Right. It's now been a fortnight since I ordered the wheels & tyres mentioned earlier in this thread - and I've not even had a dispatch date yet. Payment not taken off the credit card, and despite prompting them twice for a dispatch date they're been non-committal. At this point in time I'd definitely not recommend mytyres.co.uk. Least they could do is give me an estimated time!
Winter Tyres
- Thread starter Gilberto
- Start date
Just replaced my original set of Pirelli Sottozero 240 winter tyres that I'd worn out in 30,000km over the past 3 winters with a new set of Sottozero 240 Serie 2. Highly recommended for the very variable winter conditions we get here in Western Canada. The 11mm higher sidewall on a 225/45-18 tyre gives an edge in ground clearance and pothole protection, compared with the BMW recommended 225/40-18, if you don't need the clearance for chains.
Using a dedicated winter wheel will pay for itself in about 4 winters, assuming the avoidance of 8 tyre change-overs costing £20 each wheel (using a better tyre fitter with good hunter balancing equipment or equivalent and an attention to detail that prevents scratched wheels), leading to a budget of £160 per wheel for some 18x8" winter wheels. I use an 18x8" winter wheel with a 40mm offset on my Z4M, with 20mm spacers on the rear (allows front to back tyre rotation by swapping the spacers).
Using a dedicated winter wheel will pay for itself in about 4 winters, assuming the avoidance of 8 tyre change-overs costing £20 each wheel (using a better tyre fitter with good hunter balancing equipment or equivalent and an attention to detail that prevents scratched wheels), leading to a budget of £160 per wheel for some 18x8" winter wheels. I use an 18x8" winter wheel with a 40mm offset on my Z4M, with 20mm spacers on the rear (allows front to back tyre rotation by swapping the spacers).
IMO the oem Z4M rear wheels are too wide to fit a good set of winter tyres. Wide tyres are useless in snow and really cold (wet) weather. I have a set of oem dubbelspoke 164M wheels (+ 225/40/18 Continental winter tyres). It's the winter set-up that BMW delivers for the Z4M and e46 M3. They are great!
Franzino said:
Interesting. What sizes of wide winter tyres have you tried? I run 265/30/19 Vredestein winters on the rear of mine and have found them excellent in just the conditions you describe.
Am I correct in thinking that BMW recommends the narrower set up partly to allow the fitting of snow chains if necessary?
dgm said:
I was told by my local dealer that unless you are going to use chains there was no reason to use the lower profile tire. On my ///M I run stock size winter tires both front and rear and have never had any issue with getting good traction in cold, wet or snow conditions.
I know that the conventional wisdom is a narrow tire is better for snow and that might well be in deep snow. However, I won't venture out in snow more that say 4 inches or 10 cm in depth. On my first 2 Z4's I ran 17 X 8 inch rims with 225/45-17 winter tires and that combination worked very well. On my ///M my winter rims are 8 X 18 front and 9 X 18 rear. I run 225/45-18 front and 255/40-18 rear with Blizzak LM-60's and this actually is even a little superior to setup I had on my previous Zed's. I suspect the reason for this is improvements in winter tires over the years and perhaps the M locking differential might be a factor as well. I would not want to say that the wider rear tire is any better but in my experience it's not any worse either.dgm said:
They are not useless, that's a little to extreme to say. But in my opinion a narrower rear tyre worked better in the winter then a wider wheel-tyre. Just something I noticed when driving different RW car's in the past years with different tyres in really harsh winter situations... Maybe the winter tyres are of better quality then let's say 8 years ago..?dgm said:
Franzino, I actually tried to source a set of 164's for a reasonable price after getting the ///M but the price was a shock... 
They are IMO the best winter wheels you can have for the ///M...
The ideal solution for winter driving...
I recall reading somewhere they were developed for the CSL which required an 18 inch wheel.
They are IMO the best winter wheels you can have for the ///M...
The ideal solution for winter driving...
I recall reading somewhere they were developed for the CSL which required an 18 inch wheel.
Indeed...when you buy them new they are really expensive. I bought my set on Ebay last winter. The Continental tyres were completely new (sticker were still on there) and the wheels had no damage and are oem BMW. The total price was ₤1.000WLH said:Franzino, I actually tried to source a set of 164's for a reasonable price after getting the ///M but the price was a shock...
They are IMO the best winter wheels you can have for the ///M...
The ideal solution for winter driving...
I recall reading somewhere they were developed for the CSL which required an 18 inch wheel.
Indeed...when you buy them new they are really expensive. I bought my set on Ebay last winter. The Continental tyres were completely new (sticker were still on there) and the wheels had no damage and are oem BMW. The total price was ₤1.000[/quote]Franzino said:The ideal solution for winter driving...
I recall reading somewhere they were developed for the CSL which required an 18 inch wheel.
Are they a straight fit on the Z4 M, without having to use spacers? Wouldnt mind a set of these as a spare set especially for winter.
cj_eds said:
I got the order above eventually. Quite pleased with how they look - Avon Ice Touring that look pretty chunky and like they'll do a good job. Eager to try them out in wintry conditions, but I'm yet to see under 7degs on the car enough to warrant putting them on.
cj_eds, I ran Ice Tourings on my SLK, they were great, you won't be disappointed.