Winter is on its way

[PointedMarlin]

Hi guys done a load of reading on this website about winter tyres but to get more specific to my needs as my head is scrambled

I will use my e89 during poor weather & this potentially includes snow/sludge, rain I’m not worried about as I drove through a monsoon the other week. I am experienced snow driver as I grew up in Buxton so respect the snow however I’ve never owned a BMW before much less a sports car & know they are “rubbish” in the snow. Unfortunately my alternative drive might not fare much better & when I had the Audi A3 I used to park my car at the top of our minor road so that as I hit the major road there was no snow.

I’m seriously considering investing in a set of winters but is it really worth it for a couple of days of snow? Birmingham doesn’t really seem to get ice/snow in the same way Buxton did - what are peoples thoughts on this as throwing £500 at the problem is cheap if it stops me wrapping the car round a tree but it’s an unnecessary expense if they only really come in to their own in actual snow (when I’m not getting up the hill outside our house in anything other than a tractor)

I’m currently wearing
Potenza 225/35 R19 & 225/30 R19 if this helps?

Are there any recommendations for 19’s as the thought of getting a whole set of wheels & tyres in 18” would seriously make me get up at 5am & cycle to work for that one or 2 days

 

[brillomaster]

Yes, bmws are awful in snow. However, i live in leamington spa, and havent bothered with winters yet. Even less inclined to now that i can work from home if the weather is bad.

Personally, id only get winters if i knew i lived in a place where snow was common (wales, peaks, lakes, dales, scotland) and if i had to remain mobile in all weathers.

Others will say the opposite to me, but at the end of the day, its your money!

 

[B21]

I guess the first question is whether you need to or want to use your car through the winter.

The second is where you live and where you plan to go with the car.

If you don’t plan to do that much motoring in an E89 during the winter then probably the answer is no.

If you plan to do a modest amount of motoring and plan to stay in / around Brum then again the answer is probably no.

IMHO, based on where you live, and assuming you plan to do a fair amount of motoring through the winter then all season tyres on a 17” or 18” chunky alloys would be my recommendation.

Once the road temperature/ air temperature drops below 8c you are better of with winter or all seasons

Once the temp drops below 3-4c then you are a lot better off.

All seasons have the advantage that you can run them in very warm conditions without much degrading performance and no increased wear.

 

[Chris_D]

Even if you only use your car once in low temps over the winter and you hit a patch of black ice winters could potentially save your bacon whereas normal tyres could launch you off into [insert object here]. Hence, the investment becomes instantly justified.

All-seasons are a compromise imo and I was skeptical of full-on winter tyres for years before investing in a set and now I wouldn’t drive without them in winter. They have proved their worth on numerous occasions from getting me up icy carpark ramps to helping me traverse fresh snow on uncleared, unsalted roads.
Go on end October, come off late Feb. Had 2 sets of Nokians which were awesome. Wanted to get a third set but couldnt source correct size so ended up with Kumho Izens which are also tip top.
Having 2 sets of wheels also offsets wear and tear somewhat on your normal tyres if kept on 4 months out of every year
Swapping them around yourself also affords an opportunity to let you inspect around the wheel wells.

There are no disbenefits afaiac. Yes, they’re an additional but justified expense imo and you do need to find space to store the unused set and if you’re getting on a bit I suppose it can be a hassle swapping them over or paying/getting someone else to swap them for you. Swings and roundabouts.

 

[Marcoose]

I was living in Minneapolis and Chicago when I owned the E85. For as long as the roads were plowed, I could drive on summer/performance tyres. No problem. Otherwise even the most imperceptible of inclines with a mere 5mm of snow would render the car useless. A technique of mine was to drive up those inclines in reverse. Worked every time.

If you want peace of mind, then you want winter tyres. If I lived in the snow belt again, I’d have winter tyres on their own special rims to make it easy to exchange at home.

