[bsjd00]

I know the topic of running the 18" performance tires on 162's in the winter during snow has been debated time and time again, and everyone agrees that running the performance tires in the snow pretty much equals instant death. But...

What if you only drive the car on days when it's not snowing, and/or there is no snow on the ground?

On the surface, this may seem like a dumb question - but I've read posts about how summer tires lose traction in the cold weather, even on dry days. I'm curious how this would effect the summer tires on a non-snow, but still cold day. Would winter tires still be required if the car was not driven in the snow? If so, would there be other drawbacks like slower braking because the summer tire cannot perform as well in the cold weather due to the compound?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated...