Quote:
Originally Posted by The Fatal Gamer
Oh please, you try braking hard at 80 mph or try an evasive maneuver at 60 and when it's below 32F and wet and tell me how PSS works out for you - wait you most likely won't be here to talk when that happens 
PSS does have a better grip in cold weather but below 50F the tire turns into concrete. I have been using them for a long time. There is a reason why they are called summer tires. Detroit is one of the coldest areas of the united states and the past week being probably the coldest in 30 years with lots of ice, I thought BMW would know better, but I guess not. |
I agree 100% with those who say PSS are pretty good below freezing under the following conditions: 1) no ice, rain, water, snow, etc. on the road in question - in other words, completely dry; and 2) driving the car like any other "ordinary" car with no aggressive acceleration. I drove mine for three winters under these conditions, and even around 0 degrees farenheit under these conditions the car was completely controllable in terms of acceleration, braking and turning. My car braked just as quickly as all of the other cars on the road with all-season tires, my car never fishtailed or broke traction (unless I was deliberately pushing it in a dry parking lot), no tire squeal or loss of traction whatsoever when going around curves (again, unless deliberately pushing the limits under controlled condidtions, and even then, the trademark M gradual departure from its limits, where simply easing off on the throttle and/or relaxing the turn radius immediately allowed traction to be regained).
Of course nobody would "recommend" PS2's or PSS's in below freezing conditions, even if dry. Under the hypothetical above, you would be incredible foolish to be driving at 80 in wet conditions and slamming on the brakes even on winter tires, and downright suicidal if on PSS's or PS2's. Like everyone else said above though, I never drove mine when there was even a trace of snow, ice or water on the road (it was my third car, so I didn't have to).
On the other hand, driving the M4 on PSS's under the conditions in Detroit shown in the above photos (low speeds, dry roads) is completely controllable, especially at such slow speeds. The only people you'll see here saying it was "stupid" or "irresponsible" for BMW to be driving the car under the conditions depicted above are people who have never driven the car on those types of tires under those particular conditions.