I had been reading about the S02's being real slippery below 50 degrees. Does the same apply to the RE050's? My experience so far tells me no, the RE050's seem to perform better to lower temperatures. I read about all these pre-2004 models spinning out in wet and dry conditions below 50 degrees. But I've dropped my clutch and gave half-hearted attempts at donuts in colder temperatures and nothing but grip on my 04, so far to about 40 degrees. Now whether or not this is all tire and not suspension setup differences also is something I'm not certain about.

But hey, you MY04+ owners - any similar experiences you can share? Does anyone know what the temperature limitations are of the RE050's?

Thanks.

 

last winter i drove home from GA in snow conditions with no traction problems. I have yet to find traction issues in wet weather during NORMAL driving. Very good tire so far.

 

[QUOTE=03exlcoupe,Nov 30 2004, 11:59 AM] last winter i drove home from GA in snow conditions with no traction problems.

 

They are not, based on my experience. I drove the RE050s all winter long last year. They were servicable after dustings, or when snow wasn't collecting much on the main roads, as long as I was very careful and drove slowly. When snow began collecting, they were useless. More than once, the car couldn't get through 3/4 inch of standing snow.

I've had the S02s on other cars; my feeling is that the RE050s grip a little better in the cold but it could be a difference in cars.

 

On MY03 I had, I drove in 1/2-3/4 inches of fresh snow fall at 9 miles an hour(taking off is much slower than that) and spun 3 times in 5 miles on the way home! It was so scary!

Just got MY05 last Sat., so far it's been good. 34-40F? dry, no problems, 40-50F? heavy rain at cruising speed on the highway, no problems either.

No snow around here so far, but if so, I wouldn't bet my a$$ on it!

 

Any tire's performance is best when it is warm (but not too hot). If there is a cold-temperature performance difference between the SO2 and RE-050, I'd be surprised. There are other variables to consider such as the age of the tire (older tires lose performance), tire wear, and tread pattern and section width differences.

Summer tires like the SO2 and RE-050 are not designed to be used in snow AT ALL. If one is "better" than another, they will still both suck. If you're going to drive a nice sports car in snow, get a dedicated snow tire. If you live somewhere where you might get cought in snow, even then put on at a minimum an all-season tire. It's silly to not do the one thing that will save you from the repair shop and/or hospital.

 

According to the owner's manual, I thought it said not to drive the car when the temperature is below 40F. I've read several threads on here where owners didnt know that and they spun out and wrecked their S's.

As far as the RE050's go, the place where I have been buying tires for awhile said they didnt recommend them because they had a lot of the tires come in out of round--and was a very common problem. I went with Yokohama AH550's--I believe is the model--they are v-rated and I have been very happy with them thus far.

 

Ok, the posts about snow was interesting information, but not the thrust of what I was getting at. I was just saying that it seems that the RE050's were very useable well under 50 degrees, in dry definitely, and maybe even in wet (but not to go so far as to say they are useful in snow). Thank you for sharing your experiences. I wonder if our MY04+ manuals give us a recommended temperature for using our cars.

I am asking this partly because even though my car is essentially in "storage" for the winter (meaning it's just parked underground) here in Chicagoland, I would like to run it once every week or two, and I just want to make sure that on dry cold days it'd be safe.

 

As I did mention in the first part of my reply above, a summer tire like the RE-050 has its best performance when warm. When it is cold and dry, grip is decreased, dramatically so when it is very cold. So if you drive your car on a dry day during a Chicago winter be careful since grip levels will be reduced.