How bad is P Zero summer tire in winter temperature?

[littlehuman]

Hi,

Not sure if this question belongs to this forum or not, but..I've got a question.

I'm planning to visit a national park soon. The only problem is that the temperature is going to be 32F ~ 41F.

I have P Zero performance summer tire and its description says that I should not be driving below 45F.

Since this is a national park, I would not be exceeding 50 MPH.

Am I going to be in trouble?

I really don't want to change the tires just for a single trip if possible.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[3002 tii]

You’ll be fine so long as you don’t hit any ice or snowy conditions. I would be extra careful when you first get on the road and the tires are cold.

[GenXer]

Summer tires are aweful in cold temperatures. The only good thing it will do well is dry braking. You should be OK as long as the temperature is not in the single digit. If that happens, the threads could potentially crack.

[Salty Dog]

In temperatures below 7 Celsius - 44.6 F summer tires don't get soft enough to give optimum performance, so breaking and handling will be reduced. Don't accelerate hard, you'll get wheel spin much more easily than on warm pavement, your breaking distance will also be reduced as will lateral grip.

Go slow, easy on the gas and leave extra breaking room. Your tires will not be damaged by this, just won't do their job optimally. I've driven on summer tires in below freezing. They aren't great but if you adjust your driving you'll be fine for a one time trip.

The same goes for winter tires btw, the rubber compound is softer so don't perform well about 7 degrees.

Where I live in the spring and fall the temp swings can be quite dramatic so I often find myself on what are technically the wrong tire for the condition often on a daily basis. Most times I don't even notice it.

I have P Zero's on my 993. I'll often drive it into November as long as there has been no snow or salt. The temp will often be at the freezing mark and I've never had a real issue.

As was mentioned early snow and ice change things.

Relax and enjoy your trip.

[Salty Dog]

At about the 9 min mark it shows breaking response on dry cold roads. Summer tires perform as well as winter to just about the freezing mark. Hope this helps.

[hufington]

As others mentioned earlier, you'll be fine as long as you are not ice or packed snow.

You need to drive softer (no hard acceleration or braking or swift lane changes), leave more distance between the cars in front, drive slower than usual when approaching any bends and turns. And also remember that the tires will be worse when you first start driving because of the very cold temperature. Keep all the safety features on (traction control etc.) and you should be fine.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by littlehuman

Hi,

Not sure if this question belongs to this forum or not, but..I've got a question.

I'm planning to visit a national park soon. The only problem is that the temperature is going to be 32F ~ 41F.

I have P Zero performance summer tire and its description says that I should not be driving below 45F.

Since this is a national park, I would not be exceeding 50 MPH.

Am I going to be in trouble?

I really don't want to change the tires just for a single trip if possible.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

In addition to the performance-related concerns that are well covered by other posters, there's a risk of compound cracking when you run a summer tire in the cold. From TireRack's page on the P Zero:

"Pirelli's warranty does not cover tires that develop compound cracking due to use in ambient temperatures below 45° Fahrenheit (7° Celsius), so the P Zero, like all summer tires, is not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice."

Compound cracking is permanent structural damage to the tire, and would render them useless and unsafe. You're definitely "pushing it" in terms of the conditions you're proposing to run those tires in. Just know what you're risking.

[littlehuman]

Than you everyone for the replies! It sounds like I should be okay as long as the temp. does not go down further and I drive carefully

[mgbabe]

We leased our 2017 40e with summer P Zeroes starting in March 2018. It had been a BMW Canada corporate demo. By July we replaced all four tires All of them showed weather cracking. We assume whoever had this vehicle before us did not switch to winter tires and ran these summers through at least one Canadian winter.

Through the winter we now store these new summer tires inside in our basement.

[The Libertine]

Originally Posted by hufington

As others mentioned earlier, you'll be fine as long as you are not ice or packed snow.

You need to drive softer (no hard acceleration or braking or swift lane changes), leave more distance between the cars in front, drive slower than usual when approaching any bends and turns. And also remember that the tires will be worse when you first start driving because of the very cold temperature. Keep all the safety features on (traction control etc.) and you should be fine.

Agree.