For the winter-having crowd: a tire question

"SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie" (sidewaysondirt)
12/19/2014 at 08:03 • Filed to: fierofriday, tires, summer tires

Hi all! For those of you who don't care about my tire conundrum, have a Fiero sliding sideways in the snow for #FieroFriday. For those of you in the know on summer tires in cold weather, I have a question. My BRZ has a set of Dunlop Direzza ZIIs on it, which are track-focused summer tires. Since I live in Florida, this is fine. It never really gets cold. I'm going to be heading out of town for a week over New Year's and will be in a colder environment. I'm not too worried about running into snow as I'll be staying with other people, don't really have a schedule, and it probably won't snow where I'm going anyway, but I am worried about freezing weather. Supposedly, Direzzas don't like the cold. What can I expect? Will I just be dealing with less grip until the tires warm up, or could I actually damage the tires? I've heard about flat spots when they sit in cold weather, but not reliably. Does anyone have experience with these tires in cold weather? I still have the terrible OEM all seasons that came with the car, but I'd rather not have to swap them out if I don't have to.

DISCUSSION (13)

cletus44 aka Clayton Seams > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
12/19/2014 at 08:07

As a Canadian Direzza ZII owner I feel i can answer your question. I've driven the ZII in temps as low as -10 C and they work fine. You won't corner very fast and they'll ride like four hockey pucks but they're not unsafe.

Where you'll get in to trouble is when the faintest bit of snow/ice shows up and then things get dangerous. I one couldn't get up my driveway AFTER I shoveled it because of the residual slush on the driveway. They aren't just useless in the snow; they're dangerous.

Verdict: As long as conditions are dry; you're fine. Save travels!

Mattbob > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
12/19/2014 at 08:10

your tires will not warm up appreciably in cold weather during normal driving to make a difference (unless you have a serious alignment issue). If there is a hint of ice or snow, you are fucked. If you give it too much gas or go into a corner to fast, you are fucked. Flat spots from overnight, or a couple of days, that probably won't happen. I don't know about your tires specifically, just what summer tires do in winter in general. source: I live in Michigan.

505Turbeaux > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
12/19/2014 at 08:11

dont worry about flat spots, that only happens when it is REALLY cold to me. Not running a hard compound like that, but all seasons do it at 0F>

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > cletus44 aka Clayton Seams
12/19/2014 at 08:14

That's pretty much what I was hoping would be the case. Looks like I'll just be careful. Thanks!

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Mattbob
12/19/2014 at 08:15

Cool, thanks. That's what I was hoping for. Luckily, I'm not going anywhere super cold, just North Carolina, so I'll just have to be careful.

ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
12/19/2014 at 08:27

You'll be fine in North Carolina. Having lived a year very recently in S. Carolina, I can say that you're unlikely to get into any trouble. (Just be aware that if there is precipitation you don't want to take routes with steep elevation changes.)

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
12/19/2014 at 08:29

The cold temperatures will be enough to keep a tire from warming up under normal driving and you will have less grip. If you're driving safely it shouldn't be a problem. If there is snow, ice or even frost on the ground you will have no grip with summer tires. As long as there isn't much chance of snow you should be fine as long as you give the sun a little bit of time to warm up the roads and melt away any frosty spots.

Don't worry about the flat spots. Any tire does that if its parked long enough, but driving a mile or two is enough to warm them up and take out the flat spot. A flat spot from parking is caused by the rubber taking a bit of a set but once the tire warms up it loses the set. Those kinds of flat spots aren't a concern because they aren't really flat spots. Truthfully the summer tires will probably do it a little less than a winter tire because of the harder compound. The winter tires I run do that from being parked over night even if it is warm(ish). You will feel more vibration for a couple miles until the tires warm up but it will do no damage to the tires.

A true flat spot is caused by locking up wheels under braking and shaving enough rubber off the tire to get the tire a little bit out of round. Those kind of flat spots don't go away very fast.

Alfalfa > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
12/19/2014 at 08:31

From reading the comments, it sounds like their won't be much of a problem. But if the weather does decide to change for the worse, keep in mind this factoid: if you buy a set of chains from Les Schwab, and don't use them all winter, they will buy them back for full price in the spring.

OPPOsaurus WRX > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
12/19/2014 at 08:44

Stay out of the snow if there is any. Stopping and turning don't work well at all. they are as good as little snowboards.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > OPPOsaurus WRX
12/19/2014 at 08:49

Lol, yeah. My plan was to not drive if there's a chance of snow or ice. I was just worried that they would be just as bad or get damaged due to temperature.

DrScientist > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
12/19/2014 at 09:44

drove about 100 miles on a set of michelin ps2's in cold (not freezing) wet weather. these are also summer performance tires. tirerack and other reviews state that summer tires lose their grip qualities at consistent temperatures below 40F.

i did not ever feel nervous or unsafe on these summer tires at temps below 40F, when the roads were dry. however i was aware of the warning, and was not driving aggressively.

when i drove the 100 miles in sub-40F rain, i did feel less secure with the tire grip, especially while on highway cloverleafs and on/off ramps.

so, as others have said, you'll probably be absolutely fine in dry weather at temps 20-40. if the temps are in the 30's (not freezing) and it is raining, be very careful, and drive accordingly. if it snows, or there is slush/ice on the ground, take a cab.

have a happy new year!

Meatcoma > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
12/19/2014 at 09:46

Since you are only going to be gone a short while it shouldn't be much of a problem but prolonged driving in cold weather will wear the tread out much much quicker as well.

jariten1781 > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
12/19/2014 at 10:01

Piling on.

If you just drive like an average Joe Schmoe on the road you probably won't even notice anything. You will have way less traction though. My Eagle F1 GS-D3s are hilariously bad around freezing temp. Like tire spin in third gear on a stock NA bad. Just don't do any canyon runs and stick to normal roads and you shouldn't have a problem.

If it snows though, stay in. I couldn't even get my car from the street into the garage at the relatively slight grade my driveway with a dusting. It was ridiculous. People who take those out into public during snow are dumb and dangerous.