Michelin PS4S Cracked and Ruined!

[Junkyard Dog]

So, I did a little experiment today in the interest of developing a base of knowledge for the forum regarding Michelin PS 4S tires in the cold. Two experiments, actually:

Conditions 36°. Dry asphalt.

(1) Experiment # 1. Cold tires.

After the gym, at like 6 a.m., 36° F, the engine still retained a little warmth, but the tires were cold. I thought this was a good time to try the experiment. It is Saturday. It is dark. It is cold. No cars on the road. Immediately upon leaving the gym, I turned a different way so that I could make a left turn onto a two lane highway. That meant I could be driving 35-40, in a turn, and stab the gas as I am clearing the intersection. The cold tires were very slippery. The car rotated left very, very quickly, and further than I anticipated, and, when going back into line, the rear continued so that I had to steer again in the opposite direction, much like driving on snow or ice.

(2) Experiment # 2. A little bit of warmth in the tires.

5 miles down the road, at another intersection, with 1 PSI or so more in the tires according to the dash, so a little warmth, I was turning left at 39mph (I looked this time) and stabbed the gas without the same result. I had to give it quite a bit of gas to get the rear end to move out of line even a little bit, and even then it was very controllable as I would expect from these tires in warmer weather.

So.

Don't hit these tires right out of the parking lot when it is cold.

Driving 5 miles (not track miles, just cruising with the cruise control on set at 65 mph, so five minutes or so of drive time) provided enough warmth to restore normal high performance mode to the tires even in cold weather (mid 30s).

For those reading - I am not trying to "make a point" or needle anybody who said these tires would be dangerous. I am simply compiling information of the sort that we do not have on this forum up until now using actual data from experience rather than conjecture about what might happen. I hope somebody finds it useful.

If we get colder days, I intend to take the Dark Horse out to see how the PS4S perform in the 20s and so. No promises about when that might happen, though. I live in Georgia.

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[Junkyard Dog]

I have to say, though, that on the second turn, I was thinking, "Damn, am I a glutton for punishment, or what?" Keep in mind that I had no idea what was going to happen with so little warmth in the tires. I expected something similar to the first experiment, but maybe worse, because I was sure I was driving a few miles per hour faster. I was thinking, I am glad nobody is around to post this on one of those "Mustang fails" videos.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

Uh, oh.

The Weather Channel predicts a mere 22° F (-5.6° C) tomorrow morning.

Pray for me.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

Yipes, it was 19° this morning when I got in the car (both on the weather channel and on my dashboard).

Hrmph.

Well, nothing to be done. I have to be somewhere.

I felt the tire. It was rock hard. I felt the all season OE tires on the Explorer, too. Also rock hard. I am sure my fingers are not carefully calibrated scientific measuring equipment, but they felt pretty much the same.

I drove gingerly. I did not notice anything wrong or different.

After half an hour or so of driving, the tires were up to normal hot operating temperatures, which is interesting because after getting off the interstate, onto a city street surface, the tires lost 1 PSI all around within half a mile (it was 22° by then). My CHT dropped from 190 back to 186, too. Oil temp managed to stay at 190.

I did push a couple of times, and the tires were still grippy at 22° - but I did not push the tires at all in the early part of my drive when it was 19° (I learned my lesson about cold tires over the weekend, see post # 76, Experiment # 1).

I felt the tires when I got to my destination and parked. They felt normal, not hard, and a little tacky.

I noticed an acquaintance's Porsche 911 had PS4s tires. I talked to him briefly. He had no idea about winter and summer and he always runs PS4s, and these were new from this weekend. When I told him about my adventure this weekend his eyes bugged out. He never pushes his Porsche and would never consider tracking it.

 

[tktrain]

Fascinating discussion. I have a 2010 Fusion Sport that I've had since new and I've found the all season Michelin PS tires the best I've had on it. I use that car as my daily driver and the Michelins are the first tires I've had on it that come close to holding traction. Goodyear F1s, Continentals, Generals, and Pirellis were all issues with traction.

My '25 DH is currently residing in my garage and will winter there until things warm up.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

Post - winter update.

I think I am safely past the really cold weather here in Georgia.

I put about 4000 miles on the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires.

They look new. No cracking or other issues are visible. Tires are grippy and performed well no matter how cold once the tires warmed up after driving for a few minutes and seeing a pressure increase of 1 psi or more on the dashboard.

No snow here all winter, just some cold snaps into the teens.

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