Winter tyres?

Cavey1638

Cavey1638

Member
Dear All,

I know this is early but just a couple of questions. I have had my 2004 Z4 since beginning of January and I am very pleased with her. Having experienced driving wifeys 3 series in thick snow it was an interesting experience. Is the zed ok in the snow with winter tyres or is it a park it in the garage until spring?

I have good experience with rear wheel drive cars so wondering which tyres to go for. I use Continental SP3's for summer which a reasonable premium tyre.

Forgot to mention the car has the ellipsoid 18" rims.

Cavey
 
The only problem you'll have with the Z in the snow is ground clearance if we get a lot of snow.

Winter tyres work well - and almost any winter tyre will be better than a summer one if there's snow on the ground.

If there isn't any snow, and it's just cold (ground temp below about 7ºC) then winter tyres will still work, but they'll be a bit noisier.

I've not encountered anything that I couldn't get through on my Michelin PSS summer tyres yet though - but I do live in a city and rarely need to go up into the hills during winter. I also carry a set of 'snow socks' just in case - but I've never had to fit them either.
 
You'll get different views on here. Some think they are not necessary but guess it depends where you live.
My view is that if you don't put winters on it then I would recommend the garage in any snow.
With winters it does pretty well in snow certainly better than a FWD without. I use mine daily and it has coped well with a few inches of snow.
 
Winter tyres are not just for when it snows , they do aid braking, traction & grip in rain,frost ,slush etc
The question should be do you plan to run the car all year whatever the weather or have you a alternative should the weather turn white ?
If you do need it all year then i would start collecting the correct winter rubber right now for when you need to switch or go for a set of 17inch winter wheel's+tyres to change to in Nov :oops:
Our main family car (A6) does around 50 miles a week so i don't have issue running winter rubber all year round & only yesterday fitted a new set of wheel's with 4 Pirelli Sotto zero tyres on :?
£200 should get you a decent set of part worn winters on BMW staggered set up sizes :thumbsup:
 
I just use a set of nankang sv2's for the winter. Not used them on the zed yet but they were great on my old Subaru (AWD + winter tyres = :driving: :D)

As someone has said any winter tyre will be better than summers. You are right to look now, you can watch the prices rise as demand does the same in the winter months.
 
Lots of info in this thread....
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=30740
 
Dear All,

I use my car all year round for commuting about 36 miles a day. I had a heavily modified Volvo S60 T5 which ok to drive but since having my Zed it puts a big smile on my face. I have always used quality tyres so was looking for some direction. Will be purchasing a set of rims to get some winter rubber x 4. The link to the other threads made good reading. Cannot believe some people put winters on the rear only!

Thanks

Cavey
 
I bought a second hand set on here, keep 'em peeled. If you have the storage space then you save money on changeovers, and if you sell the car you can sell them seperately.
Do you need them? depends where you live and how bad next winter is going to be. :dunno:
 
I swap my summer 224's with Goodyear Eagle Asymmetric 2 tyres for a set of CSL's with winter tyres mid October :thumbsup:

I would risk driving on summer tyres in the snow though
 
Beetlegav said:
I have a set of rears for sale. Only done about 200miles if that!
Click to expand...
Tyres, or wheels & tyres?

What size? How much?

(don't specifically want winter wheels & tyres, but a spare set of rears would be great for drift days)
 
my comments on Winter Tyres .......

Once you have had them on the car in proper cold weather, you will never drive in winter without then again.

Had my Z4M in Northern Norway in winter, drove it back to Edinburgh over the mountains, minus 23 degrees, 4 inches of snow ....... never had a single moment .......

:D
 
I bought a set of standard 17" double spokes (whatever their number is) to replace my 108 rft's in winter. At the last minute I decided against 'winter only' tyres & got a set of Falken Euro All Seasons. These are still rated for snow but are usable all year round. They are the best of both worlds - quieter & more comfortable than the Bridgestone rft's, the car handles better too as it isn't skipping all over the place. They cost £90 a corner delivered.

Factor in the cost of a mobility kit - Slime Smart Spare kit is good value at £20 - £30. Argos sell them.
 
mmm-five said:
Beetlegav said:
I have a set of rears for sale. Only done about 200miles if that!
Click to expand...
Tyres, or wheels & tyres?

What size? How much?

(don't specifically want winter wheels & tyres, but a spare set of rears would be great for drift days)
Click to expand...


Just rear tyres. Standard M sizes.

Not sure on price
 
I have a winter set of Michelins.
I don't do alot of winter driving in the Zed, mostly because of the amount of salt the DOT spreads.
But I found the Michelins, for an ice and snow radial was a bit squirmish.
If I had to do it again I would go with Nokians.
I had them on the Honda Van to retrieve the kids from University.
Those snows are awesome !
Some use those year around

Just my opinion
Bumpy
 
Bumpy said:
I have a winter set of Michelins.
I don't do alot of winter driving in the Zed, mostly because of the amount of salt the DOT spreads.
But I found the Michelins, for an ice and snow radial was a bit squirmish.
If I had to do it again I would go with Nokians.
I had them on the Honda Van to retrieve the kids from University.
Those snows are awesome !
Some use those year around

Just my opinion
Bumpy
Click to expand...

Nokian's came top of the tree above all the big names in a recent AutoExpress winter tyre test http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/66645/winter-tyres-test-reviews-and-prices-2014 :thumbsup:
 
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