Drag Radial failure in winter?

[MrMason]

I just got my 555r's put on a week or so ago, I just saw on the American Muscle site a little disclaimer that says:

WARNING: Use during winter months/cold temperatures will result in structural damage leading to catastrophic tire failure!

Is that really the case?

 

[JB]

If the danger wasn't real, I don't think that Nitto, BFG, Hoosier (and probably other mfg's) would issue those warnings.

I don't know how often it actually happens.

 

[AaronK]

I don't have a problem running them in the winter but then again I'm in TX. I've heard directly from a few tire manufactures (not Nitto though) that certain rubber compounds will get damaged in colder weather. Example, Yokahama told me that their Neova tire will crack or have some serious damage when under a certain temp (I can't remember what temp it was)... I personally have never tested these claims. What I do know is my Nitto drag radials have been fine under 30 degrees outside.

 

[SLEEPERSTATUS]

drive on them if you/d like but just dont let them DR's own you....there has been a lot of cars being wrecked with DR's in rain

 

[xenodragon]

Cold DR's = bad news, i backed out of my garage and couldnt pull back in, there was a little bit of snow on the ground.

DR's have zero traction in the cold.

 

[SLEEPERSTATUS]

Cold DR's = bad news, i backed out of my garage and couldnt pull back in, there was a little bit of snow on the ground.

DR's have zero traction in the cold.

and almost zero in rain

 

[VirtualSVT]

Eh. They are rock hard in cold weather. I ran them last winter. They will flatspot and take 10-15 minutes to warm up and smooth out.

 

[MrMason]

Cold DR's = bad news, i backed out of my garage and couldnt pull back in, there was a little bit of snow on the ground.

DR's have zero traction in the cold.

I don't doubt that traction is horrible, i was wondering about this catastrophic failure they were talking about.

 

[timspony]

I agree! ...any DR pretty poor in the Cold Weather!!

 

[03Cobrra]

I ran Mickey Thompson drag radials for a whole winter where it went down to below 20 degrees and never had a problem

 

[Fat-cat]

In cold temps they turn into hockey pucks and can dmg the side wall/Bead if driven on ( the weight of the car and forced of such against the road will crack the rubber.

 

[AaronK]

I don't doubt that traction is horrible, i was wondering about this catastrophic failure they were talking about.

I was told by reps at Yokahama they potentially "could shatter"... never seen this or heard of this happening before though. Maybe if you soaked them in liquid nitrogen it would shatter :shrug:

 

[harvboi05]

nittos can crack when used in temperatures below freezing. thats what the disclaimer is talking about.

 

[JB]

Sometimes it only takes a few cases to kick risk management folks into action.

automotive liability lawsuits can be damn costly.

I think most understand what the disclaimer is talking about; I guess the OP is just looking for firsthand reports.

Google is a better way to get that info
BTW, this disclaimer applies to all 'Summer tires' and not just drag tires :read:

 

[harvboi05]

so youre wondering if anyone has any first hand experience of completely and successfully disregarding a potential highly-dangerous manufacturer safety label warning?

 

[JB]

some people just like to tempt Fate and many of those become statistics.

I like to keep the odds more in my favor
Lord knows, I do take more chances than I should

For years I've been advising about DR's in the rain and other violations of DOT law and usually get mocked & ridiculed.

It seems to have taken MANY (reported) incidents to wake up this community, but for me, the turning point came in 2003 when we lost Tundra~Eddy & Sonic03~Brian.


Most of us have never owned cars with such a torque curve as ours and the fact is, tires that can HOOK are a top priority for us, but SAFETY (for ourselves and others) should always be first in our minds.

.

 

[yellowgt02]

some people just like to tempt Fate and many of those become statistics.

For years I've been advising about DR's in the rain and other violations of DOT law and usually get mocked & ridiculed.
.

I dont call driving DR's in the rain tempting fate.

 

[JB]

I suppose I could qualify my opinions by saying that brand new DR's are not too bad but then there's the soft sidewalls which can contribute to hydroplaning. They only start out with 6/32" or less of tread and wear very quickly in the beginning, so they're soon down to ineffective depths. After the tread is GONE, they still have rubber left to burn and stick best with a full contact patch, so many keep using them.


I'm conservative and never let my regular vehicles' tires get down to the legal minimum treadbars (2/32") before replacing.

This is because I like to not only be able to 'drive' the vehicle in bad weather but be able to make emergency manuevers and not impede traffic by driving slower than others. So many times, staying in one piece is all about staying out of the other guys way.

to each, their own....

.

 

[94Gt5.0]

I drove my Mach on 275 555R's through NY winter with no issues. Got caught in a few snow storms, and drive it to work everyday. Ive never had a problem with them, aside from mild traction issues lol. But Ive been driving mustangs in the winter ever since I got my liscence, so it really isnt a big deal to me. Always cracks me up when I see people crying about DR's in the rain :lol:

 

[94Gt5.0]

I dont call driving DR's in the rain tempting fate.

+1 :beer: