Winter Boots

[Ben.]

Just got my Winter Wheels sorted (they are for my E46 as the Z is no more). Used on the Z4 so thought it would be of interest.

Falken EUROWINTER HS-439 225 40 18's for the front
Falken EUROWINTER HS-439 255 35 18's for the rear

BMW MV1's from eBay. Just has them powder coated and then finished in Matt Black by the wheel specialist in Nottingham.

Sorry about the picture quality, I used my iPad.
I have a 15% off voucher for The Wheel Specialist if anybody is in the market.

 

[imp75]

Looks great. Well prepared, you won't be caught short when they sell out in December!

 

[a11y]

Now's the time to buy your winter tyres: avoid being caught out as everyone panic-buys in the next few months lol. Seriously though, prices will just continue to rise as demand increases.

We just bought winter tyres for the wife's car this week, so that's all 3 vehicles in the household with winter wheels/tyres for this winter. I'm a convert. Think I need a bigger garage for the 12 wheels/tyres I need to store though :roll:

 

[Carnage_Cannon]

Was going to ask how many people actually have winter tyres? I've never had a set as I just deemed it extra expense and even in the massive snow downfalls last year my Golf got everywhere with no hassle. Do many people run their Z's without changing their tyres for winter?

 

[koolchris99]

if its just too bad (like for about 2 weeks last year) i dont use the car. When defenders are tipping over and sliding down my hill i thought it best not to use the car!

 

[a11y]

Was going to ask how many people actually have winter tyres? I've never had a set as I just deemed it extra expense and even in the massive snow downfalls last year my Golf got everywhere with no hassle. Do many people run their Z's without changing their tyres for winter?

I survived for my first winter driving my Z4 on regular summer tyres (Falken FK452s), but for last winter decided they were worth it. Depends where you live and what amount of snow and cold weather you get: winter tyres work better than many summer tyres below 7degC, particularly on wet roads - it's below that temp for a loooong period of time where I live.

For me:
- saves wear on my summer tyres
- protects my 18"s from the worst of the potholes (16" alloys with winter tyres = more rubber!)
- better/safer
- gives me more of a chance of success in the snow, although the Z4's problem becomes ground clearance...

TBH the winter tyres make more sense on my campervan - FWD and great ground clearance - but they're worth having on the Z4 for me too.

 

[Biscuits]

I have a set from my E60 M5 in the shed, hoping they'll fit the X5 this winter (depends on the offset i guess)

Last winter was a hoot in the M5, combined with the LSD of an M car they are ace.

 

[Ben.]

I just want to make sure my wife doesn't get stuck in the snow/ice. She goes up to Scotland alot in the E46.
The wheels cost me about £170 but the tyres are expensive. The wear will obviously be reduces on both sets as they arn't on for long.
I decided that we will probably have another BMW after this one so I can keep them for that.

 

[Carnage_Cannon]

Was going to ask how many people actually have winter tyres? I've never had a set as I just deemed it extra expense and even in the massive snow downfalls last year my Golf got everywhere with no hassle. Do many people run their Z's without changing their tyres for winter?

I survived for my first winter driving my Z4 on regular summer tyres (Falken FK452s), but for last winter decided they were worth it. Depends where you live and what amount of snow and cold weather you get: winter tyres work better than many summer tyres below 7degC, particularly on wet roads - it's below that temp for a loooong period of time where I live.

For me:
- saves wear on my summer tyres
- protects my 18"s from the worst of the potholes (16" alloys with winter tyres = more rubber!)
- better/safer
- gives me more of a chance of success in the snow, although the Z4's problem becomes ground clearance...

TBH the winter tyres make more sense on my campervan - FWD and great ground clearance - but they're worth having on the Z4 for me too.

I'm Guildford area so probably not quite as necessary as Scotland or people travelling up that way, but weather is always unpredictable as we saw last year and even currently with all the wet weather. My main worry is becoming one of those stranded BMW drivers that I passed frequently back then. I'm hoping that most of them just didn't know how to drive in snow and rear wheel drive compounded the issue. The ground clearance issue wasn't something I had thought of, and with that in mind i'd probably just opt for a potential train ride instead of taking the Z4 to work. We all know the trains never stop for snow... :-\

 

[a11y]

Winter tyres are already, unsurprisingly, more expensive than last year. And that's despite prices rocketing during the worst of the weather last year. I've got Kumho KW27's for the Z4 in 225/50/16 that cost £60ea last year (but went up to £100+ each during the snow!), but Kumho KW23's for my wife's Fabia in 205/45/16 were £75ea this week...