Ideas for protecting summer tires while on the road in below freezing temperature during Winter

I replaced all 4 tires with Michelin Pilot 4S again over the summer. Now I'm thinking I should have gotten the A/S version considering my frequent travel to colder states\places or light snow incidentally. I'm going for a few days to southern Utah in a few weeks where it will be around 42F high\25F low. I'm worried about my tires freezing and cracking while parked outside of the hotel over night in the 25F temperature. I'm thinking of getting bags for plant frost protection and bringing my heavy cotton car cover. Any other ideas as new winter tires make no economic sense?

I have Firestone Indy 500 (had Michelin PSS previously) and when I stop driving the car in winter, I leave the car in the car port. The temperatures here go into negatives in winter and I’ve had no issues with tires. Been doing this for 8 years now.


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Originally Posted by san

I have Firestone Indy 500 (had Michelin PSS previously) and when I stop driving the car in winter, I leave the car in the car port. The temperatures here go into negatives in winter and I’ve had no issues with tires. Been doing this for 8 years now.


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+1

Same tires and I do the same thing (except I keep driving in the winter). NC winters aren't bad but there can be cold days and snow sometimes. Modern summer tires won't have any problems.

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Thanks guy. I think I will still bring my car cover, just in case. At least it will keep the car warm when I get inside it each morning.

Take it as it is but per tirerack:

Note: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 Max Performance Summer tires during cold-weather use can result in irreversible compound cracking.

Idk if the PS4S compound is better but the PSS were a deathtrap below 40F. Even on dry roads. They basically turned to plastic.

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Originally Posted by ZHPizza

Idk if the PS4S compound is better but the PSS were a deathtrap below 40F. Even on dry roads. They basically turned to plastic.

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Weird, with my first x-country road trip I was stuck with PSS in Colorado with snow and slush - was aight. 2 days later - Utah and +25C

Ya same here. I never drove and wouldn’t recommend driving with summer tires in snow but when there were a few instances where I had to drive my Zhp in well below freezing temps with PSS and Indy 500s and as long as I was driving normally, there was nothing out of the ordinary with how the car drove.


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The lowest it got those days was 29F for a few hours and high around 45F. I never needed to use my car cover. On another trip, I have driven slowly(15mph) through light snow on about 50 feet of road going up 30 feet gradually of road without issue. I always check the weather highs\lows in the area I'm traveling especially during winter.