 

[Zed Baron]

Its a lot of expense for those couple of days a year, I got caught out once in the snow with my E89 on 19" Pirellis, nightmare. Luckily I made it back to my street with the indignity of the neighbours pushing the car home. I keep the car in the garage when the weathers bad and bought a cheap front wheel drive run-a-bout thats brilliant in the snow.

 

[tiglon]

Winter tyres will obviously be better, but the idea that you'll be fine on ice is misleading and dangerous.

Whatever tyres you have, the most important thing is driving sensibly in the conditions - that will save your life more than any tyres will.

 

[obelix54]

With my old 1 series I only got 20 yards from my front door before getting stuck. After that, I invested in a pair of snow socks https://www.autosock.co.uk and used those and could get anywhere. Worth keeping in the boot for emergencies. Often you can get brand new sets of ebay for a snip as people buy them, never use them and then change the car after 3 years.

 

[Mr Tidy]

I've been running 3 Series dailies and have swapped to winter tyres for 6 or 7 years now. That way my Z4 isn't exposed to snow or salt!

Living in Berkshire we never had any snow, but they felt better on cold wet roads. Then in 2018 we had the Beast from the East and I was amazed at just how capable winter tyres were so I've carried on fitting them each winter since even though staying mobile isn't crucial any more.

I picked up a set on wheels for my first 3 Series on here from someone who had sold his and I have seen a few sets advertised since - that's the cheapest way to get some. Or look for some cheap wheels with knackered tyres and have winters fitted - or maybe All Seasons.

 

[Pondy]

I keep reading about winter tyres, summer tyres and all season tyres.
Could someone please explain to a numpty like me what makes them so much better than the others for the conditions?
I understand that a skinnier tyre works better on snow. I don't understand anything else, though. I have never changed any tyres on any car in any season in 35 years of driving and have never come off the road or hit anything so far in inclement weather. :|

 

[mr.tourette]

well keeping things simple, its mostly just a different compound of rubber and tread patterns that bite better, if you look at a winter you will see each individual tread block has multiple tiny ribs in them thar contract/expand under load and bite into the surface creating more grip.. these patterns are what make them poorer in warm weather as the rubber gets hotter these same blocks move around more giving looser grip, same with rubber compounds in that the differing types are better suited to levels of heat and are designed around working between certain optimum temperatures

 

[B21]

I keep reading about winter tyres, summer tyres and all season tyres.
Could someone please explain to a numpty like me what makes them so much better than the others for the conditions?
I understand that a skinnier tyre works better on snow. I don't understand anything else, though. I have never changed any tyres on any car in any season in 35 years of driving and have never come off the road or hit anything so far in inclement weather. :|

Actually there are at least two more categories road tyres..Nordic and Ice..

Put simply a tyre can only work optimally within certain temperature limits and a range of substrates..

Summer tyres are good above 8c and good tarmac..

Winter tyres work well below 8c and in damp / wet conditions and light snow

Nordic tyres are designed for very cold temp and deep snow

Ice tyres are designed for ice

All season hybridise summer and winter characteristics

They can run from plus 30c to -20c and work well-ish on tarmac..very well in cold damp conditions and much much better than a summer tyre in snow but not quite as well as a winter tyres.

So I used to use summer and winter tyres…now as they wear out I use summer and all season as the all season tyres of all tyres have improved the most over the last 5 years..

The issue for a winter tyre is it goes off once temperatures rise above about 15c and dry roads and the wear rate increases..

In a country with predictable winter seasons they are great .. in the UK …certainly here we can below 8c for weeks but we can go 15c-20c especially at either side of the winter season…so more operational flexibility

 

[Stevo1987]

I was living in Minneapolis and Chicago when I owned the E85. For as long as the roads were plowed, I could drive on summer/performance tyres. No problem. Otherwise even the most imperceptible of inclines with a mere 5mm of snow would render the car useless. A technique of mine was to drive up those inclines in reverse. Worked every time.

If you want peace of mind, then you want winter tyres. If I lived in the snow belt again, I’d have winter tyres on their own special rims to make it easy to exchange at home.

They don't plough the roads here. Well, only major routes. Anything else forget it.

