I have Summitomo HTRZ 2's

They say, "do not operate in snow/ice or freezing conditions".

My question is, will operating them in these conditions damage the tire or do they just offer reduced performance? I do not plan to drive them in the snow and ice, no way. But when the weather and road conditions are clear, will the temperature affect them to a point that would damage them if drivin? It's 30*F outside right now.

Max,

 

I ran summer tires on my camaro a few winters back. Never again... Driving on summer tires or driving my camaro in the winter. on snow or ice it was suicide. On dry asphalt it wasn't so back but as long as you used a light foot.

 

I had those tires when I lived in OHio and I drove my IROC during the winter months (But ONLY when the roads were dry & clear of ice and snow). Performance will suffer due to the rubber becoming harder but you will not harm the tires..

 

Don't think of them as winter tires. Think of them as cold weather tires.

The rubber in a summer tire gets hard and loses it's elasticity in cold weather. This means traction and handling will be greatly reduced in cold weather.

Winter tires such as Blizzak tires make a good poor man's sticky tire in the summer because the rubber is so soft. It'll also wear out a lot faster.

 

That's kinda what I was thinking...

The summer tires are designed harder to maintain a certain compound in the warmer temps, therefore they become harder than a winter tire that is designed softer to maintain compound in the colder temps.

Just wanted to make sure I wasn't endangering the life of my tires.


Thanks,
Max