Winters vs Summer tires

GQ4Life · 01-09-2014, 10:25 AM

With everyone talking about summer tires suck in cold which is true but winter tires suck in all temps. Now I am not talking going in the snow just cold temps.
The warnings on summer tires is to cover their ass from cracking in cold temps.
So here is the test I did. Both done right outside my house in 21° temp. No snow or water on the ground just the normal salt dust. Right outside my house neither tires or brakes had chance to warm up on both cars.

2014 Corvette Stingray on stock summer tires..

2011 Camaro on winter tires

Next test I'm going to warm up tires and brakes on both cars see what difference is

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REVVIC · 01-10-2014, 01:39 AM

Fascinating comparison! I would have never guessed the summer tires doing that well. Anxious to see the number with warmed up tires.

Track · 01-10-2014, 06:15 AM

It comes down to a personal choice and your own driving conditions. I work part time at a Goodyear Tire store that has the same owner for 40 years. We checked with our Michelin contacts and there is no question that the summer tires on the C7 are basically as close to race tire compounds that street tires can have. In short they are fantastic tire for performance (in warm weather). The problem is driving performance cold tires in cold weather, can be in some cases, like trying to drive on Formica. If you are very careful I am sure they will be fine. My problem is I am in a mountain area with a lot of curves and steep inclines in a cold weather geography.
I bought another set of Z51 rims and the Michelin all-season tires. I am not driving in snow but I feel more comfortable driving in my personal winter conditions.

GQ4Life · 01-10-2014, 09:52 AM

In 20° they not too bad. Treadwear is 300 so not as bad as some.
They warm up relatively quick. But always be careful as temps drop like down to zero they get harder.
These test done in 20° so not super freezing. Michelin in this car not R compound tires or Treadwear would be under 200 and not last. These preformed better in the cold then the P Zero that I have also driven thru the winter..
Now if any chance of snow DO NOT drive on the stock tires..
I tried warmed up but in middle of test lost satellite connection lmao doh.. will try again when 20° again and no snow..

gthal · 01-10-2014, 05:35 PM

Interesting.

It's a hard comparison to make conclusions on, however, because the C7 would stop faster anyway regardless of tires. I think there are be too many variables which impact the results (i.e. different cars

). If you had the summer and winter tires on the same car it might give more useful... interesting regardless.

GQ4Life · 01-10-2014, 06:02 PM

Wasn't meant to show the exact difference but to show the stock summer aren't that bad compared to a normal car with winters.
SUV distance would be way longer. Comparing to things people would drive in the cold over corvette..
I did the test because some people were saying u can't drive under 32 u will slide to ur death lol.

gthal · 01-10-2014, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GQ4Life

Wasn't meant to show the exact difference but to show the stock summer aren't that bad compared to a normal car with winters.
SUV distance would be way longer. Comparing to things people would drive in the cold over corvette..
I did the test because some people were saying u can't drive under 32 u will slide to ur death lol.

GQ4Life · 01-29-2014, 08:44 PM

Just decided to jump on highway where all the salt blows away so take that varible a little bit out. Just went one exit

2014 Stingray stock tires. Outside temp 14°

Normal car in warm weather stopping distance. In this temp even normal cars stopping distance be alot more then advertised

Tires still cold only went 5mins 1 exit

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GQ4Life · 01-30-2014, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkaresh

Interesting info, thanks for posting it.

The larger issue, aside from grip if there was snow on the road, could be how they break away in hard cornering. Probably less progressive when cold if they're like most summer tires. If the road is dry then they should be fine for braking.

Yeah just doing for zero snow. While drivable in light snow it is not safe nor do I recommend to do if u can park and wait or take another car with all season or winters.
I drove camaro in snow storm. What a bit@h.. Always with slush still on the ground. You have to go so slow and getting up hills such a pain. Not recommended

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EvolutioN · 01-30-2014, 04:47 PM

What winter tires did you get for your Camaro? I have Blizzak WS60.. On my Subaru for winter .. And the Shelby will not get moved on Mickey Thompson Street Comps until at least 40 degrees .. No Stingray yet .. but sometime soon in the future.. trying to figure out a way to keep the Shelby GT500 and get a Stingray as well .. Ultimate!! And Subaru Legacy for winter.. :-)

purpleRac3r · 01-30-2014, 04:51 PM

For me, the issue with summer tires driven cold wasn't necessarily the overall grip, but the point at which grip was lost. That was a difficult point to determine. With the tires warm I can feel the level of grip change, but with the same tires driven in cold days all I could feel was decent grip then suddenly no grip. Once lost, so was control. While driving cautiously and trusting my own judgement I felt reasonably safe, but throw in all the idiots we share the roads with, I just didn't want the unpredictabilty at the limit. All seasons went on and I've had no trouble in several inches of snow and as low as 16 below zero. Come spring I'll get a second set of wheels and reinstall the factory summer tires.

