Advice on Wheels and Winter Tyres

[BeeEmm]

I am driving to Northern Italy in January or February for 3 weeks and have just discovered that on most roads in Italy, including Motorways I need to be on Winter Tyres. I am after some advice on what to buy, makes etc. I have decided to buy new wheels as well as tyres. I will be taking my 2021 G30 BMW 545e with the following dimensions:

Centre Bore: 66.6 mm
PCD: 5x112
Thread Size: M14 x 1.25

Current tyres are:
Rears 275/35R/19 100Y
Fronts 245/40R/19 98Y

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chris_D]

Consider going down a size 17/18" and fit higher profile winter tyres as they will be way more comfortable and compliant, especially on snowy/bumpy roads.

I utilised a set of old 16" wheels from my E36 coupe and fitted them with 50 profile Nokian winters. The Nokians were outstanding in all conditions but in the snow/ice they were amazing.
Couldn't find a replacement set in the same size when they wore out so I now how Kumho Izen winters which are also excellent.
They don't look that bad for 16 inchers but I think dipping the rims black has helped the diminutive size.
I sometimes lament having to take them off and left it til April this year as the difference in ride comfort is so distinctive. I must be getting old. :lol:

 

[B21]

Having tried all sorts of tyres and wheel sizes I’d go for one of the new generation of all season tyres on a chunky design 18” rim..maybe a square set up …having just tried my Michelin Cross Climate 2 in 6” snow at -11c they were brilliant…other manufacturers offer great products too..

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2022-Tyre-Reviews-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

The primary issue with pure winter tyres is that when the weather warms up they go off and the wear rate is high..

I took 1.5mm off some Conti TS850 tyres in one 19c afternoon in early spring..

Given how changeable the weather is you never know whether you are going to be in snow, flood or surprisingly warm..

 

[Chippie]

I took 1.5mm off some Conti TS850 tyres in one 19c afternoon in early spring..

Knowing how you drive that’s hardly suppressing

 

[Chris_D]

The primary issue with pure winter tyres is that when the weather warms up they go off and the wear rate is high..

Nah.
Nov-Feb absolutely no wear issues. Unless you have a right foot made of lead, in which case you're going to wear out any tyres!

 

[mmm-five]

As long as you've got the standard 348mm front brakes (i.e. not the 374mm M-Sport or 395mm M-Performance options), then you should be able to fit as small as 17" wheels.

BMW winter wheel/tyre options tend to go for a square setup, e.g.:
*225/55r17 (on a 7.5Jx17 et27 BMW 631 wheel)
*245/45r18 (on an 8Jx18 et30 BMW 632 wheel)
*245/40r19 (on a 8Jx19 et30 BMW 663 wheel)

But if you're planning on using them for more than a single trip, then Michelin Cross-Climate 2 or Goodyear Vector 4Season v3 are great. I think you can also get them in run-flat versions if you want the added security.

 

[B21]

I took 1.5mm off some Conti TS850 tyres in one 19c afternoon in early spring..

Knowing how you drive that’s hardly suppressing

I'm not very unsupressed!!!

I can be surprising at times though..

 

[B21]

The primary issue with pure winter tyres is that when the weather warms up they go off and the wear rate is high..

Nah.
Nov-Feb absolutely no wear issues. Unless you have a right foot made of lead, in which case you're going to wear out any tyres!

"But if you run a set of winter tyres throughout the year, that same flexible tread will wear down more quickly in warmer temperatures. It reduces the service life by as much as 60 percent. There’s a strong chance you’d have to replace them earlier than if you’d simply remove them at the beginning of spring."

https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/b2c/tyre-knowledge/winter-tyres-in-summer.html#:~:text=But%20if%20you%20run%20a,at%20the%20beginning%20of%20spring.

 

[Chris_D]

The primary issue with pure winter tyres is that when the weather warms up they go off and the wear rate is high..

Nah.
Nov-Feb absolutely no wear issues. Unless you have a right foot made of lead, in which case you're going to wear out any tyres!

"But if you run a set of winter tyres throughout the year, that same flexible tread will wear down more quickly in warmer temperatures. It reduces the service life by as much as 60 percent. There’s a strong chance you’d have to replace them earlier than if you’d simply remove them at the beginning of spring."

https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/b2c/tyre-knowledge/winter-tyres-in-summer.html#:~:text=But%20if%20you%20run%20a,at%20the%20beginning%20of%20spring.

I don't know anyone stupid enough to run full winter tyres for the whole year...
:?

 

[mr wilks]

The primary issue with pure winter tyres is that when the weather warms up they go off and the wear rate is high..

Nah.
Nov-Feb absolutely no wear issues. Unless you have a right foot made of lead, in which case you're going to wear out any tyres!

"But if you run a set of winter tyres throughout the year, that same flexible tread will wear down more quickly in warmer temperatures. It reduces the service life by as much as 60 percent. There’s a strong chance you’d have to replace them earlier than if you’d simply remove them at the beginning of spring."

https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/b2c/tyre-knowledge/winter-tyres-in-summer.html#:~:text=But%20if%20you%20run%20a,at%20the%20beginning%20of%20spring.

