Pirelli says cold temps will ruin your Corsas...and be careful with your P-Zeros!

[Bruce H.]

Many may know that R-Compound tires like the Corsa that came with the optional Track Pack and TA cannot withstand freezing temps. A call to Pirelli this morning revealed that 5 degrees celius is the lowest temps that they recommend for the Corsa. That's for storage on or off the car, to drive the car, or even roll it on the tires. Much below that and they will crack...with high certaintly. I asked because I expect my TA to be transported from the factory possibly next month in below freezing temps, and while it will be put in a heated space afterwards, the damage could have already been done. Cracks will appear on the face of the tire if damaged, and they will appear right away, not months later. The P-Zeros don't have an official minimum temperature, but they don't recommend much below -5 to -10 celcius.

Everyone should check their own tires if they have seen freezing or near freezing temps. And if anyone is taking delivery of a Viper that may have sat in cold weather it would be worth a careful inch by inch examination of the tires, and have them replaced under warranty if damaged. Once the car leaves the dealer you could have a very hard time proving when they were damaged.

Bruce

 

[3whitevipers]

Very good info to have given that Conner Ave is in Detroit with all this record cold--Dave

 

[Bruce H.]

I hope to get a response from SRT and will update.

 

[sambo32]

Any updates.

 

[Paul Hawker]

5 degrees Celsius is equivalent to 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Not all that cold.

Hard to believe that shipping at this temp will crack and damage a tire.

Agree that it will be good to get guidance on this from Pirelli.

Here is a link to their information.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=221

 

[Bruce H.]

I hope to get a response from SRT and will update.

I got a response from SRT but they didn't address the shipping in cold weather concerns. I'm not worried now since Pirelli explained that the cracks will show immediately if the tire is affected. So you need to check each tire carefully if you think they may have been exposed to very cool temps. Here's a photo of a Kumho Esta V710 showing cold weather cracks that have ruined the tire.

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[Jack B]

That tire was ruined before it got the cracks.

I got a response from SRT but they didn't address the shipping in cold weather concerns. I'm not worried now since Pirelli explained that the cracks will show immediately if the tire is affected. So you need to check each tire carefully if you think they may have been exposed to very cool temps. Here's a photo of a Kumho Esta V710 showing cold weather cracks that have ruined the tire.

You must be registered for see images

 

[Dan Cragin]

FYI,
A few years back I was racing at Willow Springs. We stayed at the track in the transporter, working on a car we had to have ready in the morning. I left 4 new Hoosier R6's outside that night so I could sleep in the back of the semi. It got down to about 20 degrees that night. Next day when we ran those tires, two of them cracked and had to be replaced. Yikes!

 

[SnakeBitten]

Interesting. Did the MPSC's have this issue as well on the G4 ACR's?

 

[Chelseasnake]

i know in 09 i bought a new acr, it was -20c all day. my car was shipped in a open tilt and load truck. the car was outside for more than 3 hours. it was hard to start when we got home. i drove the car for a few years. no problems with the tires.

 

[VENOM V]

This is a common problem for summer tires. The Camaro 1LE and ZL1 come with Goodyear Supercar G2s. They actually halt manufacture of the cars during cold spells solely because the tires can't handle sub freezing temps.

 

[Bruce H.]

That tire was ruined before it got the cracks.

Correct. Kumho confirmed that all four of these V710 tires had been damaged by cold transit...not doubt about it. But unlike what Pirelli claims for the Corsas, the cracks didn't immediately show. The tire in my picture shows a brand new tire with one HPDE warm-up session on it. You'll notice there isn't even any wear on the outside edge. Different tires would be expected to react differently, and if the MPSC can handle cold better then that may be one consideration in its choice by more OEMs.

 

[VENOM V]

Correct. Kumho confirmed that all four of these V710 tires had been damaged by cold transit...not doubt about it. But unlike what Pirelli claims for the Corsas, the cracks didn't immediately show. The tire in my picture shows a brand new tire with one HPDE warm-up session on it. You'll notice there isn't even any wear on the outside edge. Different tires would be expected to react differently, and if the MPSC can handle cold better then that may be one consideration in its choice by more OEMs.

Well I don't know about ability to not crack in cold weather, but the MPSC is useless on track below maybe 60 or 70 degrees. The Corsa, however, gripped well in cooler temps when I tracked at Laguna Seca. I want to say the temps were in the 40s during the morning sessions, and it had decent grip although I wasn't pushing hard yet.

 

[DrumrBoy]

That tire was ruined before it got the cracks.

Nah, used perhaps but not ruined. The junk on the flat looks like OPR picked up after a heat cycle driving through the paddock. One lap and all that crap comes off. Not an expert but I'd use that tire, sans cracks of course ;-)

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

A few things to think about if you are worrying about this is; do not move the car in these conditions, do not inflate the tires when cold, (but over inflating them when they are warm may prevent the impact flexing that can cause this). If you have to move the car avoid ALL sharp impacts and wheel spin or hop as all these can increase the possibility of damage. The compounding used to make this tire work in high heat, high grip conditions likely make it almost "plastic" when it is this cold.

 

[Mike Adams]

Had the same problem with go kart tires. Where shipped from Germany in the winter and never or inflated till summer. After one heat cycle cracks started appearing.