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      08-03-2019, 09:01 PM   #18
ToasterStroodle
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Drives: '95 BMW 730iL E38
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Washington D.C.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by dmann33 View Post
Not to make this a tire thread at all, but you can drive under conservative conditions with potentially no discernible difference. However, and its a big one, when you get below 45 the rubber compound becomes an inflexible plastic with drastically reduced traction characteristics. As such, your stopping distance can rise considerably and worst case you can more easily lose control making an aggressive evasive maneuver. So, in absence of this need you may not notice, but this car is heavy and for us it’s the safety (including accident avoidance abilities) that were the greatest factor in buying a new X7. Just wanted to add this for anyone considering driving on summer rubber in cool temps. My wife would be furious if I had her on poor control tires during part of the year.

It’s also true that summer tires perform better in hot conditions than all seasons, BUT the difference isn’t anywhere near as drastic as it it when that soft compound changes characteristics in cool temps.
Thanks again for your reply! You make very valid points regarding tires, and since we will be using the X7 way more often than the GLE all year, I'll definitely go for a winter set up.
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