Drive on SNOWS for ONE "warm day"?

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SumpChump

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Time to change the Camry over to the Altimax Artics for winter #2. It went cold here like a light switch. Brrrr. I may have an opportunity next week with a final 47F day to put them on in the driveway, which is what I have, in relative comfort. But the coming day then will be 47F and rainy. After that temps plummet again. She runs 30miles each way at 55mph. Sweeping country curves and straightaways at 55. Sound ok for that warm day run? Just checking.
 
This question is like, I think some pollen went into my engine when I had the oil cap off, should I change it again? laugh You'll be fine, maybe even good, if it helps scuff off the glaze from storing all summer.
 
I just put my new Continentals on yesterday just so I could have couple hundred miles of break-in. The tires won't care one bit. Extended high-speed on an 90F day, they won't be as happy.
 
This is why I use all-seasons vs summer tires. I can wait until they forecast a blizzard or december to change over. Too many 50-65f days and 20f nights in November here. Disclaimer: If I had a toy car or more than one car I'd use summer tires on one. To answer the OP: worrying about 1 day is OCD.. you can either wait until major snow is forecast or deal with winter tires in the warm.. your option.
 
47 degrees is barely a warm day. You could run them on a 100 degree day and be fine.
 
It will help if it is rainy, that keep the tires cooler and keep them soft rubber from sticking too much if you have to lock them up. Just be aware your braking will probably suck. I bought R2 SUVs early last spring due to a great sale and the temps bizarrely shot up to around 70 the next day. Some fool blew off a red and forced me to lock them up with some speed going, felt like I was braking on marbles and it was a pretty scary experience. I was worried that the tread might even have been damaged, but the tires looked fine when I swapped them off the following weekend.
 
There's probably not an instrument made that could measure the wear from driving 1 day at 47 degrees *gasp*! So if you get a mid-winter warm spell do you yank them off to prevent excessive wear? Never mind, this is BITOG..
 
I tried to wear out my old winter tires last year and drove them most of the summer. Finally gave up as they hardly wore at all and I needed a new set for the next winter anyway.
 
Yeah, just be extra careful (esp. with braking as Virtus_Probi said) and you should be fine for a day.
 
I shared your concerns too. So I chose Michelin Latitude Ice-X XI2's. They are the only winter tire with a 40k warranty and are advertised as staying pliable at cold temperatures but firming up in warmer temps.
 
I put on my new winter tires on the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. We had three weeks of warm weather during the day, some days as much 70F, before the cold winter weather hit. I was not concerned at all. Realistically, just how much distance is being driven during those warm days? It's not like the tires are butter and will melt at the slightest sign of heat. I would rather do the tire change honestly when it is nice weather and warm, instead of when it is cold and miserable.
 
I have had altimax for going on 2 winters now, the Sonata goes from Lincoln to Omaha 3 days per week at 75 MPH in the winter on dry pavement, have not noticed much wear at all them in 2 years. In our winters here, though it gets cold,most of the winter driving is on dry pavement or snow and ice free wet pavement, that is heavily salted. One should not make a habit of it but I have driven on snow tires for 200 miles on a few 90 degree plus days with no noticeable wear, though if you did that very often they would wear down faster. Probably only a few days where there is actually snow and ice and those are the days you need them. I swap out every winter and get about 5-6 winters out of snow tires, plus it saves wear and tear on the all seasons as well. Better to put them on and not need them than need them and not have them that is for sure.
 
Won't hurt a thing! I have brand new snow tires for the Subaru that will be going on this weekend if I can get them balanced! I'm usually one that waits until it shows, but these need to break in. Warm days won't kill them. A bad alignment will
 
Originally Posted By: camrydriver111
Originally Posted By: Traction
You could run them on a 100 degree day and be fine.
You could, they will just wear faster.
Yeah, they'll wear faster, not immediately. It's not like they'll be run through the summer.
 
I've been running my Michelin X Ice Xi3s for a month now, some days in temps well above 60. Haven't had any problems. Did that all last winter as well since the temps here can go from 60s in January to -10 in the blink of an eye. They are wearing just fine.
 
Back in the day when tires wore faster than today and money was very tight, my father ran the snow tires all year long so as not to have precious money tied up in two sets of tires. You had to be careful as they would lose their grip if you took off from a stop too quickly on wet roads when it was warm out. But no one died, at least no one that I was aware of.
 
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