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      02-11-2021, 08:22 AM   #1
connerry330i
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Extreme cold weather query

A bit of advice requested for those of you in wintery climes;
I’m traveling on business to Atlanta ( I know) on Sunday morning, and that insane polar vortex is hitting Dallas now thru next week. Unfortunately, I can’t garage the X2 at home (long story), only covered parking. Temps Sunday night and Monday night are expected to be near 0F, daytime highs in the teens. By Wednesday the area will be back to typical Feb upper 40’s Day/mid 30s night and by Friday when I get back we’re in the 60’s, so I’m not worried so much about the car itself as I am about the summer run flats.

I understand DRIVING them in temps 20F or below would not be feasible, but would they crack/develop cracks if the car was left parked outside? I did buy some lined tire covers, and a fleece lined car cover is on its way. The covered parking isn't awful; neighbors' cars parked in driveways this a.m had ice on them at 24F, but mine didn't have any at all, and it's usually a few degrees warmer under there anyway. I’m also considering driving to the airport Sunday morning and just parking in the terminal garage, but that’s wholly dependent on the temps on my way out the door Sunday.

We’ve had a few nights here in the upper 30’s/days in the upper 30’s to 40s, but “winters” in San Diego were similar and I ran summers year round for 12 years with no issues on 6 different cars. These Goodyear run/flat tires have held up fine so far, and I keep ‘em overfilled a few PSI to counter the loss from temperature drops. Extreme temps here are rare enough that all-seasons really aren’t typically necessary, but this type of cold is something I’ve little to no experience with (I’m Jamaican, grew up in Miami, just moved to Texas from La Jolla CA.)

Anyway, wondering if anyone had any advice at this juncture, thanks in advance if you do.
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      02-11-2021, 09:42 AM   #2
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Wait what who said you can't drive in 20°F with run flats? That makes no sense at all, tires are tires with air in them. As long as no ice or worn tread why not?

In Chicagoland and its 4 degrees with no issues.
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      02-11-2021, 10:43 AM   #3
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I would probably say you're over thinking it.. here in New England a good majority of us do not have sheltered parking options, and the cars will stay outside regardless of temp and it can definitely get below those temps. I would say there's probably a higher chance of your fluids freezing than any damage to your tires (and assuming the only thing that you could overfill would be your windshield washer fluid, the rest of the fluids like coolant should be antifreeze mix) . Since it'll be warmer when you get back you should be totally fine. Another thought.. plenty of fleets of vehicles at the dealers will also be parked outside similarily, and they do not have tire problems either.
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      02-11-2021, 10:47 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xcelir8bmw View Post
Wait what who said you can't drive in 20°F with run flats? That makes no sense at all, tires are tires with air in them. As long as no ice or worn tread why not?

In Chicagoland and its 4 degrees with no issues.
He said Summer RFT, and summer tire composition in temps under 40 results in extremely poor performance and traction, IME it's as bad as driving on sand and at times they grip so poorly you might as well be on ice.

I can't see the logic of lil fur coats for the tires, but I can certainly agree that below 40 degrees F their grip drops with every degree lower, this is why manufacturers have temp ranges for their usage.
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      02-11-2021, 11:20 AM   #5
connerry330i
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xcelir8bmw View Post
Wait what who said you can't drive in 20°F with run flats? That makes no sense at all, tires are tires with air in them. As long as no ice or worn tread why not?

In Chicagoland and its 4 degrees with no issues.
I've got the 20 inch summer Goodyear RFT's. The recommendation for summers is caution under 45 degrees, don't drive at all under 20F because the tires will harden/can crack.

The car's gonna be sitting, so that's not the issue, I'm wondering if just being outside with the single digit/teen temps for a few days, parked, would be problematic.

Like I said, I've driven Pilot sports on a 27 degree San Diego morning without a problem, but that's with the car parked afterwards in the garage, and it only being that chilly for a an hour or two in the a.m. at most. This 4F stuff's not something I've ever dealt with, hence the query.

Halfway considering moving back actually, I'm not built for this
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Last edited by connerry330i; 02-11-2021 at 04:30 PM..
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      02-11-2021, 11:23 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rice_rocket88 View Post
I would probably say you're over thinking it.. here in New England a good majority of us do not have sheltered parking options, and the cars will stay outside regardless of temp and it can definitely get below those temps. I would say there's probably a higher chance of your fluids freezing than any damage to your tires (and assuming the only thing that you could overfill would be your windshield washer fluid, the rest of the fluids like coolant should be antifreeze mix) . Since it'll be warmer when you get back you should be totally fine. Another thought.. plenty of fleets of vehicles at the dealers will also be parked outside similarily, and they do not have tire problems either.
Thanks for the input, hadn't thought of that last bit. Are you running summers up there currently or all seasons? I assume the latter, just curious.
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      02-11-2021, 11:23 AM   #7
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As I said before.. you're not driving the car, rather it's just sitting in the cold. However, as stated.. if it happens to be that cold when you're driving, then yes you could ruin the tires.

Whoops just hit enter and saw your reply.

In general people run all seasons at minimum.. although having dedicated winter tires is a definite bonus. They aren't a silver bullet, but as proven a couple of days unfortunately by a friend who thought his all seasons have been doing well, he had a little slide in the fresh snow and tapped a guard rail where as my car equipped with snows didn't even falter when we were exiting a highway at 35mph. I generally run high performance summers/all seasons (that are really summer tires) during the warm weathers, and stick with the dedicated snows for the winter. I still have the factory runflats that are all seasons on the 19" wheels.. yet are high performance summers as you know on the 20" wheels.

It's really that when the tire rolls it obviously changes shape, so if it's really that cold and you are beating up on the super hard frozen high performance rubber you can crack it. Probably only amplified if you're going at a really fast rpm vs just moving the car around.

Last edited by rice_rocket88; 02-11-2021 at 11:29 AM..
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      02-11-2021, 03:33 PM   #8
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:laughs in below 0 degree weather:

no issues with all season run flats.
if you don't have all seasons, wait for it to warm up a little.
too many people driving on summer tires up here and losing control.

i haven't gotten a dedicated snow set for this car yet. by the time i get it ordered and shipped here, it will be spring. i'll search in the fall. so far so good.
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