[Carefree]

Am I going to crash my brand new M2?

Not necessarily but the chance, due to weather, is certainly more likely than those of us in Florida, Arizona, California etc.

[ajchoi]

Originally Posted by DrewNewM2

Ship your winter tires to the dealer or order a new set shipped there and have them mount for when you pick up. May be out of time for shipping though. I’m in NY and on my summers but don’t take it out unless it’s mid 40s at least and no precipitation. Chances are you will be OK but even a dusting of snow or ice/freezing rain on your trip and you will be risking it

Tire type for their environment is important:
Here in Vegas winter it’s generally 30s-40s at night and 50s-60s during day. In the morning even around 50 degrees when my tires are cold they’re only useful for burning out haha. I grew up in New England.

Story Time:
I once owned a 2011 WRX Hatchback 6MT there and it came with Summer tires and obviously AWD. We had a freak late October snowstorm one year that dumped like a foot of snow/ice/freezing rain on my town. I couldn’t even back my car out of its parking spot without spinning all 4 tires. A Honda Civic automatic on studded snow tires pulled out of the spot next to me and drove off. I had to hitch a ride in a buddies Jeep to go home that day.

Tires matter the most. Also not something I’ll ever cheap out on because it’s the literal contact to put the car to the road lol

[Laguna Seca Blue]

Ask the dealership you’re buying from to post your car on central dispatch and have it picked up by a hauler. Summer tires plus snow are a recipe for disaster.

[Tag]

Can I Drive Summer Performance Tires In Cold Temperatures?

Can you? Or, should you? The simple answer is — no you shouldn't. Summer performance tires are simply not designed for near- or below-freezing temperatures. Here's a quick explanation of why.

Summer performance tires feature tread rubber compounds engineered to provide traction in warm to hot temperatures only. As temperatures drop into the 40s, a summer performance tire's tread compound changes from a pliable elastic to an inflexible plastic, drastically reducing traction capabilities. The tire industry calls this process the "glass transition." And, without traction, your vehicle will have a hard time staying on the road!

In fact, should summer performance tires even be exposed to near- or below-freezing temperatures, tread compound cracking or tread block chipping can occur. Once a tire has been damaged in this way, it will need to be replaced. And, as both types of damage only occur as the result of improper use or storage, they will not typically be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

So, to recap — don't drive summer tires in the cold! Save yourself the headache of an accident or damaged tires, and transition to All-Season or dedicated Winter tires in the Fall - before cold weather hits.

TireRack: Can I Drive Summer Performance Tires In Cold Temperatures?

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by Tag

TireRack: Can I Drive Summer Performance Tires In Cold Temperatures?

Sounds like tire companies & retailers want you to buy more tires

[EMZWEI]

Originally Posted by ajchoi

Tire type for their environment is important:
Here in Vegas winter it’s generally 30s-40s at night and 50s-60s during day. In the morning even around 50 degrees when my tires are cold they’re only useful for burning out haha. I grew up in New England.

Story Time:
I once owned a 2011 WRX Hatchback 6MT there and it came with Summer tires and obviously AWD. We had a freak late October snowstorm one year that dumped like a foot of snow/ice/freezing rain on my town. I couldn’t even back my car out of its parking spot without spinning all 4 tires. A Honda Civic automatic on studded snow tires pulled out of the spot next to me and drove off. I had to hitch a ride in a buddies Jeep to go home that day.

Tires matter the most. Also not something I’ll ever cheap out on because it’s the literal contact to put the car to the road lol

I hear you. I have dedicated winter tires for every car I own including this one (once it gets back home). I will only be driving it on dry roads as much as possible. However it’s going to be COLD and I am worried about grip because of that.

[Tag]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

Sounds like tire companies & retailers want you to buy more tires

Knew it wouldn't take long for someone to say that.

[BMWCompact]

Originally Posted by gondolafanclub

its crazy how yall think summer tires turn into glass below 40F lol I drive on summers every single day in NC down to the teens as long as there is no snow or ice and they are fine
Don't mash the accelerator like a gorilla and don't ride someone's ass and you'll be fine, seems like common sense. They don't understeer off every corner at posted speeds lol

Or, if you place any faith whatsoever from TireRack.com, you might tend to trust what I assume to be expert knowledge from their site regarding the Michelin Pilot Super Sports max performance summer tires:

“While Pilot Super Sport tires are designed to allow sports cars, sporty coupes, performance sedans and supercars to achieve their full potential in dry and wet conditions, like all summer tires they are not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice.”

[Bimmer Frank]

Originally Posted by EMZWEI

I hear you. I have dedicated winter tires for every car I own including this one (once it gets back home). I will only be driving it on dry roads as much as possible. However it’s going to be COLD and I am worried about grip because of that.

Sounds like you are fairly decided to make the trip. You may have seen this already, but if not, here is the page from the owner's manual about break in which specifically mentions brakes and tires:

[kyrix1st]

Don't do it. One icy downhill is all it takes to total your brand new M2.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by Tag

Knew it wouldn't take long for someone to say that.

I don't advocate driving all winter in the NE on summer-only tires, but for OP to get home, he'll be fine.

I can't call into work and cancel all my classes because we get below freezing temps for a few weeks out of the year & my tires might lose a little traction. I'm also not going to buy a second set of tires for those 2-3 weeks of the year.

[M_Power Rob]

Something to take into consideration is not just the low temperatures but the low and high temperatures as this will have an affect on how the road temps fluctuate from night and day (obviously a high temperatures of 50 will add heat to the road which will "help" the tires compared to roads that haven't seen temps above freezing for extended periods).

While take this for what you want, being in South Florida, when we have lows in the upper 40s to 50s, my tires do not play well and even driving 50 minutes to work are not fully warmed to where the perform as they should (and that is with highs getting into the upper 70s to 80s.

People should not focus on "hard acceleration" or diving into corners but instead it's about the tires able to provide all functions in a safe manner (for the driver and cars around them) such as braking, maneuvering and basic normal driving. How safe are you being driving on a highway at 40-45mph with a speed limit of 65?

[HealeyRick]

You've spent so much money on the car and snow tires it would just scare the hell out of me making that drive back home on performance tires. (I live in MA and had to import the rear Pilot Alpins from Italy so I could drive on 4-wheel snows) I'd find a way to get those snows shipped to you or alternatively, catch a flight back to Maine, rent a car one-way to DC and load up the tires in the rental. Not cheap, but wouldn't it be worth the cost for peace of mind? Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Tag]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

I don't advocate driving all winter in the NE on summer-only tires, but for OP to get home, he'll be fine.

I can't call into work and cancel all my classes because we get below freezing temps for a few weeks out of the year & my tires might lose a little traction. I'm also not going to buy a second set of tires for those 2-3 weeks of the year.

Not exactly apples to apples. He said he was driving from DC to Maine which is roughly a 12hr drive. There's a cold snap with temps well below normal and DC is expecting to get 7" or more snow between Sun-Mon. DC is not known for plowing streets quickly. Aside from the cold snap, he might run into further precipitation events on the way back home.

No one is stopping him from doing it, just providing common sense advice. If he decides to the risk, that's up to him. FAFO.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by Tag

Not exactly apples to apples. He said he was driving from DC to Maine which is roughly a 12hr drive. There's a cold snap with temps well below normal and DC is expecting to get 7" or more snow between Sun-Mon. DC is not known for plowing streets quickly. Aside from the cold snap, he might run into further precipitation events on the way back home.

No one is stopping him from doing it, just providing common sense advice. If he decides to the risk, that's up to him. FAFO.

I agree not apples to apples above. I once drove a Z28 on summer tires from Chicago to Las Vegas in January & unfortunately there was a blizzard for a good chunk of that drive through IL, MO, KS, etc. The only place it got dicey was through Flagstaff, AZ because they hadn't plowed the roads well & there was a layer of ice underneath. I did spin out exiting to get gas, but was only 20 yrs old & extremely tired. Drove a 300 SRT 8 on summers from Chicago to Dallas in a blizzard as well. Both trips absolutely sucked, but the tires held up fine. Plus neither of those cars has the safety systems/traction & stability control the G87 does.

Living in Maine, OP should be (hopefully) well versed in winter driving.

[IanH]

Guys, some are eating up the hype on summer tires being dangerous in the winter way too much.

When I was young and dumb I actually drove a car with summer tires in the winter for over a month. (V10 s6) it was completely doable until you actually got on snow surface - which is when it became scary AF.

So, if you have to do it, don't go risking it on the snow but otherwise it's gonna be fine. The weather this week after Tuesday will be nice and dry.... salted highway, get gas at the highway stations, no biggie.

[Squidget]

I generally check the tire manufacturer warranty.

