Cold Temp. tire concern on new 2017 FGT


Xcentric

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
6. Heating pads only run for 60 minutes at a time... I will check every 30 minutes.

andy ((ajb)

Strongly recommend you check every 10 minutes. The decay may not be linear. Have a backup plan (e.g., generator in case of power failure).
 

Xcentric

GT Owner
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Jul 9, 2012
5,213
Myakka City, Florida
The manly solution.

Capture.jpg
 

AJB

GT
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Jun 28, 2006
2,943
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
will do..
1. Backup Generator in place.
But -- I like that 'heat wagon' idea...!!

I saw some monster units yesterday at Roush in Livonia undergoing assembly. They were actually portable , Diesel Fueled Jet Engines .
Used for highway construction, painting large Bridges, Building Little Caesars arena etc...

my Project starts in 30 minutes..
andy (ajb)
 

PeteK

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Apr 18, 2014
2,267
Kalama, Free part of WA State
Actually they do. The rubber will Crack at those temperatures.. probably $1300 to $1400 to replace them

I could maybe see this being a problem if you went for a couple hot laps around the track in sub-zero temps, but not if you slowly roll it out onto the driveway, then slowly roll it back in. Well, someone will put this to the test, so we will have data soon enough...
 

AJB

GT
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Jun 28, 2006
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The project was successful as far as I can tell.
I used the movers blankets and heating pads on each tire .
Parked on the foam insulation.
I also let the car idle in the driveway to steady state of 194 Degrees F.
The heat from all the heat exchangers (front and rear) seemed to permeate under the blanket and kept the tires and wheels
slightly warm .
Car is safely back in the garage.
andy (ajb)
 

ChipBeck

GT Owner
Staff member
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Feb 13, 2006
5,769
Scottsdale, Arizona
The project was successful as far as I can tell.
I used the movers blankets and heating pads on each tire .
Parked on the foam insulation.
I also let the car idle in the driveway to steady state of 194 Degrees F.
The heat from all the heat exchangers (front and rear) seemed to permeate under the blanket and kept the tires and wheels
slightly warm .
Car is safely back in the garage.
andy (ajb)

You let the car idle for several hours?

Chip
 

AJB

GT
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Jun 28, 2006
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Chip - I let it idle for 2-3 hours at a time. Would reach steady state of 194 degrees , ran heater and fan on 'full' so the cabin was hot.
Then I shut off for 30 minutes , dropped to about 150 degrees and restarted for another 2-3 hours...
Project was done in 5-6 hours.

I realize for you folks in more 'temperate climates' that this sounds silly... but I wanted to be safe.
To put it in perspective, the HIGH DAYTIME Temps here in Detroit area have not gone ABOVE 18 degress F for the past week and they are predicting at least 7-10 days more of this Arctic Cold..

andy (ajb)
 

dbk

The Favor Factory™
Staff member
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jul 30, 2005
15,187
Metro Detroit
I could maybe see this being a problem if you went for a couple hot laps around the track in sub-zero temps, but not if you slowly roll it out onto the driveway, then slowly roll it back in. Well, someone will put this to the test, so we will have data soon enough...

Michelin's advice after the Corvette issue was not to move the car in any temps under 20. Do not drive it under 40. Plenty of Corvettes were showing up at dealers on cracked tires. I've talked to Ford guys about it plenty of times and that literally plays a role on where and when they deliver cars shod with these tires. They are concerned enough about just the chafing from the tire straps on the transport degrading the tire.

Michelin's official advice at the time:

In general, summer tires should never be driven on or moved in temperatures under 20°F because they may crack. Tires should be carefully inspected at the dealership before taking delivery of a vehicle.” declared Willard.

“Never use a tire with freeze cracks, breaks, or damage to the sidewall or tread. For those residing in colder climates, Corvette owners should have a plan for vehicle storage during cold winter months. If your garage drops below 20°F regularly, consider removing tires and storing them inside. If you live in colder climates and want to drive your vehicle in temperatures below 40°F we strongly recommend investing in a set of winter or all-season tires.” he added.

Obviously the issue is that the cars sit for extended periods of time in very cold temperatures and are then moved without being warmed, which does present an issue for manufacturers that are producing cars in quantity or customers if their garage isn't heated.
 

