Do tires have a cold temperature limit for safe use?

Wayne

Wayne

Administrator
Staff member
@CapriRacer with all this cold weather, I've been thinking about tires and cold. Do the manufacturers publish cold limits for safe tire use? Do the test tires in extreme cold?
 
Wayne said:
@CapriRacer with all this cold weather, I've been thinking about tires and cold. Do the manufacturers publish cold limits for safe tire use?
Click to expand...
Wayne,

The only temperature limits I've ever seen published are for Extreme Performance and Racing tires. I think that's because the actual lower limit for normal tires is way below what we humans experience. This is not say the tires are optimal at very low temperatures, just that they are within their operational range.

Wayne said:
Do they test tires in extreme cold?
Click to expand...

I recently saw a paper where the author tested tires for rolling resistance at very low temperatures at an apparently brand new facility in China. The facility seems to be operated by Smithers, a well respected tire testing company.

I assume this facility could be set up to do other tests. Given the choice, I would want to test under controlled conditions rather than outside where the temperature is constantly changing, not to mention the wind.
 
Wayne, not that I ever heard of... most automotive stuff is tested to function between -40F and 150F.
Brother in Law was Chief Test engineer at GM most of his adult life.. They have to think of everything and every possible situation when they design just about anything automotive like tires
 
CapriRacer said:
I assume this facility could be set up to do other tests. Given the choice, I would want to test under controlled conditions rather than outside where the temperature is constantly changing, not to mention the wind.
Click to expand...
did you ever see that DOT study done on tires to see whether pure Nitrogen provided any benefit.. it was interesting.. it was a long term lab test on multiple tires.. I just remember the conclusion was it provided no useful benefit to the average user..there was a measurable difference between N78 :) and pure nitrogen but it was in fractions of a percent.
 
MSCH said:
did you ever see that DOT study done on tires to see whether pure Nitrogen provided any benefit.. it was interesting.. it was a long term lab test on multiple tires.. I just remember the conclusion was it provided no useful benefit to the average user..there was a measurable difference between N78 :) and pure nitrogen but it was in fractions of a percent.
Click to expand...

Are you thinking of the Consumer Reports study? Internet Archive: Consumer Reports: Tire - Nitrogen Air Loss Study

Yes, there are some benefits to nitrogen inflation, but not only have those benefits been exaggerated, but some of the supposed benefits aren't real!

I go into more detail here: Barry's Tire Tech: Nitrogen Inflation
 
CapriRacer said:
Are you thinking of the Consumer Reports study? Internet Archive: Consumer Reports: Tire - Nitrogen Air Loss Study

Yes, there are some benefits to nitrogen inflation, but not only have those benefits been exaggerated, but some of the supposed benefits aren't real!

I go into more detail here: Barry's Tire Tech: Nitrogen Inflation
Click to expand...
this test paper was 50 pages of US Governmental scientific tire testing. In other words it was tedious and overdone. :)
It might have been USDOT.

We had reviewed that Nitrogen study at my job simply because our tire vendor was trying to sell it to us, and that was what we based our decision on.

We used to lease our tires and tire service, the tire company kept an employee there around the clock to maintain the tires.. dont remember the exact rules on how it worked but if a tire didn't last the predicted tire life we had to pay extra but if we got extended mileage over that prediction it benefitted us.

I'm going to see if I can find the study report somewhere online
 
R comps and track tires will most certainly crack if you decide to mount them and try to roll them in cold temps, but those are edge cases. I'd imagine you'd have to get to the 'I'm not going out in that' temp for a 'normal' tire to have problems.
 
CapriRacer said:
Thanks. Interestingly, I have a copy of this exact report with a different title published in March 2009 (This report is Sep 2008)

I suppose why I didn't remember this report was because it was pretty much a Nothing-burger. There were only a few interesting things in it.
Click to expand...
lets face it, there is no measurable benefit to the average consumer but it is profit generator for anyone in the auto service industry. Even if they gave the service away for free it generates comebacks..
 
I have a friend that has listened to and believes the marketing hype behind nitrogen filled tires. You can't tell him any different, facts be damned.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top