[fastball]

Originally Posted by dray

Got my car in Jan 17 and bought winter tires the next week (Michelin X-ICE on 18 inch wheels). One of the nice thing about a set of winter tires is that your summer tires last a lot longer, because you're saving all that mileage. The summer tires are a lot more expensive to replace too.

That's the bonus of getting dedicated winter tires. These stock tires are good for MAYBE 25k miles. If you're nice to them lol.

It's not unreasonable for them to be bald at 15k miles.

[motorhead]

You're not along on attempting this OP. It like driving onthe wheels without tires. When I bought my GT500 it's maiden voyage was 40 miles from the dealer to my home in right below feezing temps. That was just plain nuts.

[brettman]

Originally Posted by fastball

That's the bonus of getting dedicated winter tires. These stock tires are good for MAYBE 25k miles. If you're nice to them lol.

It's not unreasonable for them to be bald at 15k miles.

I'm still holding fast to "WINTER BEATER". You, as an Ohio driver know...they can't drive. I have been over the curb, threw the tree lawn, down the hill to Grandma house and "WE ARE NOT GOING THERE"
Pic is after a Semi took it off the turnpike, 250' guard rail, down the hill.
I walked away.

And the last, I walked

[dray]

Originally Posted by fastball

That's the bonus of getting dedicated winter tires.

Another bonus is you get a softer ride for a few months, just as the pot holes are opening up.

[Lazerbrainz2k3]

Originally Posted by SuperSound

There was some dumbass driving his GT350 around here the other day in 20 degree weather with snow/ice still on parts of the road. Don't know how you can that kind of money but be that stupid. My car was safely parked in the garage for this reason.

All depends on what kind of shoes the Shelby is wearing and how aggressively it's being driven - same as an SS, except with even less torque to be exercise self control with!

[SuperSound]

Originally Posted by Lazerbrainz2k3

All depends on what kind of shoes the Shelby is wearing and how aggressively it's being driven - same as an SS, except with even less torque to be exercise self control with!

Factory wheels and with this being eastern NC, seriously doubt he had swapped off the stock MPSS'. Those tires are just as bad in the cold as our GYs, and more expensive.

[ecko04]

A dedicated winter wheel and tire setup based on your location is ideal for these cars.

I know people will say that they drive year around in Minnesota with their summer tires and have no issues. That could very well be true. However, it’s still infinitely safer to have a wheel and tire setup fit for the conditions. If the tire manufacturer says don’t run the tire below xx degree temperatures, why chance it if you don’t have to?

I was unaware that we could get 18s that clear our rotor and caliper assemblies. If 18s are an option then the Blizzak WS series, or another comparable brand, and wheel setup would be great thereby storing the 20s until the spring/summer. If you prefer the 20s there’s the Blizzak LM series which is a winter performance tire but the WS series is still the superior tire for snow/ice.

If it primarily gets cold, near or below freezing, where you live and hardly snows then a decent all season set of wheels and tires are ideal. Just keep in mind that snow and ice traction will be severely reduced in comparison to snow tires but vastly improved compared to the stock summer run flats.

Regardless, TPMS sensors can be gotten for the cheap and programmed easily.

I believe where most people go wrong is that they either overestimate their abilities or overestimate their location’s preparation for winter events. For example, in PA the roads were always prepped. I could’ve probably gotten by 90% of the time on the summer rubber or all season tires sticking to main roads. Yet, there were instances were we get so much snow and I traveled secondary streets where if I didn’t have snow rubber I probably would’ve been staying the night at whatever hotel I could walk to from where I was stuck and hope my car didn’t get sideswiped by a plow truck.

On the same day I bought my G37S in Montgomeryville, PA, also equipped with summer tires, it snows like hell while I was completing the paperwork. By the time I finished and they drove the car out the showroom there was at least 4 inches of snow. I got stuck in their parking lot, let along driving back to Penn State. By the time I got out the parking lot, I drove across the street and parked it. I walked to the nearest hotel and stayed the night. Every few hours I would borrow the hotel’s shovel to dig the car out and keep it visible for the plow trucks.

Around 4am, it stops snowing and I think it’s a good idea to go ahead and make the 3 hour drive home. In 1 place on the PA turnpike conditions were terrible, it hadn’t been plowed, or there was a decent amount of snow drift, in that area. The car went completely sideways and I luckily regained control without losing momentum to keep the car moving. Luckily there was no one around at that time of the morning and I didn’t hit anything. I promptly switched to all season tires and if we had spent anymore time in PA, I probably would’ve gotten a dedicated winter set.

Moral is to be safe based on the conditions that are most prevalent to your area. You cannot always depends on the locality/municipality/city/state to do their part.

Oh and know which models of car and wheels fit your vehicle. If you’re not opposed to buying used, you can score a hell of a deal on some inexpensive wheels and tires.


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[Badmojo]

This is what I thought as well. We had a cold, but totally dry week in North Carolina last week. It was in the low 20's in the morning with highs in the mid-30's. I drove carefully and had zero issues. It is only 7 mile commute.

Originally Posted by L99BEN

You probably hit black ice..

I've been daily driving mine 80 miles a day on summer tires without issue. Definitely less traction on cold salty Maryland roads in winter but nothing out of control unless I hit black ice. When real cold out, I drive like the roads are wet from rain.

[franksredhot]

I have been really impressed by the stock summer tires even when temps are right around freezing. My SRT8 had summer tires that felt downright dangerous at 45 degrees. So I drive my car even when it is around 30 and only if the roads are clean, no snow, and no rain. But with the recent cold spell I won't dare take the car out on these tires. In regards to the car getting squirrely, you can do that in the summer on a perfect day, especially if the road surface isn't great. Any muscle car needs to be driven with care at all times. If you want to daily drive in the North in winter then definitely get winter tires. All season tires are not great in snow and ice with a car like ours.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Yeah, in these threads there’s always a couple people that claim they drive with racing slicks on frozen lakes with their rwd car and do “just fine”...

[TRich2SS]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

Yeah, in these threads there’s always a couple people that claim they drive with racing slicks on frozen lakes with their rwd car and do “just fine”...

I guess Ill be that person. Iv'e been driving my car with NT555'r drag radials on the rear all winter without issues. I have driven the car in 10 degree weather and once I got caught out and it started snowing. In neither situation did I ever feel unstable or that I was going to lose control. I believe driver skill and really knowing how your car drives are two big factors in why people have night and day differences in experiences while driving in harsh conditions with their cars.

P.S. - This is in no way intended to take a shot at anyone or to suggest driving with tires not officially rated for the conditions is the "smart" thing to do.

[ecko04]

I believe the recommendations should be for the collective as opposed to the one-offs.

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[Jsreo]

+1 on the need for caution in cold temps on stock summer tires. 35 degrees dry and sunny here in coldlanta so decided to take the SS out for the first time in few weeks.

It was actually more slippery than driving in the rain, real easy to get the tail out, lots of fun but probably not all that safe.

[TJay74]

I drove on the stock tires at 25° to 40° and never had an issue on the highway with loss of traction. Been driving on the new Michelin PS4s tires now for almost a month and they handle the low temps just fine.