Summer tires in Winter?

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measureman

measureman

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I bought a used car that needed tires.So the dealer had a new set put on.Great.Then I found out they are summer tires not all season.I live in Colorado.It can get down to minus 15 degrees and lots of snow.They are Kumho KH17 tires.
Has anybody driven on summer tires in the cold and snow?
My car is front wheel drive. Am I in trouble here?
thanks.
 
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You will be in trouble, yes. Summer tires get skittish and slip on cold pavement. When it hits about 45 degrees here in Chicago my summer tires will randomly cause the ESP system to engage, skip and hop under normal driving, etc.

Plus, they wear super-fast on cold pavement.

In the snow, they will be an absolute nightmare -- they have no way to bite through the snow or evacuate snow stuck in the treads.
 
I did this a few years ago in my SC300, HOLY COW! BIG MISTAKE! Won't be doing that again. You might as well not have tires.
 
I've lived in new england my whole life, never got stuck, and went on vacation to las vegas. Got stuck behind corvettes and low riders rolling on summer tires. They couldn't move. In two inches of slushy snow on a mountain pass going into the city.

Get snows, you're driving on rubber anyway, might as well wear out something appropriate for your environment.
 
You'll be in more trouble than a pedestrian wearing smooth leather-soled loafers in a blizzard...

Unable to go, turn, or stop...but other than that...uh, yeah, sure, they'll be fine...

Don't be foolish. Good snow tires are worth every penny when the weather turns cold and snowy...I used to live in CO...trust me...some of the most dangerous conditions exist as you transition from the front range to the mountains, temperature changes yield fog, ice, slick roads...and all of them will be littered with wrecked cars whose drivers thought "I've got an SUV, I'm OK..." or "I've got all season tires, I'm OK"

And you want summer tires there?
 
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When winter comes, summer tires will destroy you.

Most all season tires are good enough, really cheap all season tires wear faster in summer but are often really nice and sticky still in winter.

If you want the best though, get winter tires.

Its probably like on a chart from 0 to suicide, summer tires in winter is about a 9, all season tires about a 6, winter tires a 4, and studded tires a 0.
 
Dangerous. If you hit me, I'd own you. If you hit something, doubt insurance would pay.
 
Summer tires in the winter are great, you can park it near a large asphalt parking lot just before a good snow, and then go there in the middle of the nite when no cars are in the lot and have a lot of fun doing doughnuts, and sliding all over the place. Be sure to bring plenty of salt, because it might get stuck.

But besides that they are totally useless.
 
One year I was commuting to work so I had th local tire place throw snow tires on my Subaru. 35k a year or more. When I came to get it, turns out they were studed.

I am not an aggressive driver in the snow. Even with snow rise and awd I don't like to take chances. I think at the time the car only had liability insurance so if I ate it, car was done for.

One day onmy commute to work I hit a spot where I knew I was going off the road. Went from no snow on the surface to pure ice with 2" of fluff on top. The road had a nice bend in it, and I was going way too fast to stop. The we're several other cars off the road right there including a police cruiser. So as I came by with the seat leather clenched in my [censored] cheeks, I drive right through with no problem.

All of the people watching waiting for me to go off just looked super [censored]. These are the reason snow tires are worth it. Even if you drive cautious, there will be a time when the road changes in a blink of an eye and you will be bonned. You don't have to get super expensive snow tires either. Find a set oh the smallest diameter steel wheel that will fit your car and just keep the snow tires on them.
 
I only knew one guy that bought a car with Summer tires (Not counting people who also bought a set of Blizzacs for the winter) and it was no time at all till he had em' removed and replaced with all seasons. It was on an Audi Quattro. If that was bad on snow with em, it doesn't bode well for a FWD car.
 
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I put my car in a ditch last year because I had the summers on and it was like 30F out. No snow or ice; it was just too cold for them to grab for the way I was driving. The front end washed out. It almost got stopped when the front end left the road way but once it hit the gravel off of the road, it was over. ABS went ballistic and it just sort of slid down the hill. Pushed the bumper up when it hit bottom and cracked the header panel. Oh well. Went home and put the WS60s on it. At least with those its too marshmellowy make me think I can even do that.
 
Originally Posted By: tinmanSC
I did this a few years ago in my SC300, HOLY COW! BIG MISTAKE! Won't be doing that again. You might as well not have tires.


Agreed. I had summer tires on the 1999.5 Lightning, and did a bit of winter driving on the summer tires. They weren't that bad on the ice, surprisingly. On the snow, well, forget it.
 
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Throw on some winterforce on steelies, and you'll be fine...


I agree. I have used winterforce tires on my BMW for the past 3 years even though I use Michelin A/S tires. This will keep your summer tires perfect for "summer" use. Good luck
 
Originally Posted By: measureman
I bought a used car that needed tires.So the dealer had a new set put on.Great.Then I found out they are summer tires not all season.I live in Colorado.It can get down to minus 15 degrees and lots of snow.They are Kumho KH17 tires.
Has anybody driven on summer tires in the cold and snow?
My car is front wheel drive. Am I in trouble here?
thanks.


What make/model/year car did you buy?
Did you not talk to the dealer about what kind of tires you wanted?

You will likely want to get those tires swapped out... good luck.
 
It depends on what kind of summer tires you have. I'm not familer with that brand but something like a PS2 is down right scary in the cold, let alone snow.

Dunlop SP9000's are also scary in light snow. I drove an S class stupidly fitted with them one time in a dusting and the traction control light stayed on the entire time. It was a white knuckle experience to say the least.

Soft summer rubber gets rock hard in the cold, and those tread patterns don't shed snow.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Dangerous. If you hit me, I'd own you. If you hit something, doubt insurance would pay.


Insurance pays for all sorts of stupidity and defends their driver and potential payout.

Irregardless I have done it naive in college(1990). The car will really slide on slippery stuff and it has terrible traction when the temperatures drop to around 20F or less. I did not notice a large difference 25F-45F folks mention. I typically would wait till roads would clear (happens fast). Driving was plan treacherous.

Of course knowing everything at 19 I got two used winter tires not listening to tire place for the front and keep summers rear. I did at least 4 spins with the car that winter.
 
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