When does the Mafia put on their snow/winter tires?

[nike001]

I always kinda get itchy to switch from my summers to snows, or snows to summers.. probably because I like the drastic change in look. But anyways, Tomorrow & Wednesday are supposed to be around 60. Then it seems that from Thursday on, temps won't get above 50... with snow flurries predicted on Saturday.

So I'm thinking, should I make the change this Thursday or Friday? I think I remember reading somewhere that summer tire compounds lose their stickiness below 50 degrees.

[danewilson77]

Thursday.

[Oli77]

I checked into that for my Pirelli Sottozero and they said (tirerack) the compound was designed for performance from mid-Autumn to early Spring (perhaps that way, you used them more? :duno

I would wait till it's in the 40s consistently though.

[nike001]

I would wait till it's in the 40s consistently though.

I think I'll do this. I just want to make it into November lol

[HokieZHP]

I am getting some snow tires mounted soon and will keep an eye out for snow on the radar and go home a little before the first snow to switch them out.

[Mike V]

I change them when I see a chance of snow in the forecast.

[zj96sc]

<helpful post>

what are snow tires?

</helpful post>

:biggrin:biggrin

[UdubBadger]

Still too early (for me at least), you'd burn through those winters if the temps are too high. I typically change about the 2nd or 3rd week of November or possibly earlier if the weather is consistently below 45 for the high before then.

See in Chicago this is the 10day.
2417

Even though the lows in the 30's a few days is more than enough reason to put um on, the highs being over 50 on average is enough reason for me to not want to burn through the tread of my winters. I'll let DSC work it's majik on those colder mornings if need be.

Looks like I might have my summers on until Thanksgiving at this rate. With Chicago weather it's like 35 one day and 72 the next... :crying

[mikeyb74]

Late Nov or early Dec.

[onepercent]

Sadly, my winters are already on, but not really by choice. My state inspection was a couple weeks ago and my rear summers were too worn to pass... I decided to throw the winters on and wait till spring to buy some new rear summers. This could end up backfiring if I totally blow through the winters on these 50+ degree days. Fortunately, I don't drive much lately.

[UdubBadger]

hahaha yeah you're cooking um right now I'll bet. Should be cooling down substantially in the next week or so which will help.

[quikryptonite]

Things look good here until the 3rd on the current forecast. High's are supposed to be in the low 50's until then. I might just end up driving the E30 until Thanksgiving and switch to the winters on my ZHP over the holiday weekend.

[static667]

What is this "snow" of which you speak?

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[nike001]

<helpful post>

what are snow tires?

</helpful post>

:biggrin:biggrin

I was actually going to put 'inb4 what is snow etc' in my original post.. lol but i figured no one would do it. I was wrong.


Still too early (for me at least), you'd burn through those winters if the temps are too high. I typically change about the 2nd or 3rd week of November or possibly earlier if the weather is consistently below 45 for the high before then.

Even though the lows in the 30's a few days is more than enough reason to put um on, the highs being over 50 on average is enough reason for me to not want to burn through the tread of my winters. I'll let DSC work it's majik on those colder mornings if need be.

Looks like I might have my summers on until Thanksgiving at this rate. With Chicago weather it's like 35 one day and 72 the next... :crying

You burn through tread on winter tires if temps are too high? Explain?

I actually put my winters on last thanksgiving.. I was outside mounting them while my whole family was in my house getting ready for dinner :P

And today at work, there was a 135i that just got his snows mounted. He has the sport wheels that are staggered, but I notice he had 225's all around.. I wonder why. The rear's had a nice amount of stretch though. It was nice to drive. Dark gray w/ red interior & a 6spd. Got to sit in it and fart around for a few minutes while the brand spankin new car wash was doing it's job. My job is the easiest thing in the world now. I"m not sure if it was worth hand washing cars the whole summer outside. Our last wash bay at least had a pressure washer and a little garage bay that was kept kinda cool because of the water.

These wheels:
http://image.automobilemag.com/f/reviews/12_month_car_reviews/18442237+w440/0906_02_z+2008_bMW_135i+wheel.jpg

[UdubBadger]

Winter rubber is much softer than summer or all season because its made to work at sub freezing temps and still be pliable, notice summer tires get hard as a rock when it gets to about 45 degrees or less - even worse in the rain. If you run winters when it too hot out your not nearly getting the same tread wear as you should be because the heat is making that compound even more pliable and speeding up the wear n tear process. Normally it would have the colder temps to counter act the "softness".

If you know anything about racing tires or even from video games the "Hard" tires are for endurance races, they last long cuz the compound is harder so you can get say 100 laps in them, the trade off is they take a while to heat up especially in cooler/cold weather. The "Soft" tires (comparable to winters) will get warm quickly and are good for short races and max traction but don't last nearly as long, maybe 20-30 laps.

