[daltron]

I'm getting ready to pick up my Camaro 2SS which has stock summer tires on Monday in Chicago which is going to be in the 20-30 degrees range. I've been doing a lot of research and the consensus it to absolutely not drive summer tires in these kind of temperatures under any circumstances even on straight interstates. I do not plan on doing any kind of hotrodding on my way back but this has me absolutely scared to drive back home as I do not want to risk losing control.

Is my only option to have all season tires put on by the dealership right then and there? It would be an additional $1200 but I think I may be able to recover a good chunk of that by selling the stock ones (only 53 miles).

[FarmerFran]

40°F was my limit. I know lots of people do it though. I would definitely not do it near 20°F, not just for the hocky puck rubber but the chance of damaging the tires.

[ThatGermanGuy]

Hey there!

So I live in Munich, Germany, and it gets cold and ugly around here.

I only got my Camaro a few months ago and so far I use it as a Daily, also driving it in the snow and rain…

When it comes to rain, just don't floor it and be gentle with the accelerator.
When it comes to snow, though, …. That's a different story! If you know how to handle a car and the roads are clear, I think you are good to go if you pay attention to the road and weather circumstances.
If there is heavy snowfall… I wouldn't really drive it to be honest with you. Snow/Ice Mode practically doesn't do anything…

[Hops]

I have an allseason set for winter, but i did test drive a ss 1le in a december in the mid 30's. Of course was easy to break the rear loose, and you had to be careful, but i didn't think it was dangerous. Heck, they let me test drive it.

[PostalLDMC]

Wouldn't be just as easy and cheaper to have them load it on a flatbed tow hauler and take it home till spring. I've done that before out here in northwest Il. At the most $100.00

[m6-lt1]

Do you plan on driving it in the winter? If so have them swap the summers for all season. Keep the summer tires in case you decide to just have two sets of wheels that you swap when the seasons change.

To answer your question about safety. If it is dry out you’ll be fine just drive a little more slowly and keep extra distance between the car in front of you because your braking distance will be increased since the tires won’t be performing their best. For what it’s worth, I test drove my SS when it was 25 degrees out. The tires will spin with any excessive throttle.
What you may normally think isn’t a lot of throttle will probably be too much so make sure you don’t get into any situations where you need to use extra throttle. My beaters heater went out a few years ago and I had to drive my newly bought SS with summer tires to work because I didn’t want to freeze. I didn’t have any issues driving when the road was dry and the weather was sunny. I did however find a crack in one of my tires. That motivated me to get a second set of wheels. Because you get the most enjoyment out of these cars with summer tires on when driving on curvy roads. I think if the weather is closer to 40 than 20, your tires MAY survive the drive but there’s always the chance a crack will develop.

[TXCSSU]

I drove my SS Sedan which had summer tires from Iowa down to Texas, 11.5 hours in the teens (15-16 degrees F). The summer only tires will act like hot wheels plastic tires, as in they get hard and won't provide the traction that you'd expect in warmer weather. That being said, you should be ok as long as you don't try to overtake vehicles knowing how limited your traction will be. I had an incident where I was trying to overtake a mini-van on an on-ramp and things were getting a little squirrely so I had to get behind them. Also keep in mind that with the rubber being a little harder, potholes and road seams aren't your friend. If you drive conservatively then you should be ok, but get the car in warmer temperature or store it until the weather is more conducive to Summer Only tires.


Oh and congrats!

[detamble13]

I bought my car in February and drove it home no problem with no snow on the ground. I didn't plan to drive it that winter as I wanted to save up for some winter tires as I had just spent a good chunk on the car itself. Well when it snowed I thought to take it out just to see how summer tires actually perform. I live on a dead end street so there wasn't much risk. The summer tires are horrible in the snow and my neighbour helped push me back into my driveway. I'd compare them to the hard plastic tires you find on a powerwheels.

All that being said I test drove the car in the freezing cold with dry roads. Not ideal but it worked. You can definitely get the car home but if there is snow on the road I wouldn't risk it.

[Rayvan]

I had my truck with me when I bought mine. It was pouring rain. While I was paying for the car, my son went and got a Uhaul trailer, and we towed the car 130 miles home.

[JSH]

No, just drive the posted speeds and you'll be fine.

[Spaceme1117]

As long as the roads are dry and there isn't any snow or ice, the tires will have plenty of grip.

[Allez]

I never drove on my summer tires below freezing, and tried not to use them under 40 degrees. I've switched to all-seasons since then, and I don't have to think about it.

Keep in mind if you do drive on the summer tires when it's that cold they'll be like hard plastic. Which means your stopping distances will be bad. Not only are you risking an accident, but you'll be liable because you decided to drive on them below the recommended temps. If you're planning to drive in the winter you might as well switch to all-seasons now.

[Drags1998]

Being from the FAR NORTH I can tell you that You will be fine, JUST don't get STUPID!!!! If you drive carefully, You will NEVER notice the difference. Enjoy the Drive!!!!!

[FlukeSS]

Originally Posted by daltron

I'm getting ready to pick up my Camaro 2SS which has stock summer tires on Monday in Chicago which is going to be in the 20-30 degrees range. I've been doing a lot of research and the consensus it to absolutely not drive summer tires in these kind of temperatures under any circumstances even on straight interstates. I do not plan on doing any kind of hotrodding on my way back but this has me absolutely scared to drive back home as I do not want to risk losing control.

Is my only option to have all season tires put on by the dealership right then and there? It would be an additional $1200 but I think I may be able to recover a good chunk of that by selling the stock ones (only 53 miles).

Make sure the road is dry and there is no black ice.

Any other road condition you'll be lucky to move from a stop on anything else. Wet pavement not a HUGE problem, but is the maximum tolerance for summer tires in the MidWest.

I've been driving my car all winter this year and I swapped back to my stock wheels which had all seasons on them. And I still won't drive in 2-3 inches of snow.

That said: Save up for new rims and tires put your summer tires on those and save your stock wheels with an all season setup. Easier to swap then if you plan to drive in the winter. But I say that assuming you plan to do upgrades to your car. If not then it might be worth the $1200.

P.S. I bought my car in chicago as well and drove it home in February with snow on the ground, but as I said the roads were dry. I was lucky my car had all seasons on the stock rims when I bought the car.