[Caladin]

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Hi Everyone,
My PCD date is looking to be February, which is not ideal for the subsequently planned road trip with the family. I’m am looking for feedback from members here about the states and expected February weather below. Also any relevant opinions/insight for the road trip.

I am concerned about the tires that will be on the car (Summer Perellis or Michellins) and potential cold/rainy/snowy weather I may encounter on the ~1600 mile trip.

I appreciate any insight you may have. The route is attached so I’m looking for feedback for driving a G80 M3 xDrive on Summer tires in February for the following states:

• South Carolina
• Georgia
• Alabama
• Mississippi
• Arkansas
• Oklahoma

p.s. I do plan to stop after break in mileage to get the break in service completed.

[disancke]

Hey I just did PCD and have some experience to share.

My car has PS4S and xDrive and when I drove home in NJ that night, it was just above 32F and heavily raining. It was the worst scenario I can accept to drive on the summers, and the tire temps dropped to 50F from 70F during the daytime. I was driving very cautiously and slightly below speed limit as other cars did, and the tires worked just fine. No loss of grip or tendency to spin even when change lanes.

Hope this could be a data point as the lower bound to the driving condition, but although I haven't (and won't) tried, don't drive summers on snow. If you intend to drive back on summers, plan for flexibility for extra stays and maybe only drive in the daytime without rain/snow.

[wtwo3]

The fact that you're driving through mostly southern states means you shouldn't experience much snow until you start approaching Colorado. I would try to avoid rain if possible - depending on temperatures.

I've run summer tires in the winter on a RWD car before in Chicagoland - as long as the weather is dry, even in freezing temps you should be ok as long as you drive very conservatively. But any sign of snow/rain, you'd be better off finding a place to stay. Even a light dusting of snow is absolutely treacherous.

I myself will be making the drive home (probably also in February) to Chicagoland... so I've got similar concerns. Will just have to be very proactive about watching the weather and driving cautiously.

[FISH22]

If all you’re going to deal with is low temperatures, I wouldn’t be too concerned while utilizing a mature foot on the throttle. Ovbsiously, you throw cumulating snow in, things get scary.

For context, I daily drive my G80 (PS4s) through the winter in southeast Virginia. We almost never get snow, but it can get very cold. If it’s a cold morning, I monitor tire temps, and they warm up surprisingly quick by just cruising at 50 mph. The 4s seem to lack traction all the way up to about 70* F.

[luckylingy]

I'll echo others. I had to take PCD early last December and drive 1,000 miles home to Michigan. Roads remained dry the entire trip, even as temperatures fell the further north we traveled. We were prepared to stop and wait for weather to pass, had we encountered any freezing precipitation. As long as you adjust your pedal and steering inputs to compensate for reduced traction in temperatures below 45°F, you'll be fine.

That said, I also planned our trip to include a favorite road and vary the RPMs throughout the first few hundred miles. Our route utilized 2-lane U.S. and state highways through the Carolinas, Tennessee and Kentucky -- including the Cherohala Skyway and US276 through Brevard NC. From Tellico Plains TN it's pretty easy to plot a route which gets you onto I-40 US64 for the westward run to Colorado.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

My cars all have summer tires & are driven all year round. No issues with cold or rain. PSS & PS4S are very good tires in the rain.

Snow is another thing. Cars will not make it out of the driveway. Use 4X4 with off road tires.

[Caladin]

Reviving my thread to say thanks for the responses and to ask a follow-up.

PCD date is 3/8 and so I’m planning the details of the road trip. Any recommended stops along the trip? So far I’m thinking the Talledega Speedway Hall of Fame and Graceland, but that’s because that’s all I could find not know the areas we’ll be driving through. I will have my wife and two kids (aged 14 and 10).

Many thanks!

[bri1042]

Originally Posted by Caladin

Reviving my thread to say thanks for the responses and to ask a follow-up.

PCD date is 3/8 and so I’m planning the details of the road trip. Any recommended stops along the trip? So far I’m thinking the Talledega Speedway Hall of Fame and Graceland, but that’s because that’s all I could find not know the areas we’ll be driving through. I will have my wife and two kids (aged 14 and 10).

Many thanks!

Well, you are apparently driving right past the World's Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, KS...