when to switch to summer tires

[MerlintheMad]

No. Don't run summer tires unless your temps are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, period.

Ignore the opinions. If you really want the truth, research the specific summer tire at the manufacturer site. Then you'll know this is truth

This is covering their butt against law suits by advising on the side of caution, very much so.

We'll disagree on this. I've driven my Michelins down to 20F, no trouble whatsoever; they were new, and fresh rubber makes a difference. I was on slush and shallow snow, with the risk of some icy patches. On a highway that had a 50 MPH speed limit, I was going around curves either side of 30 MPH. You drive within the limits of the conditions. I could have gone faster, but why?

 

[YOWStinger]

Canadian here, 2 weeks ago

@a_turbo_fan on Instagram: “Fitment Friday, I was just so excited to take pictures, will post more with lesssoon #fastcar #carporn #carswithoutlimits #carsofinstagram…”

 

[NS_Stinger]

East coast Canadian here, I switch to summers usually at the end of April but it can fluctuate depending on temperature trends. Winter I usually install in mid-late October.

 

[MisterMac]

Just because somebody pushed their luck and nothing bad happens is not a sound reason to flirt with disaster. Yes, I know, people do it all time... .

 

[MerlintheMad]

"A man's got to know his limitations, yes sir." I've known the Michelins to be used through the winter around here, with consequences narrowly avoided. It's not something I would do. But once temperatures get above freezing daily, the danger is passed, as long as you remember that the summer performance tires don't function as they are intended below the 40F recommendation/warning. That's why the Stinger with the Michelins (can't speak for the AWD squared setup) is programmed to give an audio-visual warning when the temperature dips to 39F or lower. "Icy Conditions Possible", I believe it says. Not the time to push the tires.

 

[Yeti]

I am going to call an old college roommate about this temperature warning. He is a chief chemical engineer for good year and worked the nascar races for years. His first assignment was the junior engineer taking tire temperatures during the races. With more than 30 years experience with racing tires, he will know the facts.

 

[YOWStinger]

For those of you not tracking your car (which is probably 95% of you), don't waste money on the 4S, get better than double the treadwear on something like the AS3+, a much broader temperature range, better wet weather handling, and still great dry traction. And if you're tracking your car, get something better than the 4S for the track. Those ~220 treadwear tires aren't good for anything but leaving your tire on the road while you drive to the grocery store.

 

[YOWStinger]

Just to add to this conversation, the Michelin AS3+ are considered a "Asymetric" but not "Directional" (even though the tread looks directional), and performs equally well rotating in either direction. Some summer tires are both Asymetric and Directional (V-grooved tires) and can't be mounted backwards, which means no rotating left to right, which is sort of a big deal with staggered setups.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Just to add to this conversation, the Michelin AS3+ are considered a "Asymetric" but not "Directional" (even though the tread looks directional), and performs equally well rotating in either direction. Some summer tires are both Asymetric and Directional (V-grooved tires) and can't be mounted backwards, which means no rotating left to right, which is sort of a big deal with staggered setups.

Well, I already dealt with that at the beginning of my "Watkins" ownership; tire/wheel guys said that not moving the tires would make less than a two thousand miles difference between the two tires; so, I expect one side to wear out first, but not by much.

 

[YOWStinger]

Well, I already dealt with that at the beginning of my "Watkins" ownership; tire/wheel guys said that not moving the tires would make less than a two thousand miles difference between the two tires; so, I expect one side to wear out first, but not by much.

That entirely depends on how much you like on and off ramps

 

[MerlintheMad]

That entirely depends on how much you like on and off ramps

Yes. I think I wear my LF tire out considerably quicker because of cloverleafs; I love to power out of the last c. third.

 

[YOWStinger]

Yes. I think I wear my LF tire out considerably quicker because of cloverleafs; I love to power out of the last c. third.

If you're wearing out the LF, distribute that wear and tear, trail brake into the corner and get on the throttle earlier!

 

[MerlintheMad]

If you're wearing out the LF, distribute that wear and tear, trail brake into the corner and get on the throttle earlier!

Yeah, I know I'm doing it wrong, or at least less than efficiently. How do you trail brake in an AWD? (tyro question) Even doing it right, the left tires are going to wear quicker than the right tires because of the lack of left turns. All I can do is even out the wear on the left side so that the rear and front left tires wear out at the same rate.

