Please Help: Snow Tires -- Worth It?

[mookjohnson]

Hi. I just bought a new, '05 330 conv. w/ the sport package. This came w/ the 17" wheels. I do drive in the winter where it snows.

I know BMW's are notoriously bad in the snow, but I am thinking about buying a set of snow tires for the winter. Its a leased car, so I'm not sure if its worth it, especially if its not going to make that much of a difference.

I'd love to know everyone's opinion on this, and if you feel it is worth, what tires do you reccomend? Thanks.

 

[Big Daddy]

Welcome to the board! I owned an e30, 91 318is and an e32, 91 750iL that were both driven in snow. The biggest difference I noticed was in the e30, however they are extremely light in the rear end. I know if you get a set of Michelin Artic Alpins or Blizzaks it will make a difference. How many years is your lease, as snow tires last about three years if they are used only in the winter.

 

[jstiebe]

I have a 2003 325i with 17' wheels and Sport Package. Before last winter I purchased some Dunlop M3 Winter Sports and they work AWESOME......I can't believe I didn't do it the year earlier. The difference was like night and day...no problems at all in winter anymore.

 

[Pete K]

I run snows Dec thru March. Bridgestone Blizzaks. They are WAY, WAY better in snow and ice than my summertime Michelin Pilots. They have a much softer ride and slower steering response, but that's to be expected. With the snow tires my Bimmer is a better winter car than my front wheel drive Saab was on all-season tires.

 

[mookjohnson]

thanks for all the help. I went on tire rack's website and saw great reviews for the Blizzaks. But some say you need to replace the wheels as well. Is this true? And will I hate driving on dry roads with Blizzaks? Thanks again for the info.

 

[dball711]

Have heard that many are very satisfied with Blizzaks but I went with Dunlop M3’s and am very satisfied with how they performed in snow and dry conditions. I live in the Chicago area and we do get snow but roads are dry 95% of the time so I wanted a snow tire that also performed well on dry pavement. I have 18” rims so I went with new wheels for the snow tires, only cost about $1100.00 from Tire Rack.

 

[squarehat]

When I had my E36 a few years ago, I ran Michelin Pilot Alpins in the winter and loved them (a relative also uses them on her Lexus IS300 in the winter). I think Michelin since re-branded their snows (back in 2001, they had the Artic Alpins and the Pilot Alpins, which were supposed to be better on dry pavement, which they indeed were as good as many all-season tires I've driven on). I think one of the lines is now the X-Ice. I'm guessing they still have a Pilot snow tire, since they recently expanded the Pilot line.

I'm definitely getting snows for the winter, given all of our lake effect snow. My big decision is whether to get a second set of alloys. I'm only on a 3 year lease, and have a non-sport model with 16" wheels. I just don't know whether it's better to not have to keep re-mounting tires on the rims to keep the seals better (my old Lexus had slow bead leaks that drove me batty--I had to add 5 psi per month).

 

[gwells67]

Now is the best time of year to buy a used set....people are cleaning out garages and they decide they don't need them anymore...check out some of the other boards to deals...here's an offer that seems pretty reasonable:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=263613