Tiger.... Thats a very interesting question you pose! I have no foundation to even guess which has more grip at say X degrees vs Y degrees. Hopefully someone with knowledge on this matter will chime in. I'll take a random stab that at 45 degrees the sumer tire has more traction on a clean dry surface as it has more of a foot print. I guess there are too many other factors to consider like compound, softness, tread wear (as only comparable on same branded tires), etc.
Jim?

 

Wasn't it Socrates who made an entire career out of posing questions? IIRC, they coined the phrase "and how's that working out for you?" just for him.

Anyway, more fun to theorize can push a car out of a ditch...


OTOH, TR could actually test this out.

 

At 45 degrees the summer tire will not have more traction. The rubber at those temps are like big wheel tires. They are as hard a plastic.

http://www.tyresafe.org/wintertyres/

 

A good read. 7C is 44.6F, that's OK but...

If one switches to winter tires based on overnight lows, a 44.6 night means having your snows on for a 62F afternoon.

Ooh, three sets -- summer, snow and all-seasons for the cossover seasons.