This thread has been oin on, on the E Type Forum…relevant to us with 16 inch tires as well:
Vredestien said this…“when temperatures drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit there is a potential loss in performance and increased risk of damage to the tire.”
spoken like a politician…yet in some way…clear enough for me…“increased risk of damage”…means I would not feel comfortable next Spring driving at 80mph…even 50mph…and not knowing if it was damaged, not knowing if it will come apart. How much risk do you like to take unnecessarily, …once warned?
When the internal carcass fails…it may not be just a slow leak, a sudden failure, tread flapping half off…can send you into oncoming traffic, or off the road into a tree, or inverted. So if they finally define increased risk as what…50%, or 25% chance it will destruct…that will be OK? I really don’ t understand the debate, except for better instructions as to procedure for winter storage. No weight, no air, no movement, not even mounted.??
Answer:
.Tire Rack say exactly THIS: Tires exposed to temperatures of 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed in any manner, such as by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels, or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle.
Flexing of the specialized rubber compounds used in Grand Touring Summer tires during cold-weather use can result in irreversible compound cracking. While compound cracking is not a warrantable condition because it occurs as the result of improper use or storage, tires exhibiting compound cracking must be replaced.
IN ANY MANNER…INFLATED< SUPPORT…MOUNTED
.It could not be stated more clearly.
Nick
There must be others reading this in the UK and probably elsewhere who are thinking the same as I’m thinking. We get -7 deg and colder but we drive our cars without any special allowing the tyre to warm up precaution and we don’t expect anything bad to happen - and it doesn’t. I don’t use Vredestein tyres personally but I know people who do. Is it just that brand or is this supposed to apply to all tyres?
I must be missing the point here because it doesn’t seem to accord with what happens in real life.
I recently had to buy a set of tyres for a pickup truck . Only “summer” tyres where available , in lots of different brands . I had seen this on the E Type forum and of course it bothered me a little . All the tyre fitters I spoke to told me I was over worrying and everybody uses summer tyres in winter . When did all this happen ? Until recently as far as I am aware tyres where "All Season " . Jim
It is fairly recent for the true Summer tire…made for extreme adhesion in dry and warm , it is the inner construction that is the issue with damage…the tread may or may not be optimal as colder makes it harder,it could chunk off in a track application, …but the tread is not a failure issue in normal driving… Failure of the carcass strands is the issue. In cold, instead of flexing, they are brittle and break down: (the way to remove gum from something is to freeze it.,.,.it chips off) You cannot see this, it is not necessarily related to exterior sidewall cracks…but could also be there as well. A inner carcass failure can be loss of air…or catastrophic. Normally there are wayyyy more all season tires available , than the summer only,. The Vreds became XK popular mainly because they were available in 16 inch suitable for an XK, a nice tread look, and this cold issue was not much known. There are only a few other choices,in what approximates the 6.00-16, some pricey, some less…Blockly, Pirelli Cinturato, Michelin XWX.
Nick
Tend to agree with you on this. Since owning my car I have used Dunlop, Pirelli, Coker and currently Bridgestone Ecopias, at one time I even had a set of Atlas (a brand sold through Esso service stations) truck tyres as they were readily available in 6.00x16 size! Living in southern Ontario we obviously experience some pretty cool winter weather (indeed tonight’s forecast is for a low of -1C) with temperatures of -20C in January not uncommon and that is mild compared to some parts of “The Great White North”. Granted my garage is well insulated, including the door, and rarely gets below freezing (the jug of distilled water on the work bench has yet to freeze, even in January/February), however, I have never been concerned about warming the tyres. I also have never used Vredestein tyres and perhaps, as speculated, it is simply a matter of them covering all bases as the U.S. is renowned for being a tad litigious on occasion.
There has been Forum discussions in the past on tyre longevity (like throw them away when they are 10 years old) and I seem to recall someone queried that issue with the appropriate U.S. government regulatory agency and found that this was unfounded. Personal choices I suppose, but if the sun is shining and the wind drops I shall don my Irvine flying jacket and exercise the cat later this week, even though the ambient temperature may only be 10C. I may sit at the end of the driveway running the car at a 1,000 rpm for a few minutes, but that will be to warm up the oil not the tyres.
The cold temp cautions are for tires designated by the manufacturer as “SUMMER” tires. OF COURSE zillions of tires have been used in cold weather…this caution is not about those. It is about “summer” tires. Most such are on hi performance modern super cars…but…it happens that the popular for XKs Vred Summer Classic…is a SUMMER tire to which the cautions apply. Pay attention folks.,.it is not just an idle statement due to possible litigation about everything. And anecdotal stories of…,OH, know this friend who has a a cousin with a tractor and he ran his summer tires…or that you did…does not change the fact that the caution from both tire manufacturer and car makers has been clearly stated. If you don’t want to believe it, if you want to make up all kinds of reasons to ignore the cautions, then, risk…your life, your car…until you cross the centerline due to tire failure and kill someone else. Your own personal stories of how you ran your summer tires in the arctic…do not matter.
Jeeeeeerz ! Read the warnings, take heed or not, but I advise against suggesting to others that they disregard. A flying jacket will not save your life.
and…
I feel I need to tell this tale.,.I had a left front tire CARCASS fail completely, instantly while driving the Jaguar at 45 mph on a narrow two lane road in rolling hills and pines, violent shaking and a sudden swerve into road center…I was able to stop. 3/4 of the tread had come off…the rest still attached…and had flapped around and round destroying the front fender. I was lucky. No head on crash, no off the road into a deep culvert or trees. $4,000 of repair. This failure was on a premier brand sports car tire, lots of tread, but was DOT date code old. The failure was due to age, and \ dried out internal tread to carcass glues. So while in this case, not a summer tire issue, I am a bit passionate about the risk of tire failure. When a manufacturer or car maker tells me there is a risk…I heed the cautions., Same with DOT dates. I just replaced nice looking, low mileage tires on two cars due to DOT manufacture date…so if ya wanna thin it is all just baloney.,.I have a set of tires for you,.
Nick