Public Service Announcement for those with summer tires

[Indydriver]

I'm pretty new to this forum but I know a few things about tire design. I've been shocked by how many of you Camaro owners that have cars with OE summer tires and live in the snow belt are trying to drive in winter conditions. This is extremely dangerous and downright irresponsible. I'm sure you really don't want to wreck your precious Camaro and possibly kill someone in the process, so listen up!

BOTTOM LINE: if you buy a car fitted with summers, you MUST plan on swapping for winters when the average high gets below 45F. Here's why:

Tire design is a huge set of compromises. Engineers who do this sort of thing can make you a world beating tire at doing one or two things well, but never everything well. Engineers love designing summer tires because the first parameter they are given is, "don't worry about anything below 45F because these tires won't be used in those conditions". They love that! Now they can focus on only half the temperature range most people drive in and can build you one hell of a tire ala P Zeros. Now, being engineers, they build in some safety factor, maybe down to freezing or so. But anything below that and you're courting catastrophic failure. Even storing summers off the car in very cold temps can damage them.

So, do yourself and every else on the road a big favor....buy winters and swap them at the appropriate time (or better yet, get some on a second set of wheels and swap those) or do society a big favor and just put a decent all-weather tire on your Camaro.

Thank you. You may return to your regular program at this time.

[erik13]

Well put. I have made it through every storm here with my Blizzaks. I wouldn't even dare pulling out of the driveway on the P-Zeros in the snow.

[All Star]

It's not irresponsible, unless you drive irresponsibly. As always, it depends on the tire.

[bluBlud]

I think part of the problem is the selling dealerships don't always know or bother to warn their customers. Mine said nothing about winter use or storage. I fortunately did my homework before buying so I knew what I was getting into. My car is still in bed for winter... because of the tires :(

[Squillo]

My dealer said nothing about the winter usage either. And I picked up my car the day after Thanksgiving.

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted by bluBlud

I think part of the problem is the selling dealerships don't always know or bother to warn their customers. Mine said nothing about winter use or storage. I fortunately did my homework before buying so I knew what I was getting into. My car is still in bed for winter... because of the tires :(

Originally Posted by Squillo

My dealer said nothing about the winter usage either. And I picked up my car the day after Thanksgiving.

Great point fellas. Having just made the rounds to several dealers looking for the right deal, I brought this very subject up to a few of them and the typical reaction was, "WTF, I get paid for selling cars, not parts!" One salesman got it when I explained that if they had ready to go winter tire packages ,you could pull this out at closing along with with your stupid fabric sealant and extended warranties (I.e., point out something meaningful to the buyer who could roll the cost into his loan) you might be able to add $1000-$2000 to the sale and protect yourself at the same time from liability inherent in sending these noobs out into the world on tires that are a guaranteed wreck in the snow.

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted by All Star

It's not irresponsible, unless you drive irresponsibly. As always, it depends on the tire.

Good luck with that reasoning if you go out in the snow on your P Zeros and end up in court. I happen to be drooling over Chevy's 2014 Camaro brochure at the moment and on nearly every page it says;

"Do not use summer-only tires in winter conditions, as it would adversely affect vehicle safety, performance and durability..." etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Have you thought through the reason why GM suspended shipping ZL1s with their summer-only Goodyear "F1 Supercar" tires during the middle of winter? Hint: it had nothing to do with them being driven.

[CamaroJim56]

And I have a set of OEM 20's (wheels with Pirellis's) for sale if anyone needs an extra set...

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted by CamaroJim56

And I have a set of OEM 20's (wheels with Pirellis's) for sale if anyone needs an extra set...

PM me with your price and ship from location. I will need that second set for next winter.

[Ir0nM4n]

Good point, my OEM summer tires are nice and warm in my basement/office. I am using SS rims with all season Nitto Motivo's

[amz]

Just the thought of driving my SS in the snow , makes me shiverrrrr.

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by All Star

It's not irresponsible, unless you drive irresponsibly. As always, it depends on the tire.

No... OP is correct. Driving with summer tires in snow, ice, freezing weather, is irresponsible. It endangers everyone on the road.

[The orange one]

From the start Chevrolet should have had an all season tire as an option to switch for buyers in colder climate areas.

[angie7]

I have my Pirellis on and there's 4" of snow outside

















But mines not a daily and shes chillin' in the garage until next Month