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How hard do you push winter tires like the Michelin Alpin PA4 V rated?

DCShelby

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So my new to me 2020 GT350 has winter tires on it, Michelin Alpin PA4 with V rating.....thats up to 149 MPH. 295/35 on all 4 wheels. I've only had the car out a few times as the crappy roads in the DC area have huge mounds of snow and at times 1 1/2 lanes open. But I'm hoping to get it out this week, but how hard do you drive on winter tires? Assuming dry but cold roads. I'm not going to go to 149, but I had it up to 90 and the winter tires felt great actually.

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luc

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So my new to me 2020 GT350 has winter tires on it, Michelin Alpin PA4 with V rating.....thats up to 149 MPH. 295/35 on all 4 wheels. I've only had the car out a few times as the crappy roads in the DC area have huge mounds of snow and at times 1 1/2 lanes open. But I'm hoping to get it out this week, but how hard do you drive on winter tires? Assuming dry but cold roads. I'm not going to go to 149, but I had it up to 90 and the winter tires felt great actually.

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“Hard” usually imply a lot of G forces such as high speed turns or very twisty road. Going straight doesn’t count. Obviously you can go much faster up the the tires speed rating
 

Adam the Lighting Guy

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Snow tires are definitely squishy in feel, have greater tread depth and are a soft compound. Swap them out when there is no longer a threat of snow. They wear very quickly compared to an all season tire. The Bridgestone Blizzacks I used to run 20+ yrs ago would last approximately 2 seasons.
 
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DCShelby

DCShelby

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I plan to swap next month.
 

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Michelin Alpin PA4 are performance tires not old style "Snow Tires". Rated for 149MPH so I think you're good to go as long as tires are properly balanced and pressures correct.
These are not the super soft Blizzacks, which I don't believe are classed as "performance tires".
 

MAGS1

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I don’t push my Blizzaks, they’re like marshmallows. They’re also not performance winter tires, they’re really for deeper snow. I don’t like them on dry pavement, there’s no feel at all. But the do really well in the snow so that’s the trade off
 
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DCShelby

DCShelby

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I set the pressures to 34 all around.
 

Mach VII

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You should be concerned about braking performance if the temps are above 40-45F as the rubber compound gets softer the warmer they get.
 

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Michelin Alpin PA4 are performance tires not old style "Snow Tires". Rated for 149MPH so I think you're good to go as long as tires are properly balanced and pressures correct.
These are not the super soft Blizzacks, which I don't believe are classed as "performance tires".
Absolutely true, they were not a performance tire.
 

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geep81

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I think you should still drive like a grandma. That's how I drive my GT in the snow.

The tires you got are only for having fun on the nicer days in between the mess. Straight snow tires are horrible because you literally have no fun all season, they rob the car of anything fun, but tires like yours or a lesser snow tire like a Michelin all season let you have fun on the dry but cold days.

I recommend not pushing it at all in crap weather.
 

Crew4991

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I have the Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 tires which work very well in Colorado winters, but I don't think I have ever gone beyond 85 or 90mph on them. Mainly highway speeds with not much snow but cold temperatures.
They do work great for small amounts of snow and city driving. Never got stuck or spun out. Then again, city driving in snow doesn't involve fast speeds.
 

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why do you need to "push"
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