Sport 4 S. Cold temps, normal driving ?

[traxiii]

Personal experience responses only please. Everything I have found says not to use them during cold conditions. But I would be driving on city streets and interstates. NO tracks, drag racing or even extra fast driving. Just normal. Will they still be a major issue ? I' had C7 Vettes from 2017 - 2022 with summer tires and didn't have any problems.

I run them on mine that I daily drive with no issues, but Bay Area/Nor Cal doesn't see temps. below freezing, and not many even that cold. We take the Exploder ST when we drive in the Sierras in winter.

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[Bluemustang]

Just don't do it OP. Not only can summer tires crack, but if left in temps below 40F it can change the rubber's properties permanently. I experienced this running Indy 500s. Not MPS4S but same concept. It's not worth risking. Those tires are expensive, not to mention they're unsafe to drive in those temps. They become hockey pucks and lose their grip.

 

[Gregdd]

I owned a 2018 Mustang GT premium PP1 with A10 and MagneRide, oem PS4S 275 rear and 255 fronts. Located in Idaho so we have real winters. The PS4S suck in the cold. No other way to put it. I once did a u turn at about 5 mph and slid (massive understeer). No grip for straight line traction, no braking grip, no turning grip. No way to do a drastic emergency maneuver if needed. I’d say they were not safe in cold weather. Not to mention the cracking possibility at sub freezing temps. I replaced them with Michelin pilot sport A/S 3 and was much happier.

I’d rate them this way:
80+ deg F: good to go of course
65 deg F: easy to get some heat in them and then they’re fine but not great for a few minutes
50-55 F: careful, but after 10-15 mins they aren’t as dangerous but still not great, high perf all season will be better unless the PS4S have sustained spirited driving and have heat in them
40 F: they suck and never have full grip
30 F: horrible and dangerous
Below 30 F: don’t even think about it

You can't top this review. Can't be done. I drove them at 20 degrees up including ice and snow. Spend the money and put all seasons on. I was waking the dead this week early morning around 1am. Already in 30's in October in PA. Put the good rubber on and enjoy the car.

 

[Zrussian13]

Down to 40° I don't even hesitate. If I know the morning are dropping into the low 30s I'll park in the garage over night so the tires don't start as cold but otherwise my wife's parked in there. Coldest I've driven mp4s in was 28° but out here the Temps rise pretty quick once the sun comes up. I just keep it safe in the morning until they are warmed up.

 

[Racer57]

Thanks for the Reponses. I'll change them out !

 

[murick]

I am living in continental climate zone, which can have -15°C (5°F) with quite a snow sometimes in winter - so I am used to driving on winter tires in winter conditions (on other cars, not my Mach 1). I do not change tires on my Mach 1. It is not my DD and I do not need it during winter. However on few occasions I drove in close to zero temp (32°F) on dry roads and sunny days without any problem. The driving typically included some city and highway driving, nothing fancy.

The only thing I noticed once, which was partly my fault, I did not anticipate cold weather, and ended up with quite low tire pressure, while being outside at close to zero temp - with maybe 2 bars (2.2 bars is the specified pressure for stock non-HP Mach 1 on PS4S). The tires got hard and got a "flat spot" while sitting in cold, which did not get away for quite some time.

So elasticity definitely suffers in the cold temp, but for quick runs, on the good conditions I do not see problem in driving in above zero temp (32°F+). I would not cross the freezing point, and also would not let the car sit for a long time in close to zero point temps though.

 

[Sparky1337]

Doesn’t matter if you’re tracking the car or not, if the tire is cold enough and you hit anything you’ll at best compromise the compound, at worst have a blowout.
Not to mention traction in general is absolute garbage under 40F. I’ve had pirelli, Michelin, nitto, Yokohama etc. They all do the same thing in cold weather and it’s just a matter of time/miles.

 

[Peter15051]

I’m now in Florida so I don’t really have to worry about this anymore. But I lived in northern states most of my life and I typically swapped out my mps4s (mich super sports before that) with something like continental viking contact or Michelin x-ice. Of course if you live in a. Cold dry climate you can get away with decent all season tires. But as others have said if you drive in really cold weather with mps4s you’ll lose some tire integrity to cracking.

 

[jwt]

I had to bin 2 front tires that were never driven below freezing due to cracking. So I would recommend adhering to the 7 deg C (44F) rule

 

[W0rkH0rse]

You can't top this review. Can't be done. I drove them at 20 degrees up including ice and snow. Spend the money and put all seasons on. I was waking the dead this week early morning around 1am. Already in 30's in October in PA. Put the good rubber on and enjoy the car.

I have these on my 22 Mach 1 and live in Michigan. Last winter was unusually warm and dry so got to drive it more than expected. I drove it in the low 30s a few times. Back end would be a little squirrelly on left turns onto busy roads.
40 degrees and warmer was not too bad, but I would do slow starts from stop lights.
I am not planning on driving it as much this winter, even with the El Niño forecast.
if you want to drive in the winter, get some Blizzaks or other winter tire.

 

[hws52]

Personal experience responses only please. Everything I have found says not to use them during cold conditions. But I would be driving on city streets and interstates. NO tracks, drag racing or even extra fast driving. Just normal. Will they still be a major issue ? I' had C7 Vettes from 2017 - 2022 with summer tires and didn't have any problems.

I'm on my second set of PS4s and drive my '18 year round in northern Ohio snow belt so I do have experience. I have been winter/summer sets since my last '03 Mustang. The PS4s as well as any summer performance tire starts to lose grip below 50F, when you get down to 40F they get darn slick with very little grip and ride very hard not to mention that if you do drive in a bit of snow dust its there is virtually no traction. As others have said you also risk cracking and failure. Its not just the driving but sitting in your garage and driving. I usually change over to my winter set once the day time temperatures drop to around 50F.

 

[v guy]

I will drive to Fla in Feb, from the Syracuse area.

2021 M1. 255's and 275's std M1 sizes.

I looked at BFG Comp2 AS, and General G-max AS-05.

I will buy the Generals, from my local tire guy, mounted, etc with tax, for $1,177. Descent snow/cold rating.

I will put my 3000 mile PS4's in storage.

I will leave in the cold, and likely come back in the cold....so my head is worth $1,200.

Hp wheels and tires will go on for the summer. Have
wheels but need appropriate tires.

 

[v guy]

Just drove from Syracuse to Pittsburg on the new General A/S tires. A smooth ride.

I left at 33*F..no worries about cold weather, like w Cup 4's.

https://www.tirebuyer.com/education/general-g-max-as-05-review

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