Daily driver... In reality.

[Ed Doe]

Another daily driver here - done 35k in the last 3 years, including latterly a couple of trackdays. I've never run winters, only Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 2s, and latterly Michelin Pilot Supersports. I've never had cause to consider getting a set of winters. Give yourself time to acclimatise to the car - I was very precious about driving fast for most of the first year of ownership to be honest as it was my first rwd car. Don't be too put off or feel too sheepish if the TC light comes on - the limit is very low for TC intervention, so you probably only started to spin an inside rear slightly...

I can't comment on the tent/hardtop side of things, but I've seen plenty dailied round this area with soft tops still up, so seems par for the course

Once you feel a bit more comfortable in the car, the wet weather can actually be a nice time to learn how the car feels moving around a bit more under you - it's all part of the fun

 

[groovy_hippy]

My daily gets winter tyres. It's not about snow and ice, it's about having reasonable grip in cold conditions (as dhobbs says below 7C) which most of us experience most of the time. I also go down a wheel size in the winter to handle potholes better. A second hand set of wheels is easy to pick up cheaply, and whilst your winters are on the summers are not wearing out and vice versa, so both sets last twice as long.

I think i'm going to take this advice.....is there a particular type of wheel and tyre you can recommend for winter? Also an idea of what i should be spending would be a great help.

I'm in a 2005 3.0i on 108 split rims atm.

Thanks for your help.

I can furnish you with a set of 16s if you're interested. PM me if you're interested.

Now I've upgraded to 18s I'll keep my other set of 16s for winters....it's amazing the difference winters make - as others have said, it's not just about snow and ice - lower temps and more water lying around can make for more 'fun' driving on summer tyres if you know what I mean...

 

[Steve84N]

You need at least 17s on a 3.0 to cover the brakes.

 

[groovy_hippy]

Good point Steve84N - that didn't occur to me! Thanks

 

[Ben-R]

Another vote here for running winter tyres on a daily BMW. I don't have them for the Zed as that's a second car, but I have them for the 5 series. As mentioned above it's not just about snow, but cold/winter weather generally.

I have owned BMW's for a number of years now and been caught out a few times in the past in snow using summer tyres! Ironically I've had no snow to try them on since buying the winters! :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

I had a set of yokohama winter tyres on my old e90. Below 7 degc they have more grip as the rubber remains more compliant. The fact you can drive in snow is a side show tbh.
If i ever end up with a rwd daily again i would by winter tyres.

 

[Scooba_Steve]

Winter tyres require a bit of outlay initially but the wheels should maintain their value and the tyres are a consumable anyway. Each set will last approx. twice as long as one set so no difference there. Few hundred for some wheels? It's a no-brainer for me, and cheaper than a potential claim.

 

[beanitos]

I'm running the M Coupe as a daily, wife has a MX5. That makes the MC the practical one of the two!

All year round, no dramas.

 

[kis]

Good point Steve84N - that didn't occur to me! Thanks

Not necessarily. I've got a 3.0i (prefacelift) and it runs with 16's just fine.
If you're running 3.0si (facelift) or with 330 brake upgrade then you'll need 17's.

If it were to do it again I'd get 17's as it's a better trade of with handling and performance.

No issues running summer tyres (like Michelin PS3 / PS4) all year round. You'd do this on any other car if you didn't have the space for a winter set? Stick a premium brand of tyres on and you're sorted (minus the snow bit - I wouldn't risk it!!)

 

[Steve84N]

I'd forgotten that detail, so used to having 3 litre cars with brakes that require 17s as I had a 330 before and our estate is a 330 too.

 

[kis]

No worries! I was a little worried when I picked up the 104's but defo fit! Since then I've done in depth research when I learned about the 330 upgrade. So since the 104's have been passed on. Just thought I'd give OP the option of 16's if he really wanted!