Winter Tyres - not sure what to do?

L

lovecars

Member
 North Yorkshire
I'm sure this has been discussed at some length before but I do need some guidance before potentially making a big dent in my wallet!

I currently have 326M 19" alloys on the standard RFT (and believe will be a nightmare in the winter)
Spoke with my local dealer about Winter Tyres for the Z4....
Advice was as follows:
1.New set of Bridgstone Blizzak LM32 Winter Tyre (RFT) (x4)
2.17" Alloys (x4)
3.Total cost £1600 all in (inc storage of summer wheels/tyres)

They told me that they will not remove the existing RFT as this could cause damage to the tyre rim.
I am not sure if 17" will suite the car and would hate not to like the look.

I will be using the car quite a bit during winter so have resigned myself that winter tyres would be prudent.

Done a bit of research myself and found the following from alloywheels direct (not sure what this co is like)

BMW Genuine Alloy Wheel 18 325m (x4)
BRIDGESTONE Blizzak LM-25 (x4)

Total cost including BMW mobility Kit ,centre caps and fitting £2525

So it appears I cannot just replace the summer tyres with winter tyres using my existing alloys as I will probably damage the summer RFT's and may effect the BMW alloy wheel warranty.

So any thoughts to help my decision process? :?
 
How about buying some aftermarket wheels & tyres from MyTyres.co.uk.

They're currently showing 18" Dezent wheels & runflat winters (Conti WinterContact TS830 P-SSR or Pirelli W240 SottoZero S2 runflat) for about £1200 a set - or £1000 for non runflat Blizzak LM32s. That's assuming you switch to 225s all round. If you want staggered then it will be a bit more.

Alternatively, pick up a 2nd hand set of genuine 18/19s and simply fit the winter tyres of your choice.
 
I have some 17" 103 alloys (bit tatty but you could refurb them or plastidip them) with winter rubber on... plenty of tread left but no measuring tool to hand. Can get you some pics if you like, PM me if you're interested, am in Knaresborough.
 
How much? :o
At that price I'd buy a crap £1k car for 4 mths and flog it in spring then repeat next yr OR buy 2nd hand 17s and some Nokian 225-45 at £370 for 4 from Oponeo. Sod the look, if they get your pride and joy home safely and not abandoned at the roadside for a snowplough to wipe out.....
 
I second the banger car for a month or so. Snow hardly lasts anytime at all and for that money I dont see the point. Atleast I can sell the 2nd car and not lose any money ?
 
I wouldnt bother with winter tyres. This isnt Scandinavia , unless you live in Scotland of course. Have never used winter tyres and dont see the need for them.
 
I've written about this before so shortened version. Guiseley and I were out for a run in the two zeds when it suddenly snowed. The difference between the two cars his with winters and mine without was unbelievable.

Get some second hand alloys and reasonable winter tyres, assuming you have somewhere to store them. Then you can swap them when conditions are bad

It's an expense, but you can easily resell them either on here or EBay

There's also the fun factor of everyone assuming you will not be able to drive your car up the slightest incline. I upset an Audi driver last year who had several attempts to follow me up our road and just couldn't make it ;)
 
My winter plan would be something like http://www.wheelbasealloys.com/alloy-wheels/wolfrace/padua/shadow-chrome/18-inch
with http://www.tyre-universe.co.uk/nokian-wr-a3-225-40-r18-92v-xl-m-s-winter-tyre.html If you have a cheap local tyre fitting service £855 ish.
I would be stuck at home with any snow fall with out winter tyres. Hilly where i live. Put's half the wear on your summer tyres . The other route that would work is snow socks(£55) and a BMW 3 series jack off ebay £20.
Jacking the car up allows much easier fitting of snow socks to rear.
 
indizee said:
I wouldnt bother with winter tyres. This isnt Scandinavia , unless you live in Scotland of course. Have never used winter tyres and dont see the need for them.
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I used to think like this, until 2 years ago i had to abandon my Z on the side of the A40 in london with the rest of the merc's and bmw's after i went to the cinema.

I now have winter wheels... And they work better in cold conditions (sub 10 degrees) not just snow... I was planning on fitting them this weekend, but is still exceptionally mild!


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Thanks for all your comments and advice....I am veering to definately buying a new set of alloys and winter tyres....not sure what yet though. :?
 
The 17s that BMW do with the winter tyre package actually look OK its just that theyre expensive :cry:

I had all this with my previous 1 Series M Sport and ended up buying BMWs winter wheel package which were 16s with Dunlop winters for £1200. The dealer also charged me 90 quid to swap and store the summer wheels so watch them if you go this route.

