Balr14

The roads are clear and dry, temperature is 30 degrees. Is it OK to drive my C2S, on Michelin Super Sports, 15 miles?

BIG smoke

They will be like hockey pucks, expect that kind of handling.
I'm a huge snow tire fan. 15 miles, once. Sure.
Every day? Don't use your stan smith tennis shoes. Go get some winter boots.

Balr14

Thanks. I won't be driving fast, just need to run an errand and think it needs to get driven a little. I was mostly concerned about tire damage.

Sporty

I have Michelin Super Sports that are about 6.5 years old with about 15k miles on them. I have been semi-daily driving my C2 over the last few months and will continue to do so unless there is snow forecast / or on the ground. I live in NJ and commute about 30 miles roundtrip and it has been in the low 40's and into the low- id 30's the last few days/weeks. Although the tires still have a decent amount of meat on them, I loath to get rid of them as I am having Bridgestone UHP All Seasons RE980AS installed this Friday. The SS's are sketchy at highway speeds and I even get the backend fishing out hitting second and even third hard in this colder weather, (albeit a little fun) could also get ugly. Will provide my data points on these new tires - feel , etc once mounted. Very reasonable , about $1K all in mounted, for 18s.

Fined

I'm thinking the compound has a lot to do with it. At the same temp the PSS or PS4S I keep on my 911 are much harder (when its cold) than the Bridgestone RE50A summers my Cayman came with. I guess the stickier and better the compound on the summers the more they don't do well with cold. The Cayman tires don't mind 40 degrees, the PSS/PS4S on the 911 complain loudly about under 50 degrees but will do fine when treated carefully. I don't like the Bridgestones but hey, they handle the colder temps better.

ogun228

The logic behind winter tires is that black ice, (the kind that is thin enough that it cannot be seen) forms at about 37 deg F.
You want to take the risk of your Pcar slip sliding away, go ahead. If the issue is economic or availability of storage for
the summer tires, many Indies offer wheel and/or tire storage for a modicum of a fee. If you can't afford both, consider
all seasons as an alternative. They are a tad better than the ice skates you have on.

Balr14

I have been looking for winter and all season tires. Pros and cons to both. But, the biggest issue is I probably won't keep the car much longer, so I don't want to spend the money. The only reason I take the car out is because the streets are clean and dry and I think it needs to be driven a little. It's been sitting for weeks.

shyamvenky

OP.. If you're going to do this once or twice a year, then sure.. toss a coin, take a chance on keeping the rubber side down.
But if you want to do this even on a sporadic basis, consider winter tires or at least all-season tires.
4 small patches of rubber are all that hold the car to the road.. so I wouldn't compromise on that.

I've been even more stupid in my younger days with the 997 on NJ/NY roads and even went on several ski trips running on summer tires.
I would never do it again. I ran all-seasons since then and more recently have gotten a dedicated winter set.

Iceter

The mere fact that you're asking probably means you're a careful person.

Run your errand. You won't damage the tires. You will, however, have seriously compromised traction, so keep that in mind as you drive. It will be like driving in the rain on bald tires.

Been there, done that on the same tires.

ADias

Summer tires should not be used at 40F or below.

raidersfan

I don't drive a p-car much in the winter, but occasionally I have to take it out on dry (but very cold roads) for errands around town. I used to DD a BMW and would put the winter tires on in November. It was often freezing in late August onward when driving to work in the morning, as we get 50 degree temperatures swings here in the fall.

I have never lost traction or slipped in cold and dry conditions. I drive like a grandma when cornering, sure, but it has never been an issue. You are no more at risk of losing control than a guy in an old pickup with 10-year old tires. Your stopping distance may be increased and your trip lessened when cornering, but the car is already at such a high level that, when driving normally, you will be well within limits. I wouldn't sweat it. Your tires will warm up somewhat when driving in cold, wet conditions. I wouldn't recommend taking your favorite canyon road at 9/10ths in 20 degree temps, but normal driving shouldn't be an issue unless you are doing stupid things.

To test it once, I took the C2S out in an empty parking lot and drove her hard on cold tires. I could get the tires to slip, but it required serious power when cornering and driving in ways that I would never drive on a public road.

Driving in a cold rain, or sleet, or on ice? It is a completely different story; the tires can't warm up as moisture keeps them cold, and stopping distance is already greatly reduced.

If you are in doubt, just go over to a grocery store parking lot at midnight when the coast is clear, and find the car's limits.

cosm3os

Michelin (and Tire Rack) recommend you not use them under 40. They have compromised performance, and can crack (if allowed to that cold). My garage doesn't get below 50 in the winter, and driving will put heat into the tires, so I'll take mine out of the garage, go for a spirited drive, and put it back in the garage. I would not park it outside overnight when it's below 40 (i.e. let the tires really "freeze"), and then drive it.

Sporty

OP -sounds like you will be doing very limited driving and under controlled discretionary weather situations, so you may be ok as is while heeding the cautionary advice given here. My rationale, or another way of looking at, is that I want to drive my car almost as aggressively in cold dry weather as I do in the warm months- so this is why I am doing UHP All Seasons - so that i can enjoy my car over the next four/five months rather than let it hibernate (which i have done in the past with a few runs like you mentioned to keep the juices in the car flowing.) It sucks having to drive these cars 'grandma' like (no offense to any Grandmother Rennlisters here ) due to limited traction in the dry. In the wet/snow all bets off, though. Anyway my 2 cents FWIW.

Bruce In Philly

I got caught with my summers on a few days before Thanxgiving... we had a freak snow. I got STUCK! Someone had to shovel me out... backed way down blah blah blah. In short, people worry too much about these summer tires in winter except for two issues: don't drive like an idiot in the cold, and don't even think about going out if snow is even a remote possibility.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Astraelraen

My 911 has Bridgestone RE050 from purchase. I've driven them down to 20 degrees for many days (morning temps) You can definitely feel the lack of traction at those temperatures. I wouldn't call it unsafe traction, but you definitely don't drive super aggressive. I would not try to drive at those temps with moisture. I drove mine as long as the daytime highs were 40 or above. Once the daytime highs dipped below that the 911 got garaged.

I would be interested to see a cold weather comparison for the Michelins and other summer tires since the Michelins get such good reviews. Maybe the Bridgestone or Pirellis are better cold weather summer tires (if that's a thing)