Summer tyre question!!

[Big E 118]

After all the winter tyre threads recently I have a question.

My summer tyres operate best down to a recommended ambient temperature of 7 degrees. If the ambient temperature is 5 degrees surely my tyres will heat up fairly soon after setting off and eventually heat through to way above they're minimum recommended temperature of 7 degrees, increasing the performance of the tyre making the ambient temperature irrelevant.

I presume the answer to this is that the tyre actually performs well above 7 degrees and that the tyre manufacturers deem it will not achieve a suitable temperature in "normal driving" if the ambient temperature is below 7 degrees. Does anyone know the answer?

Does this also mean that if I have summer tyres on my car and it's cold out that the faster I go round corners the more friction I'll create, in turn making my tyres perform better. In theory we should be telling people to drive more quickly the colder it is to make their tyres work......

[GreigM]

On the road you're unlikely to generate and retain enough temperature to make much of a difference - they cool down too quickly.

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

fk all that Winter tyre drivel on here, to be honest.

I spent ages looking round and trying to source a set at a good price, thinking it was the right thing to do.

In the end, I have just bought a nice new set of Michelin Pilot Sport 3's.

I have done 1,000 miles in three days in all kinds of cold, slippery and stty weather, including frozen slush etc.

And they're fine, perfectly able to cope with it all. No dramas at all.

I think winter tyres are for the ridiculously cautious and the 'forum sheep' to be honest!

I mean, we're not living in bloody Siberia, are we??