 

[Oryan]

Hard no if it's near or below freezing. Some more aggressive summer tires will flat-spot in those temps, some will just straight up crack.
Most tire specs say to not drive them below 40F. I'd say not unless you're above 50F.
People can and do run summers in colder temps, down to the 30s. I know one guy with an M3 that does it with no issue on his PSS. I've also seen someone in light snow with summer tires feed their Golf R into a guard rail.

 

[YOWStinger]

Yeah, I know I'm doing it wrong, or at least less than efficiently. How do you trail brake in an AWD? (tyro question) Even doing it right, the left tires are going to wear quicker than the right tires because of the lack of left turns. All I can do is even out the wear on the left side so that the rear and front left tires wear out at the same rate.

Yeah, just wear them off evenly on the left side so you can rotate the right side in

A car is sort of like a joystick, your weight distribution is like top dead center when you're not moving, and going around a corner, accelerating or braking, weight is moved to some point within that circle. If you imagine going around a corner, neither accelerating or braking, youll be balanced on both the front and rear tire equally (not entirely true, it's slightly on the front tire even if you're not changing velocity).

Trail braking is when you brake into a corner "late" and roll off the brake matching your turn in so that as weight transfers you're using all available traction without exceeding it. Then get back on the throttle as early as possible without exceeding the traction available from either the front or back tires.

At first glance, fastest time through a constant radius corner is an arc on a circle, decelerate in a straight line, immediately turn to your desired vector, hold that until you exit the turn in a straight line, then accelerate.

In reality, the fastest line through the corner is a parabola, where deceleration, vectoring and acceleration all overlap within certain constraints.

Add in corners that change in radius, or linked turns and it's much more dynamic than drawing circles, that's where threshold braking comes in

 

[MerlintheMad]

Thanks for the added details. I might be doing the parabola thing on the cloverleaf, because as I approach the entrance to it, I downshift until my RPMs are right around 3-4K; I'm well to the left and I cut slowly across to the right as I add gas; then I hold that inside curve until the car feels like it wants to move out, add more gas and hold the outward drift to time with the exit over on the left again, at which point I am probably just above the kickdown switch; because of traffic (usually) coming close in the righthand lane, I don't give it as much gas as I would like. Anyway. I'm working on it.

Yeah, just wear them off evenly on the left side so you can rotate the right side in

A car is sort of like a joystick, your weight distribution is like top dead center when you're not moving, and going around a corner, accelerating or braking, weight is moved to some point within that circle. If you imagine going around a corner, neither accelerating or braking, youll be balanced on both the front and rear tire equally (not entirely true, it's slightly on the front tire even if you're not changing velocity).

Trail braking is when you brake into a corner "late" and roll off the brake matching your turn in so that as weight transfers you're using all available traction without exceeding it. Then get back on the throttle as early as possible without exceeding the traction available from either the front or back tires.

At first glance, fastest time through a constant radius corner is an arc on a circle, decelerate in a straight line, immediately turn to your desired vector, hold that until you exit the turn in a straight line, then accelerate.

In reality, the fastest line through the corner is a parabola, where deceleration, vectoring and acceleration all overlap within certain constraints.

Add in corners that change in radius, or linked turns and it's much more dynamic than drawing circles, that's where threshold braking comes in

 

[Boris]

I'm in the Black Hills, so due to the spring snowstorms, I won't swap until mid-June. My winters get slick & greasy on warm days, but won't kill me like summer tires in the cold/snow.

 

[Silverghost]

I'm in the Black Hills, so due to the spring snowstorms, I won't swap until mid-June. My winters get slick & greasy on warm days, but won't kill me like summer tires in the cold/snow.

Man, you have been lurking since June 2018 with only 2 posts? That's crazy.
As for you post, I agree to put on summers until conditions preclude any low temps.
Nice to hear from you!

 

[cncBilly]

Michelin Pilot S4 year round here on the wet coast. However fair to say I don’t go out below 4c/40f

 

[nhsjpeterson]

Switched mine out on Wednesday when it was mid 50s. Next day we had 6" show and highs in the low 20s. Should be back to 50s tomorrow.