Summer tires, winter weather

[Type SSSHHH]

So, recently purchased a 25 type s, that come with the stock ps4’s. My question is, how do they perform in the winter? I live in southern Ohio, Cincinnati area to be specific. I’m under the assumption they will perform terribly with snow/ice on the ground. I’ve never had to use summer tires in Ohio winters before. I know fwd is better than rwd, but it’s understanding that tires are the main importance when it comes to this.

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[akoza]

So, recently purchased a 25 type s, that come with the stock ps4’s. My question is, how do they perform in the winter? I live in southern Ohio, Cincinnati area to be specific. I’m under the assumption they will perform terribly with snow/ice on the ground. I’ve never had to use summer tires in Ohio winters before. I know fwd is better than rwd, but it’s understanding that tires are the main importance when it comes to this.

Having lived in Cincinnati through four winters, I can tell you definitely get yourself a set of proper snow tires. There are hills (especially if you live or drive anywhere near Clifton or OTR) and I can't tell you how many people I've seen from my apartment hit a tree or another car (or get stuck on a hill only to abandon their car until the roads got plowed) in a single day in the snow simply because they didn't have proper tires. And most if not all of them were likely on all-seasons, let alone summer tires. Meanwhile I had no problem on the same hills with snow tires (had a MK7 GTI with Blizzaks at the time).

Also Cincinnati seems to be a bit lax when it comes to plowing. I noticed on a drive to Perfect North one morning after a heavy Friday night snowfall that I-74 was mostly unplowed all the way to Indiana. As soon as I crossed the border, the roads were sparkly clean. I believe Cincinnati waited til Monday to even start plowing.

 

[Type SSSHHH]

To clarify I don’t actually live downtown. I’m in a suburb about, 15 miles outside of it. My drive to work is 8 miles, same with grocery and family. And I have options to basically drive on flat straight forward roads. My only concern is getting caught it overnight at work. Was thinking about getting a pair of continental dw’s. But I really don’t wanna spend $1400ish for like.. 3 months outta the year.

I also drive maybe 6500/7500 miles a year

 

[bvanlieu]

Nothing makes a body shop happier then seeing cars with summer tires in winter regions.

If you will keep your car for years (and why not?) then the 1400 is amortized over time....and after 4 years meh. You also are putting miles on another set of rubber. The sunk cost is the rims.

Slight disagreement, its not 3months, realistically with low temps under 45f in your (and mine, I am in eastern PA with similar weather) its Oct-April or Nov-April if you want to care for those summer treads and be safest on the street.

 

[Type SSSHHH]

I’m not worried about wearing out the summer tires prematurely, if they go bad fine, I’ll buy new ones. I’m really asking if I’m screwed if I see any bit of snow. All the cars I’ve had in the past all came with all seasons. I also kinda don’t want the hassle of changing tires every winter. Yes that’s me being extremely lazy.

 

[bvanlieu]

my comment is about value not wear: you are spreading tire wear over two sets so you get more value out of it, the sunk cost is the rims. HP/AS will get you likely 50% more miles ompared to a summer compounds, so that helps over time. I find the conti's so much better in temps under 50f then the stock PS4s from the get go for every day control.

Should you drive those in winter conditions? Nope. Its not just about you and your insurance co-payment. Stopping distances go up with rock hard compounds, so up goes your chances of plowing into a car that has appropriate tires in hard stop.

Its just reality: everyone thinks they fine until that split second they are not. No one wants that to happen, and its just risk mitigation. You can't eliminate risk but you can put yourself in the best possible situation.

I do wish Honda offered an orderable a no-cost HP/AS tire option for the car but c'est la vie.

 

[Type SSSHHH]

I’d really like to get some Michelin ps4 A/S, I had them on my challenger and they were incredible. But tire discounters doesn’t seem to have listed in the factory tire/rim size. They do have 275 19R 30’s. I think.

 

[bvanlieu]

unfortunately our size has slim pickings currently, I agree I like the Mich A/S better then the Conti but happy there is at least the Conti to buy

 

[us17094]

As I understand it, a big issue using summer tires is that the rubber compound provides great grip in warm weather conditions but will harden in sub 45 degree temperatures. This will cause traction to decrease significantly and can cause your tires to crack - rendering them useless.

 

[mopar_man]

I won’t drive on the stock tires once the temps get below 45. So I have a second set of wheels with DWS06+ on them that I use from November - late April / early May. I’m in western New York and don’t need to drive my ITS in the snow, but I do need to be safe when it’s cold and damp out. The stock PS4S are really bad below 45. They are amazing in summer temps in dry and wet, but when it is cold they get hard quickly and traction is significantly reduced. Do yourself a favor and at least get the DWS06+ for late fall to early spring.

 

[Type SSSHHH]

I set up an appointment with TD, waiting for them to call me. It takes me about 6 months for each oil change as I don’t drive often and my commutes are short. So I guess I’ll swap tires out every other oil change

 

[Mr. LargeCoffee]

Good move. I have PS4s on my Miata, even when temps are in the low 50s I’ll spin the tires when cold even starting as gently as I can (no traction control nannies). These tires need heat in them to operate as intended. I imagine at colder temps it would be akin to driving a bumper car.

 

[Type SSSHHH]

I’ve been driving on the ps4’s in Ohio weather since I got the car on December 15th. Still breaking in the engine so I haven’t really romped on the car yet. It’s been below freezing for several days and I haven’t noticed anything yet. So slipping no loss of traction.

 

[akoza]

To clarify I don’t actually live downtown. I’m in a suburb about, 15 miles outside of it. My drive to work is 8 miles, same with grocery and family. And I have options to basically drive on flat straight forward roads. My only concern is getting caught it overnight at work. Was thinking about getting a pair of continental dw’s. But I really don’t wanna spend $1400ish for like.. 3 months outta the year.

I also drive maybe 6500/7500 miles a year

I hear ya, tires are expensive. You could also look into getting a lightly used set, from someone who either sold their car or went a different route with tires. If you get all seasons with new wheels, you could offset the cost by selling your OEM wheel/tire set (just make sure to transfer the TPMS over or get new sensors).

 

[Type SSSHHH]

I hear ya, tires are expensive. You could also look into getting a lightly used set, from someone who either sold their car or went a different route with tires. If you get all seasons with new wheels, you could offset the cost by selling your OEM wheel/tire set (just make sure to transfer the TPMS over or get new sensors).

I wanna keep the OEM wheels. I guess I could sell the tires. They only have 350 miles on em. Money isn’t really the issue. I make good money. More so just annoying/time consuming. I work 3rd shift as a truck driver and trying to get things done in the morning before my typical bed time around 11am can be challenging sometimes. We’re getting absolutely hammered with feet’s worth of snow in Ohio right meow. I may have a time window of a few days here in the next few days to slap these on

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