Have a shade over 20K miles on the stock Yokohama Avid S33s, and a once slow leak (since plugged) has turned into a fast leak in one of the tires. Always rotated every 5K, the 3 remaining have a bounty of tread left. In preparation for the NYC/NJ winter I was planning on replacing all 4 with a set of Michelin X-Ice 2's. The conundrum lies here: I have a 2600 mile R/T coming up next week to Florida. Do I dare try the trip on a plugged tire, and get the winter tires upon my return? (not serious) Do I replace just the one plugged tire with something used for 2400 miles? (less serious) Do I get the winter tires and let them experience a week in Miami before the onslaught of cold, rain, ice and snow? (likely choice) Will there be a noticeable difference in MPG, road noise, and wear on the winter tires by giving them some fun and sun in the south Florida heat?
Snow tires are designed to stay pliable in cold temperatures. In warm temps they get too soft and wear down quickly. That 2600 miles trip may be double that as far as wear is concerned. If the other tires have plenty of tread why not replace just the one tire with a new one? Then buy a set of cheap winter wheels or OE take offs for the winter? I've seen some OE take offs with tires going for less than 4 new tires.
A plug, properly installed is... in theory anyway... stronger then a tire sidewall. I took my similarly worn, and also with 1 plug, Prius on OEM Yoko's back and forth from VT to NC this summer and just made sure my AAA was up to date, no issues.