So by running "soft" / winter rubber in warmer weather your using them up a lot faster than they are intended to be.

[zj96sc]

Our last wash bay at least had a pressure washer

You don't pressure wash paint.....right?

[M0nk3y]

You don't pressure wash paint.....right?

Why not? Its just a big hose.

I operate a 2800 psi gas pressure washer I used on my car everytime I wash my car.

I mount my winters after Thanksgiving

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[UdubBadger]

yeah I've had my car pressure washed before too.

[quikryptonite]

What is this "snow" of which you speak?



This is the stuff we're talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elVIzWuYwZc&feature=related
:thumbup
This is the fun stuff we do on snow:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ0F-TL9pPw&feature=related

[zj96sc]

I can't find the website I read it on, but basically the gist of it was that the pressure oscillation within the high pressure water beam causes fine cracking of paint finishes. Should pretty much be avoided at all costs except on low pressure, very wide fans and with good distance from the surface. Same reason they recommend to avoid using pistol grip nozzles in favor of the firehose style nozzles sold by most detailing places.

It's probably not something you'll notice on a DD finish but I try to avoid everything that I know is bad for the paint.

[HokieZHP]

I only use a pressure washer if there's snow/ice/salt/crap on my car or if it's just really really dirty. I always use the lowest setting and it works well. I haven't done it on my ZHP yet but I used to do it on my jetta.

[M0nk3y]

I can't find the website I read it on, but basically the gist of it was that the pressure oscillation within the high pressure water beam causes fine cracking of paint finishes. Should pretty much be avoided at all costs except on low pressure, very wide fans and with good distance from the surface. Same reason they recommend to avoid using pistol grip nozzles in favor of the firehose style nozzles sold by most detailing places.

It's probably not something you'll notice on a DD finish but I try to avoid everything that I know is bad for the paint.

I use a 35* tip. Over 2 feet the pressure breaks up and dissipates. I've never notice problems on the e46 that was in the family for 9 years

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[nike001]

They pressure washer we had at work was only a measly electric one. So we used that.. and I use the ones at the self-serve place. I've never seen anything bad about pressure washers.. except that it's not recommended to hold it close to the paint and for a long period of time.

[zj96sc]

well in all fairness i'll have to back off a little. I've searched high and low for the article i read (this was years ago) and cannot find it. Like i said, their point was that because the water pressure is not linear it vibrates the panel sharply and over time creates very fine cracks that ruin the paint. the source was reputable and it made sense to me so i stopped doing it. Haven't touched anything but my first car with a pressure washer.

[M0nk3y]

well in all fairness i'll have to back off a little. I've searched high and low for the article i read (this was years ago) and cannot find it. Like i said, their point was that because the water pressure is not linear it vibrates the panel sharply and over time creates very fine cracks that ruin the paint. the source was reputable and it made sense to me so i stopped doing it. Haven't touched anything but my first car with a pressure washer.

I see what you're saying...but that's within the focal point of pressure.

Take a pressure washer, and just spray it horizontally. You will see within 2-5 feet that 2800 psi worth of pressure is nothing. Stand in front of it if you really want to; you'll just get soaking wet. If you're outside of the focal point of the pressure washer you just have a hose that can pump out a ton of water.

[UdubBadger]

winter tires guys.... :p

[S85FTW]

:crying I put them on last week sadly, it may snow this Saturday :crying

[nike001]

6-8 inches of snow tomorrow.. but here is the forecast for the rest of the week. What do i do?!:
http://local.wnep.com/transfers/7day.jpg

[UdubBadger]

don't drive tomorrow...

most of it'll melt by Monday hopefully

[danewilson77]

6-8 inches of snow tomorrow.. but here is the forecast for the rest of the week. What do i do?!:
http://local.wnep.com/transfers/7day.jpg

Nothing.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[zhpnsnv]

I put mine on at thanksgiving. Though it's snowing today and I'm still on pilot supersports!!! Not good. Accumulation will = graceful swan dive into a ditch.


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[SureShot434]

What is a good set of snow tires?? and what r they gonna run???

[zhpnsnv]

I've had lots of different snow tires, from Artic Alpins, to Blizzaks, to Wintersports, to Contiwintercontacts, to, well, you get the point.

I've settled on "Performance Winter Tires" as far as category goes because in normal weather, they're not far off from all seasons, but they rip through snow really well.

The dunlop wintersport M3s are good, and so are the blizzak lm-25s.

[UdubBadger]

I run Blizzaks too... best bang for the buck. Price would depend on sizing obviously but my 18" set of 225's are about $750 from TireRack (http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-4193730-10376887).

[nike001]

Well, I put them on. Pictures will follow