pdxjim

Beautiful pics!!

Macster

Agree. My 02 Boxster spent its early years in the mid-west at least at night in a garage most of the time but more than once it sat out overnight in pretty cold temps. Also, I drove it in the winter and it sat for 8 or more hours outside parked at work in well as cold as it could be there, though I drove it only on days (most of the time) when the streets were clear.

And I drove it to the northern wilds of Wisconsin and Michigan in the winter (ran into a bit of snow flurries where I spent the night in some time just north of the Straits of Mackinac). Me and the car got caught in the snow in Williams AZ one winter and it spent two days/nights outside in the snow/ice until the roads cleared enough to get out there. And more recently I drove it in Flagstaff -- have a pic of the Boxster in hotel parking lot with snow piled up higher than the car is tall -- and I never noticed any lasting effects from the exposure to cold.

Now that my Boxster spends its time here in "sunny" northern CA its tire life -- same brand (Michelin) of tires -- is the same as that I obtained when I drove the car year 'round in the mid-west.

My Turbo has been in pretty cold temps too though not for extended periods of time. A trip or two back it spent a night parked out a hotel in 19F temp.

I do know that in colder weather the tires are not at all very grippy and I acknowledged this fact by watching my car's speed, distance between my vehicle and the ones in front of mine, cornering speeds and so on even more closely than usual.

In fact, my experience is kind of the opposite in that I notice the front tires which last twice as long as the rears and thus stay in service for sometimes 30K miles or more tend to get hard and slick as they age. This I understand is not from any exposure to cold -- it doesn't get that cold here where I live -- but instead this arises from the many heat cycles the tires goe through which tends to harden the rubber over time.

Sincerely,

Macster.

sjfehr

I noticed no deterioration in performance of my Dunlop Star Specs due to storage and use below freezing. Actually, I found they gripped quite well at moderately subfreezing temperatures, probably as good (or better) than most all-seasons, though they were dangerous as hell on snow/slush.

Winters are mild where I live, but this is my all-year DD and I drove a few days when it was in the teens; I keep my car garaged, though, so the tires are starting out above freezing when I leave, and temps are generally above freezing when I leave work to drive home. Once driving, friction and flex keeps them warm.