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If you think the EQS in incapable of performance maneuvers, you are mistaken. It is similarly capable to many other "performance" cars equipped with Summer tires, such as my BMW M550. It corners well, and has great acceleration. It is a luxury car which performs very well. My Summer tires do quite well in Winter, although I would not want to test the limits of traction in cold weather. But I have NEVER had a problem with them in normal driving situations, wet or dry surfaces. My wife's AMG GLE53 has Michelin PS4S, and recently handled very well in the DFW area, there and back, in temps well below freezing. Except for pushing the limits and driving in snow and ice, Summer tires are fine in cold weather for normal driving. This statement is based on years of experience on all my cars, all with nothing but Summer tires. So, no reason to be paranoid about Summer tires, if you live in the South, even during cold snaps. Now, if I lived up North........different story.
Last edited by hlothery; Dec 27, 2022 at 07:54 PM.
Summer tires work just fine at lower temps, mostly. However they are absolutely useless in snow, nevermind, ice. Its to be expected they are not sipped they use solid tread blocks thus they are incapable to grab snow. They also get hard below freezing which is bad for treadlife and sidewall integity. I believe the PS 4S is using a newer compound which is less affected by cold which also allows it to last about 30% more than other summer tires, however its tread is totally useless in snow.
If you think the EQS in incapable of performance maneuvers, you are mistaken. It is similarly capable to many other "performance" cars equipped with Summer tires, such as my BMW M550. It corners well, and has great acceleration. It is a luxury car which performs very well. My Summer tires do quite well in Winter, although I would not want to test the limits of traction in cold weather. But I have NEVER had a problem with them in normal driving situations, wet or dry surfaces. My wife's AMG GLE53 has Michelin PS4S, and recently handled very well in the DFW area, there and back, in temps well below freezing. Except for pushing the limits and driving in snow and ice, Summer tires are fine in cold weather for normal driving. This statement is based on years of experience on all my cars, all with nothing but Summer tires. So, no reason to be paranoid about Summer tires, if you live in the South, even during cold snaps. Now, if I lived up North........different story.
CAN I DRIVE SUMMER PERFORMANCE TIRES IN COLD TEMPERATURES?
(Lea en español)Can you? Or, should you? The simple answer is — no you shouldn't. Summer performance tires are simply not designed for near- or below-freezing temperatures. Here's a quick explanation of why.
Summer performance tires feature tread rubber compounds engineered to provide traction in warm to hot temperatures only. As temperatures drop into the 40s, a summer performance tire's tread compound changes from a pliable elastic to an inflexible plastic, drastically reducing traction capabilities. The tire industry calls this process the "glass transition." And, without traction, your vehicle will have a hard time staying on the road!
In fact, should summer performance tires even be exposed to near- or below-freezing temperatures, tread compound cracking or tread block chipping can occur. Once a tire has been damaged in this way, it will need to be replaced. And, as both types of damage only occur as the result of improper use or storage, they will not typically be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.
So, to recap — don't drive summer tires in the cold! Save yourself the headache of an accident or damaged tires, and transition to All-Season or dedicated Winter tires in the Fall - before cold weather hits.
CAN I DRIVE SUMMER PERFORMANCE TIRES IN COLD TEMPERATURES?
(Lea en español)Can you? Or, should you? The simple answer is — no you shouldn't. Summer performance tires are simply not designed for near- or below-freezing temperatures. Here's a quick explanation of why.
Summer performance tires feature tread rubber compounds engineered to provide traction in warm to hot temperatures only. As temperatures drop into the 40s, a summer performance tire's tread compound changes from a pliable elastic to an inflexible plastic, drastically reducing traction capabilities. The tire industry calls this process the "glass transition." And, without traction, your vehicle will have a hard time staying on the road!
In fact, should summer performance tires even be exposed to near- or below-freezing temperatures, tread compound cracking or tread block chipping can occur. Once a tire has been damaged in this way, it will need to be replaced. And, as both types of damage only occur as the result of improper use or storage, they will not typically be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.
So, to recap — don't drive summer tires in the cold! Save yourself the headache of an accident or damaged tires, and transition to All-Season or dedicated Winter tires in the Fall - before cold weather hits.
Interesting! I have had various vehicles over the years and some have had Summer performance rubber and I never experienced the tread chipping listed, but that makes sense. I have the Summer rubber now and have been thinking of transitioning to all-seasons. Maybe that will be my move once it is time to replace even though I live in the warmer South. What are folks using as the preferred all-season tire for our beloved EQS line?
From Tire Rack
don't drive summer tires in the cold! Save yourself the headache of an accident or damaged tires, and transition to All-Season or dedicated Winter tires in the Fall - before cold weather hits.
We can debate this all day. But, again, unless you are performance driving (which would be really stupid in freezing temps anyway), your Summer tires in Southern states will be fine. In 30 years of driving on Summer tires year round, sometimes with temps in the teens, I have never had a traction problem, and have never seen or heard of a damaged tire (that sounds like lawyers talking to me). No one here changes tires in the Winter. But, we also don't drive on snow or ice, where Summer tires would clearly not work (nothing works on ice, BTW). Different story if you live where it snows.....obviously. But i was originally addressing folks in Georgia and Florida, where that doesn't normally happen. Anyway, my final word.....ya'll do what you want. And, have a Happy New Year.
