPC, typically. I can live with that.

To each their own.

I don't purposely go out and try to destroy the tires, I just can't drive slow on highways. I don't slam the brakes and generally can keep myself in check for turns on winters but on the highway I feel like it's reverse motion at the speed limit which is 100kph (62mph) here. Cops tolerate up to 75mph if they're not having a bad day and I just feel comfortable cruising at 90-95mph on open dry stretches with little to no traffic or cops. Tires are rated to do that speed all day without blowout but evidently wear prematurely. above 59F I really force myself because it would become exponential, you hear the tires almost gluing to the road even at low speeds.

I think where I find self justification is that I don't have extremely long distances so the tires last be about 5-6 seasons each. By that time they say the compound starts to degrade anyway so why try and hypermile them if they're going to be losing performance anyway.

Isn't that normal to get about 75% of the warranted tread life?

You could do an epic burnout and finish them in <1% of tread life. The way I see it, companies are not in the business of giving out replacement tires so I think for regular drivers the warranty is probably set lower than they expect the tire to do .

My point specific to my situation was that given I adapt to the road conditions and am not driving spiritedly when snow is on the ground (most of winter), all that's left for accelerated wear is late fall or early spring when the temps are higher and the roads are dry.

 

[FredS2000]

Every winter set I've had, on 3 different cars now, when driven above 55 degrees, the sipes begin to, for lack of a better term, melt into 1 "block".

The sipes are what give the tires the grip in snow/ice.

I've run only winter "performance" tires, H or V speed rated. I routinely drive at 75+mph every day.

No winter tire I've had, has come with a treadwear rating or mileage warranty. Dunlop WInter sports and now Vredestein WIntrac Pro.

 

[Fred 930]

This is probably in the owner's manual, but I've not yet taken delivery of my car.

What is the minimum storage temperature of the "summer" tires used on the Type S?
Must they be kept above freezing (which is a common requirement for many track tires)?

I'm assuming (for liability reasons) they will tolerate near zero storage temperatures in unheated garages?

 

[Needs3Pedals]

This is probably in the owner's manual, but I've not yet taken delivery of my car.

What is the minimum storage temperature of the "summer" tires used on the Type S?
Must they be kept above freezing (which is a common requirement for many track tires)?

I'm assuming (for liability reasons) they will tolerate near zero storage temperatures in unheated garages?

from the manual:
Cold Weather Driving Summer Only tires and Ultra High Performance (UHP) tires are very sensitive to ambient temperatures and are designed to be used at temperatures above 45°F (7°C). If the vehicle is operated with Summer Only tires or UHP tires at temperatures below 45°F (7°C), the tires will provide decreasing amounts of grip and other performance attributes. If the vehicle is operated with Summer Only tires or UHP tires at temperatures below 14°F (–10°C), the tire tread may lose their elasticity and become brittle, resulting in permanent damage to the tread. A damaged tire may fail during use. Therefore, if you operate the vehicle when ambient temperatures are below 45°F (7°C), we recommend that you install other tires (e.g., mud+snow, winter) that are designed to provide appropriate performance attributes under the anticipated conditions.