Srt-8 F-1 Tire Warning (snow/ice)

[JMatt]

I would absolutely NOT drive this car with Goodyear F-1 Summer Performance tires below 30 degrees. Even a light glaze of anything on the road makes this dangerous.

I grew up in the lake-effect snow belt, and have driven extensively on snow. Often this has been in cars that were less than ideal in the snow:

66 Chevy Impala with bias ply tires
76 Chevy pick-up with wide flat profile bias ply tires and no traction control
Mitsubishi Eclipse turbo
Audi TT FWD with summer tires
BMW 540i with summer tires
etc. etc.

THIS CAR IS THE WORST OF ANY I HAVE DRIVEN - and we don't even have .1 inch of snow yet.

I have ordered 4 of the Pirelli Scorpions in 255/45R20. They'll be here Thursday. I don't want to win the "who will be the first SRT-8 to wreck in the snow with F-1 tires" contest. Nor do I wish that on anyone else. If it's not too late - buy the Pirellis.

[DZeckhausen]

Originally Posted by JMatt

I would absolutely NOT drive this car with Goodyear F-1 Summer Performance tires below 30 degrees. Even a light glaze of anything on the road makes this dangerous.

I miscalculated the timing of my winter wheel swap last year and found myself coming back from lunch as the snow was just beginning to stick to the road. I was in my 2001 BMW 540i 6-Speed with Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 summer tires. It took every bit of racing and autox experience and winters growing up in New Hampshire to keep that car on the road as I crawled along at 10mph. Stability control and traction control were useless. It only caused me to stall the car unless I disabled it. At one point, I had to keep a wheel off the pavement in order to gain traction and keep moving forward. (I have an M5 limited slip differential, or else it would have been all over before it started!)

30 minutes after getting home, I had on the winter wheels with Blizzak WS-50 tires and I was back out there going places my neighbors with SUVs and all-season tires couldn't go.

To reinforce JMatt's comments - do not even think of taking the SRT8 out if you have the F1 Supercar tires and there's a chance of snow. It doesn't matter how good a driver you are. You may find yourself trapped in your own (flat) driveway, just sliding sideways. If you're going to keep driving this car through the winter, you can pick up a set of 18" winter wheels & snow tires from Tire Rack that clear the Brembo brakes.

[mcalbala]

Agreed, they are called three season tires for a reason. Dpes anyone sell low profile chains for drivers that don't want to switch tires?

[WhiteDiamond]

The SRT8 with the GY RSAs(the all seasons, not the performance F1s) sucks badly in the rain with ESP on....I would just park the car if it was even thinking about getting cold. It isn't a vehicle for winter driving, in my opinion.

Todd

[amant]

Where do you get these winter tires at? I have been out all day trying to find winter tires for me SRT have not found any yet but I did pick up a brand new set of winter muffler bearings the guy installed them for free what a deal. All kidding aside I am looking into a set of water wings, an outboard and a sea anchor for the SRT next hurricane season. I guess thats the price we pay for living in paradise (tourist hell, please bring money and don't stay to long).

amant

[doctorno]

Originally Posted by JMatt

I would absolutely NOT drive this car with Goodyear F-1 Summer Performance tires below 30 degrees. Even a light glaze of anything on the road makes this dangerous.

I grew up in the lake-effect snow belt, and have driven extensively on snow. Often this has been in cars that were less than ideal in the snow:

66 Chevy Impala with bias ply tires
76 Chevy pick-up with wide flat profile bias ply tires and no traction control
Mitsubishi Eclipse turbo
Audi TT FWD with summer tires
BMW 540i with summer tires
etc. etc.

THIS CAR IS THE WORST OF ANY I HAVE DRIVEN - and we don't even have .1 inch of snow yet.

I have ordered 4 of the Pirelli Scorpions in 255/45R20. They'll be here Thursday. I don't want to win the "who will be the first SRT-8 to wreck in the snow with F-1 tires" contest. Nor do I wish that on anyone else. If it's not too late - buy the Pirellis.

where did you order them? how much?

[SidwaySRT]

I admit this doesnt translate over to the F1's, but as i have posted before the SRT with RSA's is much better than i feared.

Just want to let anyone out there know its not insane to do it with the RSA's. This is of course acknowledging that if you have a second car please use it. (I dont)

Let's hope they get some better shoes out for these 20's next winter!!

['05srt-8]

I don't find the RSA's to be that bad on ice or snow, Any car will loose traction in slippery conditions. Just drive with a light foot in the winter time.

[GTS LEE]

The RSA's will be fine. Check the pictures above. I had a chance to eat lunch at a Viper Club meeting last January in Detroit with a bunch of SRT engineers. They were driving SRT8's with the RSA's on them and doing fine in the middle of a blizzard. Check Sidways pictures again. My RSA's are arriving thursday, I drove in seminasty conditions with the F1's last night and found that while they certainly do not have the characteristics of an all weather tire, they were not like driving on slicks or anything, they just had very little traction, the key is turning the ESP off and keeping momentum up. I must admit I was happy to get home and happy knowing the RSA's were on their way. I would not like to play that game every day.

[JMatt]

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