We can debate this all day. But, again, unless you are performance driving (which would be really stupid in freezing temps anyway), your Summer tires in Southern states will be fine. In 30 years of driving on Summer tires year round, sometimes with temps in the teens, I have never had a traction problem, and have never seen or heard of a damaged tire (that sounds like lawyers talking to me). No one here changes tires in the Winter. But, we also don't drive on snow or ice, where Summer tires would clearly not work (nothing works on ice, BTW). Different story if you live where it snows.....obviously. But i was originally addressing folks in Georgia and Florida, where that doesn't normally happen. Anyway, my final word.....ya'll do what you want. And, have a Happy New Year. 
Why they would equip an EQS with summer tires is beyond me.
Summer tires have better performance and are less noisy. Downside is you have to change to winter tires if living in a cold climate. I have a second set of winter tires and wheels, swap them as soon as weather changes.
If you drive in cold areas with snow and ice , do yourself a favor and get a proper all wheel drive vehicle. Or you can purchase the wrong car for these conditions and then complain it didn’t work properly.
If you drive in cold areas with snow and ice , do yourself a favor and get a proper all wheel drive vehicle. Or you can purchase the wrong car for these conditions and then complain it didn’t work properly.
As a junior member here, your glib comment simply shows your situational ignorance.
CAN I DRIVE SUMMER PERFORMANCE TIRES IN COLD TEMPERATURES?
Summer performance tires feature tread rubber compounds engineered to provide traction in warm to hot temperatures only. As temperatures drop into the 40s, a summer performance tire's tread compound changes from a pliable elastic to an inflexible plastic, drastically reducing traction capabilities. The tire industry calls this process the "glass transition." And, without traction, your vehicle will have a hard time staying on the road!
The TRUTH About Winter, All Season and Summer Tires ❄ Tested at 0C=32F, 2C=35.6F, 6C=42.8F, 10C=50F, 15C=59F:
Very interesting video. I truly never gave this as much thought as I am now, living in what is usually the warm South. We do get sub-freezing temps seasonally and I have had Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires on my previous Karma Revero GT, driven in the evening and freezing weather without tire damage.
My EQS has the F1 21" Summer tires and I was thinking of switching to all-seasons but will likely just sit on the Summer rubber. I will, however, check for cracking and tire disruption where I haven't before as I do commute in the wee hours back and forth to work and don't want to end up stranded or in a ditch!
Very interesting video. I truly never gave this as much thought as I am now, living in what is usually the warm South. We do get sub-freezing temps seasonally and I have had Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires on my previous Karma Revero GT, driven in the evening and freezing weather without tire damage.
My EQS has the F1 21" Summer tires and I was thinking of switching to all-seasons but will likely just sit on the Summer rubber. I will, however, check for cracking and tire disruption where I haven't before as I do commute in the wee hours back and forth to work and don't want to end up stranded or in a ditch!
Great content, fellows.
I didn't care much about the tires until my car came with Summer tires instead of the all seasons... Even though I ended up with winter tires, I still switched the summers for Michelin A/S 4 UHP T0 Tesla OEM's for those big temp/weather swings. Tyre reviews has very good content as he recently moved to Utah:
If you think the EQS in incapable of performance maneuvers, you are mistaken. It is similarly capable to many other "performance" cars equipped with Summer tires, such as my BMW M550. It corners well, and has great acceleration. It is a luxury car which performs very well. My Summer tires do quite well in Winter, although I would not want to test the limits of traction in cold weather. But I have NEVER had a problem with them in normal driving situations, wet or dry surfaces. My wife's AMG GLE53 has Michelin PS4S, and recently handled very well in the DFW area, there and back, in temps well below freezing. Except for pushing the limits and driving in snow and ice, Summer tires are fine in cold weather for normal driving. This statement is based on years of experience on all my cars, all with nothing but Summer tires. So, no reason to be paranoid about Summer tires, if you live in the South, even during cold snaps. Now, if I lived up North........different story.
The comparison to the M550 reminds me of a story an ex-girlfriend told me. She said that on the first date with her ex-husband he told her that she was the prettiest girl that he had ever gone out with. She looked at him and said, "Well that doesn't say much for you now does it?" So I'm not sure that the fact that the EQS compares favorably with a BMW M550 doesn't say more about the BMW than it does about the EQS.
No doubt though the low center of gravity provided by the battery pack makes the car handle much better than one would expect for an ICE equivalent of it's size and weight.
The comparison to the M550 reminds me of a story an ex-girlfriend told me. She said that on the first date with her ex-husband he told her that she was the prettiest girl that he had ever gone out with. She looked at him and said, "Well that doesn't say much for you now does it?" So I'm not sure that the fact that the EQS compares favorably with a BMW M550 doesn't say more about the BMW than it does about the EQS.
No doubt though the low center of gravity provided by the battery pack makes the car handle much better than one would expect for an ICE equivalent of it's size and weight.
Interesting.....I used to call my M550 my Stealth Luxury Rocketship. I loved both cars, they have been my favorites so far.....but I love the EQS much more!
It definitely sounds like summer tires encountering very cold weather and pavement. I once had this occur in a 911 GT3 on a spirited early morning drive in November and almost crapped myself--though I didn't wonder if Porsche was ready for prime time! Depending on where you live,I'd consider a switch to all-season tires year round or winter tires for the cold months.
I was just looking at the lineup for this weekends 24 Hours of Daytona, which I have attended multiple times. I noticed that the ambient temps may drop into the high 40's at night. Geez....I sure hope those guys packed their winter tires for this race.............................................. .........................OK, I'll stop now.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
