Don't want winter tires!!

donmbmw · Nov 5, 2003

My '04 330i has the oem goodyear eagle RS-A tires. My wife has the oem Michelins on her '02 325i and she went through last years snow without any significant problems. I REALLY do not want to go through the hassel and expense of getting winter tires. Also living on the third floor of a walk up apartment adds to the desire NOT to have to get winter tires and store the all seasons. I'm looking to hear from 3 series owners who have "driving in snow" stories to share.
thanks, donM

PuShAkOv · Nov 5, 2003

I have 330CiC sport package tires and the car's stability during winter is very very bad. Had a hard time getting up my driveway that was almost flat with a half inch of snow on it. With some slush on the ground I was going 25HPH while everyone was passing me at 40. Too bad my car would have crashed if I went any faster. Its not too bad if you learn to drive very carefully... but not always can you be very perfect. Bought my Blizzak L-22 today which are considered the best snow tires out there... it is well worth the buy.

lifewithbmw · Nov 5, 2003

hi

When you crash your BMW than you will say Oh Sh** I should of buy those tires.

I have learn performance driving in europe for few years and believe me winter tires are a lot safer! [thumb]

xmas63 · Nov 6, 2003

Don,

It's all about the tires. I'm not familiar with your exact tires, but the bottom line is: if you have performance tires like the kind that come with the Sport Package, you will definitely have problems in even small amounts of snow or slush. If you have all-seasons, you may be able to get away with it, but the performance in the snow will not come close the kind of performance (and safety) you would have with winter tires.

For what it's worth, I ran my stock all-seasons through last year's winter. I ran into some difficulty getting out of my driveway a few times when it was icy, but overall I made it through with little problem. Nonetheless, for this year, I just bought a set of winter rims/tires.

PuShAkOv · Nov 6, 2003

Also,.. when you are buying tires go to TIRERACK.COM and search for a particular tire you are interested... they have really low prices. Then go to several tire retailers and ask them if they can beat the price.....

Tire Kingdom reduced their $210/tire normal price to $155/tire for all 4 wheels + free exchange + taxes included.

This is the best deal I ever saw and anyone in the market for new tires should do the same.

bahnstormer · Nov 6, 2003

just to let everyone know, the "sport package" has high performance tires, which DO NOT STICK BELOW 40deg F

yes they are SUMMER tires!

as far as it being a hassle i can def agree with you...just put all your nuts in one basket, hope it doesn't snow hard/at all this year and don't get caught in a sudden snow storm =]

MrElussive · Nov 6, 2003

Yeah, bahnstormer is exactly right. If you have Michelin Pilot Sport's for example, you're not even supposed to use them when it is cold out (below 40 F)...the tires do warm up, but it takes about 15-20 minutes of driving and they still do not operate as well as in warmer weather. That is why they are strictly called "summer tires".

Drake · Nov 6, 2003

Get the tires. Most tire places will hang onto your summer tires for you for a small fee. I give them $20 and they babysit the tires for the winter--and they don't charge me to swap them out.

Driving in winter/snow with all summer tires is a real stupid idea.

Andre · Nov 6, 2003

What most people don't think of is that the whole time you're using those snow tires, you're not wearing out your good summer tires. The snow tires end up paying for themselves.

Between that and the safety factor, you can't go wrong having snows.

vlad · Nov 6, 2003

Or you could move to Phoenix or Southern Cali!
[target]

Average Jae · Nov 6, 2003

nothing feels better than sitting in a near 40k tin can skidding off a road in now.. oh wait that came out all wrong...

if you really dun wanna lug it upto your 3rd floor appt, get a small storage space and store it out there. (yes, it's the price of having a nice high perf ride in cold weather region..) i'm sure you got other junk you might wanna put in there too.. but you really should just suck it up and lug the tires upstairs. there are only 4, and you only lug em up twice a year for crying out loud!!

RatBastard · Nov 6, 2003

I thought like you did last year.. Then I went sliding ALMOST into an ontersection where a hge truck went flying passed seconds later..

Needless to say that I now have winter tires/rims in my garage ready for this winter...

Thanks to the folks at TireRack.com, it was quick and painless.

It only takes one time in the snow, and you wish you had spent the money on the tires. Fortunately, I am still here to say that.

You dont want winter tires, makes no difference to me.. I kow that I will never be without them as long as I have a rear wheel drive vehicle.

donmbmw · Nov 7, 2003

the verdict is in

I want to thank everyone for their comments. It seems pretty clear that the risk of not getting winter tires is just too great. I browsed the tire rack web site and it looks like their are some good winter tires out there that provide satisfactory ride and handling characteristics. I guess I'll give them a call and go for it. This is a great board with good information and interesting people.
thanks again
donM

codex57 · Nov 7, 2003

Yeah, the people on this board are generally much more mature and helpful than most other internet boards. Much less flaming compared to other sites. I'm prolly going to stop checking the one other BMW board I'm on b/c it's basically turning into IS300.net (basically, a bunch of 15 year olds or people who act 15 slinging insults at each other).

Glad you decided to get winter tires. Stay safe.

RatBastard · Nov 7, 2003

Re: the verdict is in

donmbmw said:

Definitely a wise move my friend... While nothing will make winter travel in a rear wheel drive as safe as driving in dry/warm weather conditions, getting snow tires will dramatically lower your risk.

I think you are doing the wise thing. I think the gentlemans name was Greg at tirerack(I ordered over the phone) that helped me. He was the best, but I am sure they are all a great help.

Good luck and safe winter driving!

EDIT: BTW, could I make any more typos in my earlier post? Sheesh.

PuShAkOv · Nov 7, 2003

You must also know that winter tires only last about 10,000 - 20,000 miles... and when they start going bald their whole purpose dissapears.

Thinking that... every mile will cost you about $.04 ... thats like adding an additional $.84 to every gallon of gas during winter.... ouch!

RatBastard · Nov 7, 2003

PuShAkOv said:

After my incident last year.. That is a cost I am willing to pay..

MrElussive · Nov 7, 2003

PuShAkOv said:

No, that's not right. Blizzaks last for 10,000-20,000 miles (most dry road driving produces the shortest tire life) and after 55% of their tread is gone, that special sticky compound that makes them such great snow tires, wears away. So basically you have about 3 seasons with Blizzaks and then you need new snow tires, but other snow tires last longer. Blizzaks are more at home in the snow than they are in the dry.

MrElussive · Nov 7, 2003

codex57 said:

Shut up, codex, you know that's not true !!! [mad]

PuShAkOv · Nov 7, 2003

MrElussive said:

So what's not right about it? [mad]

If you take an average cost of $700 and divide it by 15,000 miles (on average) you would get $.0466. x 18 miles / gallon will add another $.84 to every gallon.

You don't do shit. [bash]

Don't want winter tires!!

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