BMW to offer winter tyre packages in UK
- Thread starter deagle
- Start date
sprainedmind
Member
That's not too bad actually. Might get a set for the 123d so I've got something that will be mobile should we have another winter like the last one.
christurbo
Member
Last winter in the 3 Series M Sport with CSL 255s on the rear was not fun, especially since I live on a hill in the countryside.
I will need to invest in a set this winter for sure.
I will need to invest in a set this winter for sure.
I've no experience of winter tyres, apart from a hire car company in Russelheim apologizing for giving me a car without them on. Just how much difference do they make?
I can see how they could help, but other countries that mandate them usually have worse extremes of weather than us. I wonder if everyone had at least say 4 or 5mm of tread going into the winter if it would be a dramatic improvement anyway. Certainly my experience of getting new tyres mid winter was that 9 mm of tread gives you a staggering amount of grip compared to 2mm.
I can see how they could help, but other countries that mandate them usually have worse extremes of weather than us. I wonder if everyone had at least say 4 or 5mm of tread going into the winter if it would be a dramatic improvement anyway. Certainly my experience of getting new tyres mid winter was that 9 mm of tread gives you a staggering amount of grip compared to 2mm.
Brand new car less than a fortnight old E89 drove to Manchester for a flight to St Maarten from Glasgow and it was snowing in Manchester (February) kind of shoots down the 9mm tread thing!cj_eds said:
Car was impossible to drive(had an SLK before so used to rear wheel snow shenanigans ) and by impossible I mean totally. Iturned of traction etc but car still kept stalling no matter how slowly I fed the power in. 19" wheels with 30,mm profile on rear probably didn't help.
With proper winter tyres you can go pretty well anywhere in the snow
The inclines that caused chaos to Z4s earlier this year become fun with winter tyres
The main problem is the height of the snow and the low snout, the Z4 becomes a bit of a snow plough
My used 3 series 17" wheels were £300 off ebay and the German Pneumant pn 150 tyres were £100ish per corner from mytyres
Best £700 I have spent as I drove with confidence Jan / Feb / March in all weathers, snow, ice etc
Seems a long time ago but it also seemed a long long winter at the time
The inclines that caused chaos to Z4s earlier this year become fun with winter tyres
The main problem is the height of the snow and the low snout, the Z4 becomes a bit of a snow plough
My used 3 series 17" wheels were £300 off ebay and the German Pneumant pn 150 tyres were £100ish per corner from mytyres
Best £700 I have spent as I drove with confidence Jan / Feb / March in all weathers, snow, ice etc
Seems a long time ago but it also seemed a long long winter at the time
It's not just in the snow that winter tyres prove a major benefit, although that is where the major smugness kicks in with them.
Pounding rain, greasy leaf mulch and frost all become much easier to deal with with winters on.
Yes, they do squirm around a little when pressing on in the dry but when you're used to that you'll find they have just as much, if not more grip, than summers. Probably due to the softer compound rubber used.
I recommend them to everyone from October - March regardless of RWD, FWD or AWD. Vredestein Snowtracs in particular.
Pounding rain, greasy leaf mulch and frost all become much easier to deal with with winters on.
Yes, they do squirm around a little when pressing on in the dry but when you're used to that you'll find they have just as much, if not more grip, than summers. Probably due to the softer compound rubber used.
I recommend them to everyone from October - March regardless of RWD, FWD or AWD. Vredestein Snowtracs in particular.
I could not stop our X5 sliding down our drive on Mud and Snow tyres, hopeless (bit like the Top Gear episode).
I bought a set of winter wheels / tyres, and the car transformed to a proper 4x4. I drove straight in the ski resort in February as well without the need of snow chains whilst other cars were littered around the road with people fitting the chains.
I bought a set of winter wheels / tyres, and the car transformed to a proper 4x4. I drove straight in the ski resort in February as well without the need of snow chains whilst other cars were littered around the road with people fitting the chains.
shambolic said:
Like I've said I've no experience of winter tyres, but 2mm->9mm on both my old Mondeo ST and my first car (a Volvo 340) used to make a big difference while I still lived North of the border (200 brake out the front, or about 10 out the back in the Volvo's case is a big difference to well over 200 out the back of the Z4). I remember seeing a VW Toerag in the work car park in Cambridge, snowy weather and virtually slick tyres. I'd hope I was never the car in front of them if they needed to stop suddenly in that weather. More tread definitely gives more grip - surely you can't argue that? - my question though was how much extra grip does the snow tyre give. The answer from consistently agreeing posts here is that Winter Tyres seem to be well worth it and make a hefty difference.
It'll sound like an excuse out the British Rail Book of Excuses, but the type of snow matters to: how easily it compacts into the tread and fills it, how easily a tyre can dig into the surface below etc etc. Another thing is that in the UK, especially the South, we don't get much snow. Snow driving is without a doubt a skill where practice makes perfect, so by the time everyone here gets used to it again it thaws for another 12 months.