Exactly how bad are the summer tires compared to normal car tires?
 

So every form sometimes randomly mentions the summer tires in rain/snow.

How bad are they?

The way people make them sound is your Camaro is immobile as soon as it rains or snows? (I know its the internet and people exaggerate)

but compared to a normal car how bad are they?

if I drive slow and controlled could a Camaro SS survive 3-4 inches of snow?

Well as long as you drive normally in rain the tires will hold up fine. I haven't driven my car in snow and from what I've gathered here was that they suck. You should look into winter tires if you plan on driving it in snow.

Mine has done fine in rain and won't break loose from full throttle till about 4500rpm in my personal experience front wheel drive is worse than rwd because you can slide from braking and from throttle whereas if you can drive rwd it's more controlled when you do lose traction. Probably like anything else though people will have a ton of different answers :-P my last car was rwd and I drove it all winter, add in traction control and it's even easier to drive in the snow

Pirelli P Zero tires are ultra-high performance summer tires....they are soft and sticky, and work great on dry pavement. They aren't designed for wet conditions, and the soft rubber gets hard as temperatures drop......I think 45F is actually published somewhere as the lower end of what they were designed for. I've driven mine down to -20F on dry pavement and they are fine for normal driving, but if you try to take hard corners, accelerate or brake the same way you can on a warm summer day you'll get into trouble quick.....snow is probably very bad as the tread isn't that deep and doesn't have much self clearing ability due to limited lateral channeling...I don't drive mine in the snow, so I have no firsthand experience with it.

I've never had issues in snow up to a few inches, but I grew up in New England and am not one of those drivers who freaks the **** out at the sight of flurries. The key, as in any car, is slow and controlled. Don't take any unnecessary risks and you won't put yourself in unnecessary danger. Ice is the only real threat and that's regardless of what tire you may have.

I've got Nitto Invo's, they still amaze me in the rain after 15000 km of "spirited" driving, though I do have a v6 as well so not as much power as a SS of course. With due diligence, I've actually come to enjoy driving in the rain, I can easily push 130 kmh and still feel good on the road! Handle almost as well wet as dry, and I've even been able to drive at -10 - -15 below zero with them (not on snow)

Im running 245-35z-20 in front and 295-35z-20 in the back....

In Canada though, I wouldn't trust them for a second in snow (for normal driving). I was able to make it around the circle to my parents house in snow, it was tricky but didn't get stuck. Needless to say, I just bought winters for my car today lol you need winter's in snow, hands down. All season's don't really cut it imo

This^^

They suck in wet conditions but it isn't all on the tires. Fact is the staggered setup doesn't help one bit and causes the car to track really really well due to the sticky tires.

Below 45 the tires are like riding on rocks for a few miles until they get some heat. When it's hot. The tires stick like a receiver with hands covered in stickum.

I'm originally from Michigan. 17yrs i drove in the snow and no damn way i'd use the stock Pirelli in this heavy pig in the snow.

As for rain. Well, I'm in Florida now and it is the rainy season here. I drive in the rain almost daily. I can slide, kickout and hydroplane all day everyday on them.

When they start to wear they are really bad at tracking the road and moving water.

I have a different opinion than some have expressed. They should call summer tires "3 season tires," because most of them handle much better than all-seasons in the rain. As some have mentioned, unless the temperature is very cold, summer tires are exceptional in the rain, compared to all seasons. But with cold temperatures, or snow and ice, forget about it. You are on ice skates, they are horrible. That's where all seasons shine. Jack of all trades, master of none. They can kind of handle snow, but nowhere near a winter tire. Tire Rack I believe ran a test on tires in the rain that is an informative read.

I drove my ss one time on plowed snow packed roads with the summer tires.. saw the comment about vasoline on the tires, yeah the car wanted to slide all the time. Nothing like a little white nuckle ride keep ya on your toes. I parked in a plowed lot and really had to be careful. My 2lt non rs has all season but ive not driven in the snow yet..