Winter Tire Question

[Numbercruncher]

Just picked up a new 2016 CX-5 Touring AWD. I live in Spokane, WA and we normally get lots of below freezing temperatures and often quite a bit of snow.

I am just going to pick up new 17" rims and winter tires and bite the bullet on cost. The tires won't really cost anything in the long run as I'll just get more mileage out of the originals. My question is do most of the winter tires, like Blizzak, have a maximum air temperature they should be run at? I know I don't want to run them on a 85 degree summer day but for the odd days in December through February where it might hit 50 degrees am I going to do anything more than additional wear?

Thanks.

NC

 

[leeharvey418]

I can't speak directly to the Blizzak question, as they have a cellular tread compound on the outside with something closer to an all season compound underneath. I can, however, tell you that most of the newer winter tires on the market are using something closer to the compound that the end stages of the Blizzak line are using, albeit with specialized tread designs and sipe patterns.

Though the prevailing conventional wisdom is that winter tires will wear quickly in warm conditions, this isn't necessarily true. What's more likely is that they won't afford the grip of an all-season, whether due to their tread compound being idealized for winter conditions, or due to their tread designs being intended more for gripping snow than for hanging onto pavement. I put Latitude X-Ice Xi2s on my CX-9 a few weeks ago, and I am now able to break traction on acceleration - something I've never been able to do with the stock Bridgestones. I experienced a similar decrease in traction last year with winter tires on the 3. Neither tire seems to be wearing particularly quickly - after ~1,000 miles on the CX-9 in mostly warm weather, the fine mold marks are still visible across most of the tread, and the 3's tire wore less than 2/32" through maybe 4,000 miles last winter.

Anyway, to answer your question - No, there's no hard and fast temperature at which winter tires will drastically lose performance. Just know that you're not going to have the grip limits on clear (or wet) pavement that you'd expect with an all-season.

 

[gimor]

YMMV as I only have my personal experience to input.
My most recent on snow tires is 4 Altimax Artics run on the 03 Sebring for 14 months.
Tires were great in Missouri winter snow/ice and good in summer with upper 90's and several trips to Knoxville.
The snows in summer did have a softer ride and handling, mileage was lower by 2 mpg from the old 3 season tires.
After roughly 16000mi. (3/32" even wear) we traded the 03 for the 15 CX-5 last November.

> My question is do most of the winter tires, like Blizzak, have a maximum air temperature they should be run at?<

 

[halfast3]

... > My question is do most of the winter tires, like Blizzak, have a maximum air temperature they should be run at?<

At ambient temperatures of 45F/7C and below, dedicated winter tires have a traction advantage over all seasons even on bare pavement. If you need to drive in significantly warmer temps, slow down to keep from overheating your tires and degrading their winter performance.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/safetyBelow45.do

Great graphic => http://www.snowtire.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=271

 

[MikeM.]

My question is do most of the winter tires, like Blizzak, have a maximum air temperature they should be run at? I know I don't want to run them on a 85 degree summer day but for the odd days in December through February where it might hit 50 degrees am I going to do anything more than additional wear?

Thanks.

NC

If you over-heat winter tires the rubber compound will change rendering them less useful in snow/ice. And they can wear faster. That said, it's not so much the air temperature that determines if/when this happens. It's the tire temperature. Tires warm up as you drive relative to speed, air pressure, vehicle load/weight AND air/road temperature. So there is no simple way to know when it's too warm. But 50 degrees is very reasonable temperature for winter tires if the other factors are not working against you. Just put extra air in the tires and watch your cruising speed if it's not very cold out.

 

[leeharvey418]

At ambient temperatures of 45F/7C and below, dedicated winter tires have a traction advantage over all seasons even on bare pavement.

No, they don't.

Granted, that test is a little outdated, but all season compounds have advanced right along with winter compounds in the last six years.

 

[kdaug]

I ran Michelin X-ice on my previous vehicles but when I got my CX-5 I decided on the 225/65/17 Blizzak's on 17" alloy rims. I got the rims from my Mazda dealer when they gave me a really good deal on some left over CX-7 rims after that model was discontinued.