Special K

GT Owner
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Aug 23, 2016
1,775
Franklinton, LA
To put it in perspective, the HIGH DAYTIME Temps here in Detroit area have not gone ABOVE 18 degress F for the past week and they are predicting at least 7-10 days more of this Arctic Cold..

andy (ajb)[/QUOTE]

Wow that’s cold! It is forecast to be colder here in south Louisiana on New Year’s Day than in Park City, UT!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

PeteK

GT Owner
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Apr 18, 2014
2,267
Kalama, Free part of WA State
That Michelin advice sounds like it was written by lawyers rather than engineers:

"WARNING: Do not attempt to ingest or lick tires when they are below freezing as tires contain chemicals suspected by the State of California to cause cancer. Anywhere else, do not attempt to lick tires when below freezing as minor injury and/or extreme embarrassment can result, which may require psychological treatment to rebuild self-esteem."
:rofl
 
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Cobraguy

GT Owner
To put it in perspective, the HIGH DAYTIME Temps here in Detroit area have not gone ABOVE 18 degress F for the past week and they are predicting at least 7-10 days more of this Arctic Cold..

andy (ajb)

Wow that’s cold! It is forecast to be colder here in south Louisiana on New Year’s Day than in Park City, UT!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro[/QUOTE]

It is -28 (-39 with the windchill) in Calgary today.......not likely we'll see any NGT deliveries for a while!
 

timcantwell

Le Mans 2010 Sponsor * Moderator
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Jan 22, 2006
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N.E. OH & Naples, FL
It blows my mind that any tire would be damaged by a few hours of cold temps but it is what it is. I suggest putting your car in a car trailer for the day with a small propane heater. That will keep everything well above freezing.

Chip

A small electric quartz or ceramic space heater would work well in a trailer, while being much safer than an open flame.
 

Biginch Blake

GT Owner
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Nov 4, 2008
983
Rockville, Indiana
Like others I have been aware of this problem for a year. Living in a 40% cold weather area I had made the decision to get and extra set of BBS wheels and had Nitto tires mounted on them for a couple of reasons. The rears are slightly narrower 295 – 325 but are the same diameter and are not temperature sensitive, Ford approved the size.
1. Are on the car for storage in garage, I keep the garage around 45 deg.
2. Will use for transport in trailer. Will not be running straps through the CF wheels. I ask Michelin about transporting the car to a warm area and they recommended not to do it if under 40 deg.
3. If a nice day comes around and the temperature is 30+ I can take the car for ride.
4. Will mount track tires on the BBS wheels at some point in time.

CF wheels and Michelin tires are stacked away in a worm corner for the winter.
Renee wouldn’t go for a new retro night stand in our bed room, LOL!
 

33Bravo

GT Owner
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Nov 3, 2006
688
Minneapolis, MN
put the car on wheel dollies, you can move the car around easily without the wheels turning at all...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=groKe4Y4hLk

I have similar dollies (I believe from Griots garage). They work great. I did have to get 2 new ones (low profile) because the standard ones did not fit under the rear wheels of my (2005) GT
 

sr71

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May 22, 2007
512
Calgary, Great White
Must be a big difference in rubber compounds. Daily drivers up here in Calgary (some with summer tires still on, or all seasons). Start and go regardless of temperatures as low as -30F. My tire cradles are in Arizona, so I have been just rolling the 06 GT back and forth a bit to prevent flat spotting. Guess I should watch the temperature when I do that?
 

AJB

GT
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Jun 28, 2006
2,943
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
sr71...
Yes = watch the temps...
but especially on the Michelins that come with the new FordGT. In reading the owners manual it specifically cautions against cold temp usage.. (same for the Shelby GT350 tires.)
I am not sure of the compound on our 2005-06 FordGTs. You should check.
Also, rather than rolling them in the garage, I put the tire pressures up to 44 psi for the winter storage and just let them set to prevent flat spotting.

In my experience with elastomers , the 'softer' the more 'damping' and 'gripping' capacity of the compound at room temperature , the SOONER IT REACHES WHAT IS CALLED THE 'GLASS TRANSITION TEMPERATURE" as the temperatures drop.
First you begin to loose traction and then once reaching glass transition, it becomes brittle.

Most standard M&S tires etc are tested and good to -40 degrees F.

andy (ajb)
 

DJC

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Sep 13, 2017
35
Central CT
"I had made the decision to get and extra set of BBS wheels and had Nitto tires mounted on them for a couple of reasons. The rears are slightly narrower 295 – 325 but are the same diameter and are not temperature sensitive, Ford approved the size.

Will mount track tires on the BBS wheels at some point in time."


What size rims and tires did you go with? I talked to Ford about going to an alloy 19" so I could run slicks at the track and save the CF. They didn't recommend it. They said 19" would be a problem fitting around the rotors and disks.
 
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sr71

GT Owner
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May 22, 2007
512
Calgary, Great White
As well as rolling the car back and forth a bit, I also bring the winter storage pressure up to about that 44psi.