Winter Tyres

chris said:
How much difference is there Hark?
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It's a different car than on the OEM contis.
It pulls away better than my wife's fwd Rover on the compacted snow/slush on our road. I've only owned the Z4M for a few weeks and found it lost traction regularly on damp and frosty mornings. We have had very little snow here (2" max I reckon) and yet I still had a couple of minor issues on sideroads, with the rearend going slowly sideways toward the kerb instead of forwards. I thicker snow I have no doubt the car would have been useless. My mates three series is the same. He's already had a close call driving past parked cars, as well as having to slow it down using a kerb on the hill to work. :headbang:

Anyway winters on and the car inspires confidence. No slipping and sliding, no spinning when pulling away on slush or ice as long as you easy with the throttle. My mind is made up. It's something I think I'll be doing from now on every season.
 
Do you only need to put them on the driving wheel's? thinking of buying a winter car myself.
 
All 4 ideally. 2 will help straightline pulling away and braking, but it won't help your steering. You have the issue that if you end up out of shape, the rears have loads of grip and fronts have none.

Some YouTube video tests showing this causing spins.
 
Hark said:
All 4 ideally. 2 will help straightline pulling away and braking, but it won't help your steering. You have the issue that if you end up out of shape, the rears have loads of grip and fronts have none.

Some YouTube video tests showing this causing spins.
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I was thinking of buying a new Ford Ka which has front wheel drive so it should be better, that's why I thought winter tyres on the front axle only (I'm a tight ar*e also)
 
playalistic said:
Hark said:
No

Just fitted Yokos W.Drive

£540 delivered 225/45/18
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Did you get staggered sizes?
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No

225/40/18 as recommended to me on here.

Have checked BMW literature and the sticker on the door sill and all give snow tyre sizes as 225/40/18 all round.

Narrower tyre is better in the snow.

Gives a bit of a stretched look, but looks quite good.
 
I've got 225 all round too (on a 16" rim though :oops:). Certainly a different feel to winter tyres, steering feels very light in comparison to normal tyres IMO. Faultless today including dragging me out of a very snowy Tesco carpark where I KNOW I would've been stuck on my normal staggered summer tyres set up. There was an E46 330d on MV2's (staggered) who was well and truely stuck a couple of rows over...
 
Kryton said:
I was thinking of buying a new Ford Ka which has front wheel drive so it should be better, that's why I thought winter tyres on the front axle only (I'm a tight ar*e also)
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I fitted them on the Micra this year and whilst they're pretty good, the traction on the SLK seemed much better. If I was you I'd get a set of 18s and run the z4 instead of the Ka.
 
I've been keeping clear of these debates until I got chance to try my Avon Ice Tourings in proper snow and ice, and I have to say I'm mighty impressed. Gives more confidence when roads are covered, and much better at setting off, corners and stopping - tried it against the 'all season' e60 which was on/off the traction control and ABS like mad, whilst the zed relied on traction from the tyres.

Not too scientific I know, but we now use the Zed in the snow instead of the e60 if we have a choice.

Got 225/40 R18's all round for £400 delivered a month or so ago.

p.s. Not so good at a 9 degree run up the M1 a few weeks ago though - slippery on 'normal' roads after a couple hundred miles at that temp!
 
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