For example, the Pirelli Warranty:

The special tread compounds formulated for Ultra High Performance (UHP) summer tires are optimized for maximum dry and wet performance in warm temperatures. The compounds in these tires will have decreased performance, such as lateral and braking traction, at temperatures below 45° F (7°C) or when driving on snow or ice. In addition, they can lose flexibility and may develop random surface cracks at very cold
temperatures; therefore extra care should be used in handling tires.

Note that the second part doesn't define what "very cold" is, but I've heard experts generally put this somewhere in the range of 20F.

So my TLDR would be to exercise caution at about 50F or below, and stop driving altogether at 20F or below. And because of the summer tread patterns, don't drive in heavy snow or ice, no matter the temp.

Note that what matters here is the tire's operating temp, so if you aren't stopping and your tires are staying warm, you can nudge into colder climates more.

[Tag]

For the record, I've driven a car with summer tires in winter numerous times when I was younger as well. I was careful, but still had one too many close calls. The worst was when I went to the gym and came out to see it had started snowing. It was just a dusting of snow on the ground, when I got to an intersection the light turned red and I stopped way in advance, ABS was thumping like crazy and I went right into the middle of the intersection before coming to a stop. Almost got T-Boned by two cars that somehow managed to stop just in time.

Another time I left work and 10m into my drive it started to snow. Big flakes that were accumulating quickly. I knew I was pushing my luck, so I decided to go back to work, park the car and then take the train. Took the first exit off the expressway only to realize it was on a steep incline. I was carefully modulating the throttle terrified that if I lost traction, I would slide backward down a two block long ramp. To this day I have no idea how I made it up that incline, I was just lucky. Best part is once I got to the top a traffic cop was yelling at me to go, but I was hesitant because there was oncoming traffic. I couldn't explain that my traction was limited and the amount of time to get moving the cars would crash into me. The cop kept yelling Go! GO! I just waved my hand like OK, OK until no cars were coming, and was finally able to make the right turn onto the street.

One thing I've learned is not all snow is the same. Some snow actually isn't all that bad to drive in, almost like driving in sand while other types of snow can be slippery AF. Problem is you never know what type of snow you'll get. Black ice is another concern altogether. I was young and naive when I did that and I've learned it's not worth the risk to my car, me or others on the road.

[M2M3M3]

Originally Posted by Tag

Not exactly apples to apples. He said he was driving from DC to Maine which is roughly a 12hr drive. There's a cold snap with temps well below normal and DC is expecting to get 7" or more snow between Sun-Mon. DC is not known for plowing streets quickly. Aside from the cold snap, he might run into further precipitation events on the way back home.

No one is stopping him from doing it, just providing common sense advice. If he decides to the risk, that's up to him. FAFO.

Lol... the big deal here in DC area with snow is not the snow. It is the mere threat of snow that causes a massive dump of deicing chemicals on every road. Enough that it makes it look like it snowed, even when it usually doesn't because the forecasts around here overestimate.

[Tag]

Originally Posted by Carefree

Makes you wonder how decades ago drivers survived winters on skinny bias belted tires without traction control, without stability control, without ABS, without disc brakes, and 20th century suspension designs.

I guess those 40+ Buffalo NY winters make me reflect on that stuff.

Most of the cars of that era were RWD, and they got stuck all the time. I remember my dad having to ditch his car in a blizzard numerous times growing up. Sounds crazy, but it's kind of just how things were. He had a couple of V8 muscle cars but later settled with more of a family car, V8 of course, but all that power was useless with the shitty tires they had back then and the lack of any traction control. I have many memories of numerous abandoned cars stuck in snow for weeks and us shoveling, placing boards under tires and attempting to push stuck cars out. Sometimes we just couldn't get them out and would just throw our hands up and walk away.

[M_Power Rob]

Originally Posted by Tag

Most of the cars of that era were RWD, and they got stuck all the time. I remember my dad having to ditch his car in a blizzard numerous times growing up. Sounds crazy, but it's kind of just how things were. He had a couple of V8 muscle cars but later settled with more of a family car, V8 of course, but all that power was useless with the shitty tires they had back then and the lack of any traction control. I have many memories of numerous abandoned cars stuck in snow for weeks and us shoveling, placing boards under tires and attempting to push stuck cars out. Sometimes we just couldn't get them out and would just throw our hands up and walk away.

Studded tires and chains.

[beren]

Valid concern - IMHO. I also live in Philly and getting stuck in snow with UHP's is scary - previous car and 4 wheel drive (yeah a Saab) and that was scary. Lack of planning (or just being lazy) and I find myself in this position right now with the snow falling.