 

[Stevo1987]

I keep reading about winter tyres, summer tyres and all season tyres.
Could someone please explain to a numpty like me what makes them so much better than the others for the conditions?
I understand that a skinnier tyre works better on snow. I don't understand anything else, though. I have never changed any tyres on any car in any season in 35 years of driving and have never come off the road or hit anything so far in inclement weather. :|

You don't want to come off the road where you live winter or summer...... glug glug.....

 

[Stevo1987]

I drove in Canada on all seasons right through the winter. Two things though...... don't go out until the roads have been plowed\ploughed if you can help it and live where there aint much traffic. Oh and 3, if you go for a slide point it at the snow bank. i.e. the snow built up by the plough on the side of the road.

 

[enuff_zed]

I was living in Minneapolis and Chicago when I owned the E85. For as long as the roads were plowed, I could drive on summer/performance tyres. No problem. Otherwise even the most imperceptible of inclines with a mere 5mm of snow would render the car useless. A technique of mine was to drive up those inclines in reverse. Worked every time.

If you want peace of mind, then you want winter tyres. If I lived in the snow belt again, I’d have winter tyres on their own special rims to make it easy to exchange at home.

They don't plough the roads here. Well, only major routes. Anything else forget it.

There are no major routes in Norfolk!
That said, I ran my old Capris through many a snowy winter on the normal summer tyres and never had any issues.
To be fair I wasn't worried about them falling of the road though: maybe that helped as I didn't pussy-foot about, just ploughed on regardless.
Only time I ever got stuck was in an old (proper) Mini, and that was on a single track road, when the sump ran up on the snow in the middle and basically lifted the front wheels off the road! :roll:

 

[Stevo1987]

I was living in Minneapolis and Chicago when I owned the E85. For as long as the roads were plowed, I could drive on summer/performance tyres. No problem. Otherwise even the most imperceptible of inclines with a mere 5mm of snow would render the car useless. A technique of mine was to drive up those inclines in reverse. Worked every time.

If you want peace of mind, then you want winter tyres. If I lived in the snow belt again, I’d have winter tyres on their own special rims to make it easy to exchange at home.

They don't plough the roads here. Well, only major routes. Anything else forget it.

There are no major routes in Norfolk!
That said, I ran my old Capris through many a snowy winter on the normal summer tyres and never had any issues.
To be fair I wasn't worried about them falling of the road though: maybe that helped as I didn't pussy-foot about, just ploughed on regardless.
Only time I ever got stuck was in an old (proper) Mini, and that was on a single track road, when the sump ran up on the snow in the middle and basically lifted the front wheels off the road! :roll:

I was talking UK wide to our American friend. You keep those Norfolk blinkers on.

 

[zxy]

Sitting here in the southern USA but have driven many kinds of vehicles in very snowy northern climates. Unless you are in true snow/ice climate winter tires are unnecessary.
I have never found a need for pure summer tires either. High performance summer tires don't last very long and I do not feel the need for a stickier tire. It is also happens that driving up mountain or even hilly roads can put you in sudden unexpected low temps where they do not work well.
My Z4 has had the all season oem runflats and now the Michelin Pilot AS 3+ which is considered by Tire Rack to be an "Ultra High Performance " all season.
If I lived in snow country or maybe even a harsh winter climate I would buy a winter car. A cheap front wheel drive car, with all seasons or "Snow tires". Probably run-flats to avoid changing a flat out in the cold. The last time I had a winter beater, I sold it later for a small profit. The primary reason was actually to avoid tracking icy, snowy, salty sandy, slush into the interior of the other car. I hated that!
If you do drive the Z4 all winter in the UK, look into all seasons that work well in actual winter conditions. The Tire Rack website has ratings for that. Any tire that fits the BMW rim sizes should have decent summer performance as well. If you ski in Europe, Rent a VW before you get to the Alps.

 

[Marcoose]

I owned a 1995 Ford Escort estate winter beater back in Minneapolis. Great investment.