Driving to Orlando from Toronto - winter tires?

[mapledisney]

Hi all,

I'll be driving down to Orlando the last week of February to spend all of March in Orlando and Tampa. I'm deciding between leaving the winter tires on the whole time or putting my all-seasons back on for the drive down. I'm planning on taking the I75 route through Detroit. Anyone have any advice one way or the other?

Thanks!

 

[Marc D]

The minute you'll hit spring-like weather, maybe around the Carolinas, you'll start abusing your winter tires and lower their longevity. Above 4 Celsius, the material gets too soft and begins to adhere to the road. I can't imagine the state is the tires if you ride them in Florida weather for a week or so.

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

IMO it's more important to arrive safely than to worry about wearing down the tread on your tires. Sure, warmer weather will wear them down prematurely, but is that worth your safety driving in unpredictable weather conditions ?

 

[dis_guy]

It sounds like you have plenty of time to travel there and back. As long as you can pick a time of good road conditions and are willing to stay put a day or two if the roads get bad enroute, I'd probably go with the all seasons if it was my call.

 

[namedafteru]

Hi all,

I'll be driving down to Orlando the last week of February to spend all of March in Orlando and Tampa. I'm deciding between leaving the winter tires on the whole time or putting my all-seasons back on for the drive down. I'm planning on taking the I75 route through Detroit. Anyone have any advice one way or the other?

Thanks!

I had asked my mechanic (who I trust, it's a small town) and was told to change them out. Winter tires might blow if they are driven in warmer temperatures. He told me lots of people change them out for the drive down and then put them back on when they get back. I'm leaving last week of February for a week. For the time you will be gone, I would put on the all season. Wouldn't hurt to check with your mechanic as well for confirmation.

 

[marisabuzz]

If your tires are rated as winter tires, they I agree with PPs that you should change them out. If they are rated as all-seasons, then no, I wouldn't change them.

I agree that getting there safely is important, but if you wear down your tread in the heat of Florida weather, you might end up with tires that are in rough shape when you return. To me, that's not worth it.

 

[mort1331]

Just on the flip side. We travel mid march and are doing so again this year. We leave our snows on and have never had an issue. now we are down for 8-10days stretch. That amount of time there really is no noticeable wear and tear on tires, just keep them inflated properly. Also if you are getting a discount for you insurance in Ontario for having snowtires on be aware most mandate that you have them on from Nov 1 to April 1. If in an accident on the way down or back, you may not be covered to the fullest. Don't just check with your mechanic, but your insurance agent as well. Record the call or info if they say it is ok to swap them out.

 

[namedafteru]

Just on the flip side. We travel mid march and are doing so again this year. We leave our snows on and have never had an issue. now we are down for 8-10days stretch. That amount of time there really is no noticeable wear and tear on tires, just keep them inflated properly. Also if you are getting a discount for you insurance in Ontario for having snowtires on be aware most mandate that you have them on from Nov 1 to April 1. If in an accident on the way down or back, you may not be covered to the fullest. Don't just check with your mechanic, but your insurance agent as well. Record the call or info if they say it is ok to swap them out.

How do you get the discount for winter tires? That is awesome! Didn't know they had this in Ontario.

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

How do you get the discount for winter tires? That is awesome! Didn't know they had this in Ontario.

Contact your local sales agent

 

[bankr63]

Well of course your mechanic would say so; that's 2 full changes for him to charge for. Check the tire manufacturer's website for reliable information. MODERN radial snow tires are tested for durability in standard and snow conditions, so they can stand the heat fine from a failure standpoint. Most of the wives tales are from old bias ply tires of the 60's. The soft compound does wear more quickly as noted.

Absolutely nothing wrong with leaving them on, and will provide a margin of safety across the upper mid states if there is snow. Coming from Ottawa, we hit a lot more mountainous terrain at Northern latitudes (NY and PA, a bit of VA) and have lake effect snow across upper NYS. From Toronto on the I-75 route you don't have as much mountain to deal with in the North, so less likelihood of altitude snow, but Buffalo area can see a fair bit of lake effect.

However, be aware that snow tires do not behave as well on hot pavement and generally have poor wet handling characteristics. A rainy FL month could be an issue. I have 3 trips south on my Bridgestone Blizzaks (2 to FL, 1 to SC with another SC trip coming in 4 weeks). Last trip the temps in FL were in the high 90's all week and no problems, no appreciable wear, but they were very "sticky" on the pavement. I have much more mileage on my winters (>60,000km) than I do on my all-season summers (OEM Goodyear garbage), and the snow tires have at least 2 more winters left on them, the all-seasons are being changed in the spring despite their low mileage (<40,000km).

ETA: Here is the link to a more recent version of the Bridgestone page on winter tires in summer, as they say, faster wear (and higher cost) and lesser dry performance, but not dangerous.
http://www.bridgestonetire.com/tread-and-trend/drivers-ed/driving-winter-tires-year-round

And a statement from the Globe and Mail as to safety:
"There was a controversy in Quebec – where, by law, winter tires are required on all cars between Dec. 15 and March 15 – over whether winter tires were less safe than all seasons on summer roads. A study by the Quebec Provincial Police showed no significant difference, says the Canada Safety Council “The difference was marginal,” says Raynald Marchand, general manager of the Canada Safety Council."

 

[mapledisney]

Thanks so much everyone for the advice and feedback! You've given me a lot to think about and have helped my decision making

 

[dancin Disney style]

My DH sells tires. Sorry to say this guys but he read through and is giggling. According to him (been selling auto parts and tires for over 20 years) you should absolutely be driving down south on your winter tires without question. The little time that you are in the warmer weather will do nothing to your winter tires. Now if you drove down there in the summer for two weeks on a set of winters you would have a problem. He said to have a pressure gage on hand, know your proper pressures and correct the levels (if need be) before you leave home, when you arrive in FL and once again before heading home.

 

[mapledisney]

I'll be there for all of March and also making at least three day trips to Tampa for spring training games, may even drive over to Ft. Myers to visit family. My original instinct was to keep the winters on but with the amount of driving I'll be doing while in Florida, that's when I started to think otherwise.

 

[isabellea]

I live in Montreal where it's mandatory by law to have winter tires until March 15th unless you apply for a 7 days exemption (can ask for a max of 4 exemption per winter). Our plan is to decide on February 28th whether we change them or not on March 1st for our March 2nd departure. We usually drive down using I-81 and if it looks like there will be snow, we will keep our winter tires but if the weather forecast is nice, we will change to our summer ones.