That is subjective to which brand winter tyre you chose , its not definitive or a inevitable outcome of running winter tyres all year round .
I know that for a fact Nokian WR4s are capable of 20k plus miles on either FWD or RWD cars with a mjority of mileage covered March to October .

 

[mr wilks]

Nah.
Nov-Feb absolutely no wear issues. Unless you have a right foot made of lead, in which case you're going to wear out any tyres!

"But if you run a set of winter tyres throughout the year, that same flexible tread will wear down more quickly in warmer temperatures. It reduces the service life by as much as 60 percent. There’s a strong chance you’d have to replace them earlier than if you’d simply remove them at the beginning of spring."

https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/b2c/tyre-knowledge/winter-tyres-in-summer.html#:~:text=But%20if%20you%20run%20a,at%20the%20beginning%20of%20spring.

I don't know anyone stupid enough to run full winter tyres for the whole year...
:?

You do now ive run our main family car for 10 years on winter rubber all year round , tried many brands , now i would only ever consider Nokians

 

[BeeEmm]

Thank you all for the comments so far. I feel that 18" rims with a square set up is the way to go. What rims and what tyres I am not sure yet. I am mainly purchasing these for the 3 weeks in Italy, although I fully intend to keep them for the occasional UK use. In Italy I intend to travel from Milan across to North of Venice and in Northern Italy they have strict rules about when to use and not use Winter tyres (see sign).

 

[mr wilks]

Be very wary when investing big money here Mr Bm , they most definitely are not all capable of doing what your wishlist is asking for .
I recently fitted a set of Michelin Alpin winters to a set of 19inch wheels for my M4 , occasional dry winter useage .
First opportunity to try them was yesterday & whilst i can't call them a total fail ( i wouldn't have got where i did on summers ) they aren't even in the same division as the Nokians i have on our F11 tourer .
Was out in that on Saturday , approx 4 inch fresh snow & the car drove like it was totally normal , pulled away & braked with zero twitch or dash light , , not something i can say about the M4 on Alpins yesterday

 

[Chris_D]

You do now ive run our main family car for 10 years on winter rubber all year round , tried many brands , now i would only ever consider Nokians

lolz, lazy arse!
But to concur, those Nokians I had seemed to last ages for the 4/5 months of the year I was using them over 5 years. I remember looking at the sipes and being impressed that they went right down to the depth of the wear indicators.

What rims and what tyres I am not sure yet.

If you mean North Italy as Swiss/Austrian border then full winters would be the only way to go around them thar hills and pack a set of chains aswell, just in case!

 

[Chippie]

I took 1.5mm off some Conti TS850 tyres in one 19c afternoon in early spring..

Knowing how you drive that’s hardly suppressing

I'm not very unsupressed!!!

I can be surprising at times though..

I just love predictive text, that’s not the first time either and I’m certain it won’t be the last,

 

[Jellyfishfields]

Thank you all for the comments so far. I feel that 18" rims with a square set up is the way to go. What rims and what tyres I am not sure yet. I am mainly purchasing these for the 3 weeks in Italy, although I fully intend to keep them for the occasional UK use. In Italy I intend to travel from Milan across to North of Venice and in Northern Italy they have strict rules about when to use and not use Winter tyres (see sign).

Looks like a fun trip, hope all goes well.

Before you go spending a fortune on new tyres and wheels, have a look on Ebay or Gumtree. Quite often a few sets for sale, just check the depths and of course the date stamps. Another option is to check all the BMW forums, I picked up a very good set on the babybmw forum a few years back for our M140, still have them.

 

[BeeEmm]

Be very wary when investing big money here Mr Bm , they most definitely are not all capable of doing what your wishlist is asking for .
I recently fitted a set of Michelin Alpin winters to a set of 19inch wheels for my M4 , occasional dry winter useage .
First opportunity to try them was yesterday & whilst i can't call them a total fail ( i wouldn't have got where i did on summers ) they aren't even in the same division as the Nokians i have on our F11 tourer .
Was out in that on Saturday , approx 4 inch fresh snow & the car drove like it was totally normal , pulled away & braked with zero twitch or dash light , , not something i can say about the M4 on Alpins yesterday

Thanks for your advice mr wilks (I know that you have extensive knowledge of wheels and tyres), I will tread carefully. (See what I did there?)

 

[B21]

Knowing how you drive that’s hardly suppressing

I'm not very unsupressed!!!

I can be surprising at times though..

I just love predictive text, that’s not the first time either and I’m certain it won’t be the last,

Yew cantaloupe windows, itself justifies charging alloy bye its engine

 

[Mr Tidy]

I used to fit Michelin Alpins to my E46, but we never had any snow while I had it! They were good in cold, damp conditions though.

I bought my E91 in 2019 a few weeks before the "Beast from the East" and it had Bridgestone Blizzak winters fitted that were great.

My E90 came with a set of Hankook winters and they've only seen snow today, but first impressions are good.

Anyway OP I hope you have a great trip.