GQ4Life · 01-30-2014, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by purpleRac3r

For me, the issue with summer tires driven cold wasn't necessarily the overall grip, but the point at which grip was lost. That was a difficult point to determine. With the tires warm I can feel the level of grip change, but with the same tires driven in cold days all I could feel was decent grip then suddenly no grip. Once lost, so was control. While driving cautiously and trusting my own judgement I felt reasonably safe, but throw in all the idiots we share the roads with, I just didn't want the unpredictabilty at the limit. All seasons went on and I've had no trouble in several inches of snow and as low as 16 below zero. Come spring I'll get a second set of wheels and reinstall the factory summer tires.

16 below zero damn! !

I had track tires like that before. Really made no noise. U could feel where it start to slip then bam it really loses grip..
Coldest been here the summers still pull .8Gs before cutting lose. I cut them lose on purpose sometimes for fun it oversteers in the cold. These summer arent bad. Very controllable
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GQ4Life · 01-30-2014, 06:39 PM

I use Bridgestone Blizzak work great in snow..

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purpleRac3r · 01-30-2014, 08:32 PM

Lol. Ya, it's been quite cold here in St.Louis -several times to zero and below. Mostly zero to 15 above this winter. Coldest winter here in the past 20 years! When I felt the tires literally sliding down my curb into the street I knew the summer tires weren't gonna do it for me. And I do have to drive in snow too. Managed 8" without getting stuck using the Michelin AS3s! The Blizzaks were a bit out of my budget at the time.

Thanks for your testing and reporting! Its always good to pass around decent info.

01-09-2014, 10:25 AM	#1
GQ4Life Drives: 2010 Camaro SS LS3 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Fishkill, NY Posts: 5,211 View My Garage	Winters vs Summer tires With everyone talking about summer tires suck in cold which is true but winter tires suck in all temps. Now I am not talking going in the snow just cold temps. The warnings on summer tires is to cover their ass from cracking in cold temps. So here is the test I did. Both done right outside my house in 21° temp. No snow or water on the ground just the normal salt dust. Right outside my house neither tires or brakes had chance to warm up on both cars. 2014 Corvette Stingray on stock summer tires.. 2011 Camaro on winter tires Next test I'm going to warm up tires and brakes on both cars see what difference is Sent From The Q on the Galaxy S4 Sent From The Q on the Galaxy S4 __________________ 2015 Corvette Z06.. Lime Rock Park 1:01; Watkins Glen 2:14; Thompson Speedway 1:21

01-10-2014, 09:52 AM	#4
GQ4Life Drives: 2010 Camaro SS LS3 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Fishkill, NY Posts: 5,211 View My Garage	In 20° they not too bad. Treadwear is 300 so not as bad as some. They warm up relatively quick. But always be careful as temps drop like down to zero they get harder. These test done in 20° so not super freezing. Michelin in this car not R compound tires or Treadwear would be under 200 and not last. These preformed better in the cold then the P Zero that I have also driven thru the winter.. Now if any chance of snow DO NOT drive on the stock tires.. I tried warmed up but in middle of test lost satellite connection lmao doh.. will try again when 20° again and no snow.. __________________ 2015 Corvette Z06.. Lime Rock Park 1:01; Watkins Glen 2:14; Thompson Speedway 1:21

01-10-2014, 05:35 PM	#5
gthal Drives: 2014 Z51 coupe Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: NS, Canada Posts: 96	Interesting. It's a hard comparison to make conclusions on, however, because the C7 would stop faster anyway regardless of tires. I think there are be too many variables which impact the results (i.e. different cars ). If you had the summer and winter tires on the same car it might give more useful... interesting regardless. __________________ Current: 2014 Z51 \| Torch red \| Black interior Previous: 2012 C63 AMG coupe \| Obsidian black \| Red/black interior \| Performance Package Previous: 1996 BMW M3 \| Estoril blue \| Track car \| Heavily modded for the track but still street legal... barely Previous: 2011 M3 coupe \| Jerez black \| Fox Red interior \| Competition Package \| M-DCT

01-10-2014, 06:02 PM	#6
GQ4Life Drives: 2010 Camaro SS LS3 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Fishkill, NY Posts: 5,211 View My Garage	Wasn't meant to show the exact difference but to show the stock summer aren't that bad compared to a normal car with winters. SUV distance would be way longer. Comparing to things people would drive in the cold over corvette.. I did the test because some people were saying u can't drive under 32 u will slide to ur death lol. __________________ 2015 Corvette Z06.. Lime Rock Park 1:01; Watkins Glen 2:14; Thompson Speedway 1:21

