Pizz

I have my Z06 stored for the winter, but we are having some temperatures in the low 50's (instead of low 20's) and the snow and ice is gone from the roads, so I am thinking of taking the car out. I have thought about winters and don't want to do this (yet), as I'm happy to store the car through it's first snowy season (lots of snow/ice/gravel on the roads in the winter where I live)
Michelin says not to run the sport cup 2's below freezing (obvious control issues), but I'm interested to know if anyone has damaged their tires running them at colder temps.
Anyone had colder weather damage and at what air temperature?

robert miller

I wouldn't want to be racing it in the 40,s at all nor the 50,s But just normal ever day town driving you will be good. These things are crap in cold weather. Robert

Maxpowers

I would look at this in two ways:

- running at below freezing temps will give you a fraction of the control you should have. There are obvious risks to this

- having the tires sit / operate in below freezing for repetitive extended periods of time can result in the rubber cracking

Bob 66 coupe

Help. My 18 Grand Sport has Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. Manual states do not operate in freezing or near freezing temperatures. I understand performance my be poor in cold weather. Question: will the tires suffer structural damage if operated in freezing weather? Has anyone run their Michelin tires in freezing temperatures? ??? Michelin does not make an All Season tire for the new Vette. I want to drive my car in the winter here in SC. Once operating/ driving they should warm up quickly. After all, GM did install a heater in the car!

VictorBarron

If the car is garaged and the temp is 40+ you should be ok. Don't want to have it out and sit so as the tires get cold, could be a real problem.
40 to 50 degrees kind of like ice skating.

Pizz

I heat my garage to mid-50's and I store the car on tire saver ramps, so that should be good:

Pizz

I took it for a drive today. Makes me grin every time I drive it.

Thanks for the feedback.

MitchAlsup

As air temperatures go down, engine HP and TQ goes up while tire traction goes down. This means your right foot has to be very delicate in winter driving and your head has to be in the game completely.

desmophile

very good advice, but does it ever get that cold in Austin
Envious in SLC

Pizz

Thanks. I first experienced this with my Ninja ZX 14. Colder days (60 to 65) were a lot more fun with the extra hp and better throttle response. The rear tire was a lot more fun, drifting corners.
I am careful with the car on the street, so no issues with traction today. It was just a blast to take it out for a little tour....

X25

PSS is fine above freezing; just let it warm up a little. Cup2s are not good in winter at all, in my experience.

I've just used Hoosier R7s and A6s at a track day last weekend at 38 degrees F ambient. They worked well after a few laps. Cup 2s would be similar, and would work after a few laps. That said, we obviously don't have means to warm up the tires like that at the street, so track tires will likely not get to warm up enough. PSS are designed to warm up much faster, though, and I've used them in close to freezing temps before with success. You just need to watch the pressures over from TPMS monitor to see if they warmed up a bit, adding 2-3 PSI to cold pressures. Once done, they will be fine. In my experience, simple 60+ MPH highway cruise for a few miles does wonders.

Ramler

Had my GS out the other day and temp dropped to 28 before I got home. Traction was still manageable but you don't want to mash too hard. I'm thinking all the old stories about chunks falling off the tires were Goodyears. Never heard of it happening to a Michelin. The warning is there for their protection but I haven't worried about it. Anything below 20 is dangerous. That's with SS's, PS2's would be worse.

Bill Dearborn

I have driven the Cup2s in temps as low as 28 degrees with no issues. Roads were dry and the day was sunny but chilly. They should do well on track days when temps are in that range. It just takes a few more laps to get them up to operating temperature.

The reason I say they can work on track at that temp is because I have used Conti Race Slicks in 32 deg ambient temps with snow flurries when driving the Glen. The tire pressures were set cold at 22 psi and it took some fast speeds (over 110 on the straights and conservative corners) for about 5 laps to get the tire pressures up to their hot level. By then the car was running hard on the cold air and I set my then personal best lap time on a 32 degree day. The engine loved it, despite gloves and having the heater on my hands froze.

Bill

Avanti

Another post here had a tech report where it was said only limited, low-speed from 40 to 20 degrees F (or something of that nature, but that was the gist of it). Below that no go.

venom3

[QUOTE=desmophile;1596160143]very good advice, but does it ever get that cold in Austin

i ran performance driving at COTA first lap, tracking out of turn 5, taking it very easy, car spun out like I was on ice. Did not hit anything. Lesson learned. Do not use these tires in cold weather above freezing.

Bill Dearborn

[QUOTE=venom3;1602627397]The wrong lesson learned. The proper lesson is how to use the throttle properly. You may have thought you were taking it easy but you weren't. Even on ice, a car won't spin out unless the operator uses the throttle inappropriately or applies the brakes inappropriately. In low grip situations, you use higher gears to reduce torque delivered to the wheels and judicious application of throttle. Once the tires get hot they will grip better. Cup2s need to be around 190 degrees to provide maximum grip, which means you drive at higher speeds on the straights to get the tires flexing as fast as possible and slooow and smooooth on the corners until the grip starts to come in. All Corvettes deliver stupendous amounts of torque at low engine speeds so you have to reduce the torque delivered to the rear wheels to the amount the tires can handle. If you normally use 2nd gear coming out of a corner you use 4th or 5th gear. If you use 4th gear coming out of a corner you use 6th. Even using those gears you ease on the throttle.

Bill

TxLefty

With any luck at all our club will be coming through Calgary on our way to Jasper next June. Perhaps a meet-up would be in order.

Ruderegime

I put my ZO6 in weather mode when near 40°

BrunoTheMellow

[QUOTE=venom3;1602627397]I've driven slicks this cold. Your lesson is to put it in a gear or 2 higher. Brake hard. Gas hard on straights. Warm up the tires. Seems your issue was lack of experience. Not the.tires.

Turn 5 is the 3rd corner in the esses..there is no track out there. You may have meant turn 6. Which is already VERY slippery and off camber. People spin there in the dry.