It's your call but summer tires will be dangerous in any snow or ice conditions for two main reasons-
Winter tires are made of compounds that remain pliable in the cold meaning that they will still grip. Summer tires have 'softer' rubber that gives you a better grip in warmer weather with shorter tire life but will have the consistency and grip of a hockey puck in the colder weather (even when there is no snow).
Winter tires have more sipes/treads and deeper tread design to grip into and clear snow, slush etc. whereas summers have less sipes and narrower treads to put more of the rubber in contact with the road for better handling. The downside of the summer is that the treads are not deep enough to be able to grip and clear the snow/slush turning them into skis somewhat in bad conditions.
Personally I would never risk driving with Summer tires in the winter but I live in Boston and go skiing a lot in Vermont and Maine. I don't know what winter is like in DC, I'm sure its a lot better than here, but it sounds like all season tires would have been a better choice.
I didn't want to scare you just want to give you my 2c for what its worth. Worst case if you drive them in the snow and find it dangerous then park the X until the weather gets better.
Last edited by Boston X5 4.4; 08-17-2007 at 12:37 PM.
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