Anyone else got their winter tyres on yet?

Yeah, the standard fronts on 18" alloys are 225/40/18, not 225/45/18.

Wouldn't say I agree that 16" winter alloys/tyres are pointless (and not just because that's what I have). Alloys were significantly cheaper, I found tyres were £18/tyre cheaper for the ones I bought (Kumho KW27s), and the 50-profile tyres give more protection against the inevitable potholes and if you have a slide into a kerb or the like.

Oh who am I kidding? Of course I'd have preferred 17" wheels and tyres, but not for the costs involved over my 16" "pram" winter wheels :rofl:
 
I got my 17" wheels for £100 so it was a bit of a given that I wouldn't be getting the 16" wheels lol.

They'll end up in the Buy and Sell section again when I no longer need them, which will make them a sort of communal set of alloys as I think I may already be the third forum member to own them!
 
Blue said:
Unless you're going to change your wheels then you'll need to stick with more or less the size that you've got (are you sure the fronts are right as you've listed the same profile and width as I have fitted to 17" rims?!), but you'll notice a massive difference even keeping the 18's if you swap to winter rubber. If you've got 4 minutes to spare then check this reasonably scientific test out which uses a 3 Series:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYEMH10Z4s

To clarify, what they call "studless winter tyres" are what I have fitted in the form of the Vredestein Wintracs. The bit where they test cornering ability is scary! :o

If you are buying another set of rims, then dropping a size to 17" would probably be a bit more cost effective but they are the same width (225/45/17) as your front tyres. When I was looking I found that winter tyres to fit the Z4 16" rims were hardly any cheaper than 17" so makes them a bit pointless and I'm convinced that the 17" wheels are going to offer suitable grip.

If you have somewhere to keep them then my recommendation would definitely be a separate set of winter wheels and tyres, but if not, and the Z4 is your only car then changing just the tyres will still see that-




a
A) You can actually drive it confidently when t snows :thumbsup:
B) You'll find it much grippier and safer even when it isn't snowing, icey roads will also be less treacherous. :driving:
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wow quite a difference thanks for that blue :) i am sold will see if black circles do studless winter tyres unless any one has othr sugestions :thumbsup:
 
Aye, they last ok in winter but will wear down quicker if you use them in the summer.

One to consider if you want an all-rounder for all year that is actually pretty damn good is the Nokian WR G2, a lot of the forums rate them very highly as a winter tyre that actually lasts ok even when used in the summer, do some Googling and you'll no doubt come across the same as me.

If you want an all out winter tyre then the Vredstein Wintrac Extreme is one of the best rated tyres in most reviews, I went for that purely because I have the luxury of being able to choose a specific winter and separate summer tyre.

Next year I'm going to ditch my summer runflats and get some Falkens, the non-runflat is soooo much more comfortable than RFT, I can't recommend them highly enough!
 
Blue said:
I got my 17" wheels for £100 so it was a bit of a given that I wouldn't be getting the 16" wheels lol.
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Damn you! That's a good price. Not as good as under £30 for my 16"s which is why I'm rolling on the VERY small rims this winter LOL

Unfortunately the Vreds aren't available in the 225/50/16 size I needed - they seem to be the benchmark tyre for a compromise between winter ability and sporting characteristics.

And mytyres have a reasonable selection of winter tyres for anyone else looking.
 
Just started looking for some cold weather tyres myself (on OEM 18 MV2's) and seems they've suddenly become as rare as hen's teeth - ho hum back to google for a few more attempts...
 
I'm putting winter tyres on my wife's Yaris and will use that when it's snowy........soo much cheaper.Keep the Z at home.
 
bigshurv, I had another set of wheels for my SLK for the last two years, but now I think im going to do the same as you, £50 a corner for the Micra. And keep the z4 tucked away.

Guiseley, you run same size front and rear, I recall BMW advise this too. Avon tyres from camskill at 100 a corner.
:thumbsup:
 
Wow!

Have just got back in from a short drive along the coastal route from Ryhope to Seaham, temp was about 5 degrees and the road was soaking, the car gripped superbly and didn't cause any drama when I hit a big puddle underneath the railway bridge. Soooo much better than my summer rubber! :D
 
Wondermike said:
Guiseley, you run same size front and rear, I recall BMW advise this too. Avon tyres from camskill at 100 a corner.
:thumbsup:
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Forgive my ignorance - but run 225 tyres on 255 rims? Can't imagine the insurers will go much on that idea. More info please.
 
Some 225 tyres will fit 9inch wide rims, but not all tyre manufacturers specify min to max rim size allowed for each tyre, not on their websites anyway, so the information is not always easy to find.
I seem to recall lower profile tyres fit a wider range of rim widths but not sure if this is actually true, so a 225*40 could be okay on a 9inch wide rim. You'd have to check with the tyre manufacturers.

I once fitted 225*16*45 on a 9inch wide rim (that originally had 245's on). Looked okay too, rim wasn't that much more exposed although I made sure I selected a tyre with good rim protection.

Of course fitting a lower profile tyre will make the car look more agricultural though.

The manual for the M states that snow chains should only be fitted to the rear wheels if 225*40*18 conti's fitted I think, so that would mean that tyre would be okay on the 9 inch wide rim
 
Darren M, thanks for that - but rears are 9.5's. Still applies?

Might have to take a run up to Sunderland and swipe Blue's !
 
Guiseley said:
Darren M, thanks for that - but rears are 9.5's. Still applies?

Might have to take a run up to Sunderland and swipe Blue's !
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DUnno, would have to check with the tyre manufactures. Think a 225 tyre on a 9.5 inch rim might be a bit much
 
Guiseley said:
Wondermike said:
Guiseley, you run same size front and rear, I recall BMW advise this too. Avon tyres from camskill at 100 a corner.
:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Forgive my ignorance - but run 225 tyres on 255 rims? Can't imagine the insurers will go much on that idea. More info please.
Click to expand...
Most manufacturers recommend running the same width front and rear even if normally they would be staggered. My SLK used to run 225/45 and 245/40 but on winter tyres it was running 225/45 all round.

BMW recommends 225/40 18 for winter tyres - this is in the ///M supplementary manual.

Mtyres.jpg

Remember that 9 inches is only 229mm so a 225 wide tyre isn't that far off. I have found before a range of min-max wheel/tyre widths, am looking for it again now.

Edit - your rears are only 8.5 inches too, if you're thniking about using your original wheels.
 
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