01-29-2014, 08:44 PM	#8
GQ4Life Drives: 2010 Camaro SS LS3 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Fishkill, NY Posts: 5,211 View My Garage	Just decided to jump on highway where all the salt blows away so take that varible a little bit out. Just went one exit 2014 Stingray stock tires. Outside temp 14° Normal car in warm weather stopping distance. In this temp even normal cars stopping distance be alot more then advertised Tires still cold only went 5mins 1 exit Sent From The Q on the Galaxy S4 __________________ 2015 Corvette Z06.. Lime Rock Park 1:01; Watkins Glen 2:14; Thompson Speedway 1:21

01-10-2014, 01:39 AM	#2
REVVIC Drives: 2014 Z51 Velocity Yellow Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Tacoma WA Posts: 170	Fascinating comparison! I would have never guessed the summer tires doing that well. Anxious to see the number with warmed up tires.

01-10-2014, 06:15 AM	#3
Track Drives: Z51 Corvette Convertible Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Luray, va Posts: 34	It comes down to a personal choice and your own driving conditions. I work part time at a Goodyear Tire store that has the same owner for 40 years. We checked with our Michelin contacts and there is no question that the summer tires on the C7 are basically as close to race tire compounds that street tires can have. In short they are fantastic tire for performance (in warm weather). The problem is driving performance cold tires in cold weather, can be in some cases, like trying to drive on Formica. If you are very careful I am sure they will be fine. My problem is I am in a mountain area with a lot of curves and steep inclines in a cold weather geography. I bought another set of Z51 rims and the Michelin all-season tires. I am not driving in snow but I feel more comfortable driving in my personal winter conditions.

01-30-2014, 04:47 PM	#10
EvolutioN Drives: 2010 Shelby GT500 - Subaru LegacyGT Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bergen County, NJ Posts: 69	What winter tires did you get for your Camaro? I have Blizzak WS60.. On my Subaru for winter .. And the Shelby will not get moved on Mickey Thompson Street Comps until at least 40 degrees .. No Stingray yet .. but sometime soon in the future.. trying to figure out a way to keep the Shelby GT500 and get a Stingray as well .. Ultimate!! And Subaru Legacy for winter.. :-)

01-30-2014, 04:51 PM	#11
purpleRac3r Drives: 1974 & 2014 Corvette Stingrays Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Troy, Mo Posts: 623	For me, the issue with summer tires driven cold wasn't necessarily the overall grip, but the point at which grip was lost. That was a difficult point to determine. With the tires warm I can feel the level of grip change, but with the same tires driven in cold days all I could feel was decent grip then suddenly no grip. Once lost, so was control. While driving cautiously and trusting my own judgement I felt reasonably safe, but throw in all the idiots we share the roads with, I just didn't want the unpredictabilty at the limit. All seasons went on and I've had no trouble in several inches of snow and as low as 16 below zero. Come spring I'll get a second set of wheels and reinstall the factory summer tires. __________________ '74 Stingray coupe, heavily modified, as seen in August 2011 VETTE magazine, 2014 Stingray Z51 #196, ordered 02/11/13, built 08/29/13, Museum Delivery 10/04/13, driven daily!

01-30-2014, 06:39 PM	#13
GQ4Life Drives: 2010 Camaro SS LS3 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Fishkill, NY Posts: 5,211 View My Garage	I use Bridgestone Blizzak work great in snow.. Sent From The Q on the Galaxy S4 __________________ 2015 Corvette Z06.. Lime Rock Park 1:01; Watkins Glen 2:14; Thompson Speedway 1:21

01-30-2014, 08:32 PM	#14
purpleRac3r Drives: 1974 & 2014 Corvette Stingrays Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Troy, Mo Posts: 623	Lol. Ya, it's been quite cold here in St.Louis -several times to zero and below. Mostly zero to 15 above this winter. Coldest winter here in the past 20 years! When I felt the tires literally sliding down my curb into the street I knew the summer tires weren't gonna do it for me. And I do have to drive in snow too. Managed 8" without getting stuck using the Michelin AS3s! The Blizzaks were a bit out of my budget at the time. Thanks for your testing and reporting! Its always good to pass around decent info. __________________ '74 Stingray coupe, heavily modified, as seen in August 2011 VETTE magazine, 2014 Stingray Z51 #196, ordered 02/11/13, built 08/29/13, Museum Delivery 10/04/13, driven daily!