coyote_vs_hemiOPHeads and cam
San Antonio, TX41 posts, joined Nov 2025
car 2018 Mustang GT Performance Pack, 10-speed
2018 Mustang GT, Performance Pack, 10 speed, on the factory Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. 255 front, 275 rear, about 60 percent tread left.
last tuesday a front came through and it was 34 in my driveway at 6 in the morning. i pulled out of the neighborhood onto Bandera, normal right turn, not even trying, and the back end stepped out on dry pavement. traction control caught it. then at the next light i barely touched it and it lit up again. it felt like the tires were made of plastic.
by the afternoon it was 62 and the car was fine. i have driven this thing two years in San Antonio and never noticed this, but i also never drove it at 34 degrees, because that happens maybe five mornings a year here.
so is there an actual number where summer tires quit? and is it dangerous to just drive it gently on those five mornings, or do i really need another set of tires for a city where it snows once every ten years.
garage_queen_haterStroker
Las Vegas, NV67 posts, joined Nov 2025
car 2013 Charger SRT8 392, 141k and counting
the number people throw around is about 40 degrees. below that the rubber compound in a max performance summer tire starts to harden up and lose grip fast. it is not a light switch, but by the mid 30s it is a different tire, which you found out on Bandera.
Vegas mornings in december and january are high 20s to mid 30s, and the afternoons are 55. i gave up on summer tires on the SRT8 three winters ago and run an ultra high performance all season year round now. it gives up a little on a hot day. i do not care. i drive the car every day, it does not get to have a season.
Warren, MI102 posts, joined Nov 2025
car 2015 Charger R/T 5.7, the daily
the grip part is half of it. the other half people do not know about: the tire makers have a warning in their fine print about summer tires and real cold, where the rubber can crack if it is flexed when it is very cold. not 34 degrees in San Antonio cold. more like a car sitting outside in Michigan at 10 degrees and somebody moving it. but it is real and it is the reason dealers up here will not test drive a car on summer tires in january.
check the actual page for your exact tire on michelinman.com rather than taking a forum's word for the temperatures. they spell out what they recommend for cold use and storage.
for your situation, five cold mornings a year, i would just leave earlier and drive it like there is ice on the road. let the tires warm up over a few miles.
winter_storage_ritualHeads and cam
Erie, PA34 posts, joined Nov 2025
car 2017 Challenger R/T Shaker 5.7, six speed
in Erie this whole question answers itself because the car goes in the garage. but i did learn the hard way on my old car, a 2010 R/T, that summer tires on a cold wet october night is the worst combination there is. cold and wet together. i put it in the guardrail at about 15 mph on a cloverleaf and it cost me a bumper cover and a fender liner. so for what it is worth, the 34 degree morning is not the scary one. the 38 degree morning in the rain is.
drag_strip_fridaysHeads and cam
Bakersfield, CA29 posts, joined Nov 2025
car 2016 Mustang GT six speed, drag radials in the trunk
same thing shows up at the strip in a different way. cold track, the best tires in the world will not hook until they have heat in them. which is why everybody does a burnout. your problem on Bandera is the street version of that with no burnout.
coyote_vs_hemiOPHeads and cam
San Antonio, TX41 posts, joined Nov 2025
car 2018 Mustang GT Performance Pack, 10-speed
closing the loop. did the second set of wheels thing after all, because a buddy was selling a set of take off 2019 GT wheels for $350 and i could not say no.
put Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 on them, $1,080 mounted and balanced at the shop on Culebra. swapping them takes me about 40 minutes in the driveway with a floor jack and the breaker bar. the 4S set is in the garage in tire bags, not stacked on the concrete.
first cold morning on the all seasons was saturday, 38 degrees, and the car just drove like a car. less steering feel than the 4S, a little more road noise. i will take it for the five mornings and then some. the summer set goes back on in march.