Believe you me if you have staggered 18s or 19s on summer runflats it only takes 2 inches of snow to get stranded.

If you go aftermarket wheels watch the offsets as the fronts and rears are markedly different.

When I bought the E89 I decided it would not be used during winter, in fact I will be storing it today and luckily kept my old Z3 so bought some suitable aftermarket alloys and winter tyres for it and it sailed through 6" of snow last March.

If you rely on the Z4 in bad weather then I would bite the bullet and go for the 17s from BMW especially if your keeping the Zed for a few years yet. Expensive but what price is safety?

Tim.
 
Why spunk £1600 when you can do it for less than half that with equally first rate winter tyres ? Go 2nd hand....for example... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-BMW-Alloy-Wheels-E81-E82-E87-E88-17-LA-Wheel-Star-Spoke-Part-6778219-/300993460043 and then Oponeo or MyTyres/Blackcircles.
 
jaRED said:
I've written about this before so shortened version. Guiseley and I were out for a run in the two zeds when it suddenly snowed. The difference between the two cars his with winters and mine without was unbelievable.

Get some second hand alloys and reasonable winter tyres, assuming you have somewhere to store them. Then you can swap them when conditions are bad

It's an expense, but you can easily resell them either on here or EBay

There's also the fun factor of everyone assuming you will not be able to drive your car up the slightest incline. I upset an Audi driver last year who had several attempts to follow me up our road and just couldn't make it ;)
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree, the 17's I am flogging (with Wintraks on) were amazing in the snow... beforehand I got stuck in the Co-op car park and had to be towed out by a pick-up, afterwards I could pretty much drive anywhere... amazing difference! The other good reason for having winter wheels is protecting your summer alloys from all the salty nastiness on the roads over the winter months :)
 
Set of cheap 18" winter alloys for £500 and they should be non staggered, then set of Vredestein Wintrac for £550 and you can sell the wheels when you sell the car. If you do it right you won't cost you anything in real terms as you will use rubber anyway.

No brainer really

4853573a.jpg
 
I'm always amazed and very envious when I read some posts from people who have no problems in the snow in a BMW. I appreciate that the degree of difficulty depends on the amount of torque and the width of the tyres etc but having spent the last 4 years with an E92 330d on 255s running up a monumental trouser dry cleaning bill, Ive just taken the plunge on winter wheels and tyres for the Z.

As others have said, it doesnt have to cost the earth as Ive just bought a second hand set off ebay for £495. These are the winter wheel package supplied by BMW costing £1600. They have covered 5k miles, have one slight kerbing mark on them and are the same alloys as supplied with my car. Bearing in mind I won't be wearing out my summer tyres throughout the winter, you could view them as being almost free
 
Napastar said:
I'm always amazed and very envious when I read some posts from people who have no problems in the snow in a BMW. I appreciate that the degree of difficulty depends on the amount of torque and the width of the tyres etc but having spent the last 4 years with an E92 330d on 255s running up a monumental trouser dry cleaning bill, Ive just taken the plunge on winter wheels and tyres for the Z.

As others have said, it doesnt have to cost the earth as Ive just bought a second hand set off ebay for £495. These are the winter wheel package supplied by BMW costing £1600. They have covered 5k miles, have one slight kerbing mark on them and are the same alloys as supplied with my car. Bearing in mind I won't be wearing out my summer tyres throughout the winter, you could view them as being almost free
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Seems a good idea...........Can you let me know what the model number of the alloys is?
 
Just thought of another question....I have never jacked up the car....I assume I will need a hydraulic trolley jack....what's the best method and where is it safe to jack up the car?
 
There will be jacking points on the side, along the sill, you can see feel the blocks if you look there.

You will also need a low profile trolley jack... Nothing too fancy if you only do this a couple of times a year.... Or borrow one.. You can use a standard one too, but will need to drive the car up on some planks of wood to get enough clearance.


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aquazi said:
There will be jacking points on the side, along the sill, you can see feel the blocks if you look there.

You will also need a low profile trolley jack... Nothing too fancy if you only do this a couple of times a year.... Or borrow one.. You can use a standard one too, but will need to drive the car up on some planks of wood to get enough clearance.


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Many thanks cheers :thumbsup:
 
You shouldn't need a low profile jack if your car is not lowered. An ordinary one will do.... Unless you intend to lower it in the future, then get a low profile one. I didn't, and now I can't get my jack under my car :lol:
 
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