2 Ag R8Cs

I live in a warm weather state (SC) and will probably will never drive in cold weather again but this one time.

I had problems with getting my order past 1100 and gave up on my local dealer a few weeks ago. I was ready to give up on a 2014 and just order a 2015 and wait till September to get my 2015.

I have been a little bummed out at the thought of not have a C7 this summer and started checking dealers inventory last night.

At 2 AM this morning I found a C7 built prior to March 3rd in the exact colors I wanted with all the important options I wanted (3LT, Z51, magenitic ride, exhaust) it did not have carbon fiber dash and some other stuff but this was almost the exact car I ordered back in Nov. I will miss out on museum delivery and the owners tour that will make up for the higher price

In a few days I will be driving up north and bring home my car.

I will be driving slow the first few hundred miles to break in the car but I am wondering what it will be like to drive with these tires in cold weather. How bad are these tires (down here we call them tars) in cold weather?

I expect to drive home in 2 to 3 days, hopefully my first and maybe my only sleep stop on the return trip stop should be somewhere between Winchester VA and Roanoke VA and the second day I should be driving in warmer weather.

I checked the trafic cameras along the route and the roads seem clear, I just hope it doesn't snow.

Zymurgy

When we left Bowling Green the morning after our Museum Delivery it was 17 degrees. Other than very pronounced wheel chatter when turning sharply in the parking lot, absolutely no problems. Z51, MN7. Just go easy on the right foot. I drove it in Weather mode for a while, then Touring and then went to Sport.

VETJAZZ

I drove 1,800 miles home from the Museum to Phoenix back in December. The temps were in the low 20's when I left. They were in the mid 30's with rain through the Dallas area, and gradually moved into the 60's when I got to El Paso. I had absolutely no issues with the tires. Even had the car over 100 mph a few time. Congrats and enjoy your new car. You're going to absolutely love it!!

KenHorse

Picked up my Z51 in Post Falls Idaho with 2" of compacted snow in the parking lot and my car sitting on top of it. On the 430 mile trip home, temps varied from a low of 28 to the mid 40's

No problems whatsoever despite the naysayers' whines.....

Tires didn't explode, I didn't careen off the road into a ditch, WW III didn't break out in the Middle East, kittens did not drop dead worldwide and the Apocalypse never came.

In fact, it was a rather uneventful drive other than the excitement of driving my new C7 and learning how most things worked

2 Ag R8Cs

The trip is about 950 miles each way, I will rent a Hertz car and drive up with my two dogs and hopefully will get an early start the first day of the return trip and drive 600 to 750 miles that day so I will be starting off on the second day in warm weather. The funny thing is that when I lived in NY I did 2 museum delivers (the museum is 900 miles from NY) now that I live in SC and am less than 400 miles from the museum I am going to be driving almost 1,000 to pick up the car in NH.

I lived in NY most of my life and have over 40 years experience of driving in snow and ice so I am confident in driving in freezing conditions, my only concern was the tires and now from what I have read the tires should not be a issue

Zymurgy

Fixed your thread title for you.

2 Ag R8Cs

Thanks

BigJoe

Like any car, if you drive for the conditions you will be OK. If you use the accelerator as an on/off switch you'll get in trouble pretty quick. I've driven every Corvette I've owned year around. Now in TX we don't get really cold weather as a rule, but I've driven in temps in the teens with no trouble. But one plus on my side, I lived in Chicago for my first 40 years and learned to drive cars without nannies in all kinds of weather. That experience never goes away...

icntdrv55

There is absolutely no doubt that the extreme performance summer tires that GM puts on Vettes and some of the Camaro models exhibit less than ideal grip characteristics when the temps drop below 40 deg F. However, if you keep your brain connected to your right foot and use the loud pedal judiciously, there shouldn't be an issue with normal driving. It would be a good idea to leave yourself a bit more room for emergency braking in close quarters, but you'll make the journey fine. Plus, you guys will be enjoying more reasonable spring temps long before we do here in the midwest. Day here started in the upper 30s, now below freezing with snow squalls and headed to the teens by morning. My fault, of course, since I dragged the GS out of winter storage last Thursday….

KenHorse

I learned to drive (in rear wheel drive cars with no nannys whatsoever too) when my family lived near Philly. Snow? Ice? Bah... piece of cake if you learned how to deal with 'em.

You're right, like riding a bike

george vee

The summer tires are ok when its cold just drive easy because you have less grip. Say hello to Tommy Jr for me and have a great trip home.

Bobs C7 Vette

Can you get home with no issues if you are careful - Sure. Do the tiers perform poorly below 40 degrees - YES. Careful with the gas and take corners easily, leave a little more room to stop all is good. Then go crazy when it warms up and have some fun.

PUGPROUD

No problem in low temperature if you don't push it and also fine in rain. The problem is snow or ice...the rear got squirrelly once on
light snow and stuck on ice when I stopped for a light. As suggest drive for the conditions at the moment.

JerriVette

Congrats on the exciting trip. I bet your two pups are looking forward to the adventure.

Use common sense and winter driving on these summer high performance tires is a non event.

Take photos!

2 Ag R8Cs

I worked as a cop in Suffolk County NY for 20 years and drove in the snow and there were times I had to drive fast in the snow on my way to an emergency call(s)

Glen e

If they were that bad, I assume the musuem would not deliver on many days in Dec thru early march...and yet they do, every day, no matter what the weather.....

mksz51

I agree with everything above - but just a little story for perspective. I'm in Iowa - and it's still cold. Snow is gone and the streets are dry but last weekend the temps were 20-35 degrees at best. I picked my car up in December but still have only 150 miles on it so the "yellow" zone of the tach starts at 3500 RPM. I was accelerating up a highway and went a bit harder in second gear (up to about 3500 RPM) and when I hit third the back end broke less, traction control flashed on the dash, and the nannies all kicked in. Was NOT expecting that - so just be careful with the throttle.

2 Ag R8Cs

Last week I was walking around in shorts and a "T" shirt and today we got a few flurries of snow that melted before it hit the ground.

Aerohead

It depends on how cold you expect it to be.....

20 -45F. Just be careful
5-20F. You in that 'grey zone' where you might be hurting the tire life
Below ~5. You will be damaging your tires.

My car was driven 1 mile when temps were -10F and it complete destroyed the tires. There were microcracks everywhere on the tread and sidewall and I was told by the dealer and Michelin that they had to be replaced. Michelin will tell you not to use them at all below 20F (this is all for the Z51 compound only)

My tires were replaced at GM's expense, as the damage was done prior to delivery to me as the car rolled off the carrier. Good luck getting them to pay for new ones if you drive near zero for any distance.

I have personally set the limit on my Z51 at 20 degrees... if its going to get any colder than that it will be in the garage.

Big Lebowski

Short of 4-6" of snow, you'll be fine. As other posts said, you'll have the tire chatter to deal with on sharp slow turns, but if roads aren't snow covered you will be fine.