Snow

[bunny_bmw135i]

I am moving to Chicago from Florida and I was wondering if anyone has any advise for driving in snow? Thank you

[shodanusmc]

with the 135? Snow tires all around. Take it easy, keep your distance, and avoid idiots. If you have on summer performance tires, forget about driving the car. Put it away for the winter.

If you have another vehicle with AWD, no problem. They do a great job plowing the roads and salting them, but practice and patience will get you thru. Also, in the Chicago area, there are pot holes as big as a Hippo's behind. Will bend a rim or worse.

[KingOfJericho]

Snow tires will get you where you need to go. We've had record snowfall here and I've been the first one at the office every day. Just remember...

[rsjean]

And by all means stay clear of anyone with Florida plates because they don't know how to drive in the snow.

[BrokenVert]

Before you go out in any major storm find an empty parking lot and do snow drifts.

It's always good to know how your car will react and the appropriate response (ie more or less throttle, turn into the slide etc). It's great practice and a lot of fun

[drinkcoke3]

everyone had great advice so far.

dont try to be a hero, and dont slam on your breaks EVER - the wheels will lock up and youll be sliding all over the place

[jbenington86]

Originally Posted by drinkcoke3

everyone had great advice so far.

dont try to be a hero, and dont slam on your breaks EVER - the wheels will lock up and youll be sliding all over the place

That's why they invented ABS but yes very true light on the breaks light on the gas and smooth turns. Slow as you approach a turn by letting out on the gas and don't give it very much until you are out of the turn and your car is straight again... unless you wanna drift the turn

[IDBMW]

Snow tires are a must. A snow tire/wheel package is about $1000. That’s what my deductible is on my insurance and snow tires have most likely saved me from an accident on the snow so the price is well justified. And forget about swapping winter and summer tires on the same wheel, you will pay way more for mounting over the life of the tires than for a second set of wheels.

When it snows go find a large empty parking lot and practice sliding in the snow so you know what the car will do.

[Feyd]

Get some snows and drive that shit.



This photo was taken a bit after midnight Christmas Eve 2010. Somewhere outside of Mauston Wisconsin. We drove from Chicago to Minneapolis in a blizzard and it didn't miss a beat. Hard to tell, but that's .5" of ice on the front of the car. Highways had 3-4" of standing snow on them and I never felt like the car was having any difficulty.

You'll want snow tires here in Chicago. Not sure when you'll be here, but when my car is gone (late Feb) I'll be selling my Blizzaks/Winter wheels.

[shemeld_135]

dedicated snow tires for winter

[bet]

I would love to do the opposite…move from the snow area’s to Florida. If you have never driven in snow and/or icy conditions then take it easy and realize that experience is the only way you are going to learn and in all honesty it will take you some time to acquire the skills. Even before talking about specific driving techniques for the 1er you will need to learn some basics. I don't want to make it sound unmanageable (because it can all be learned and taught) but is completely different than driving in warm dry conditions.

There is much to learn but for starters, follow distance is very important. Even with the right tires and ABS, stopping quickly is a challenge. The actual conditions really dictate stopping (i.e. cold “dry” snow by itself actually has decent grip, while ice is unbelievably slick) . You will have to learn to identify the conditions. Always be prepared for other drivers to pull out in front and/or attempt to make stops. The margin for error is greatly reduced in wintery conditions. As a side note, AWD, 4x4, front wheel drive, etc. does not improve stopping performance. It does improve traction for getting going and/or keeping going but it does not help in stopping. You will need to learn the ability to counter steer a slide to correct but not over correct. Subtle things like not applying your brakes on bridges and/or slick conditions or just lifting your foot off the accelerator and not applying the brake when you feel a slide need to become second nature. All that said, unfortunately, there is a large part of the population that consider themselves “good” winter drivers that don’t know any of this. Then there is the need to know how to get a car unstuck. Also if you do much driving then the proper “winter” kit in the truck is must for the possibility of getting stranded.

The 135i is a capable car in the winter but not a great car in the winter. While torque is fun in the dry, it is not your friend in less than grippy conditions. It is very easy to spin the wheels. Very light throttle application is a must. The 50/50 weight distribution does you no favors either when it comes to getting going. Weight over the drive tires help. While in the dry the stock suspension is dialed in for understeer, in the snow oversteer is really easy to achieve in a corner with the wrong application of power. Patience and attention are necessary. However, after you get some skills it can be a blast to drive in these conditions.

[KingOfJericho]

Drive like you have a very full Solo cup of red wine in your cup holder.

[bunny_bmw135i]

Thank you all for your reply...much appreciated. I will be driving to Chicago mid feb not sure when it stops snowing there. I might just park my car in the garage till it stops snowing cuz I dont have the time nor money to get the snow tires and wouldn't wanna risk damaging the beautiful machine.

[shodanusmc]

bunny, it has been known to snow here until mid April, but usually the worst is over late March. Welcome to Illinois, the most corrupt state in the Union!

[bogart]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Drive like you have a very full Solo cup of red wine in your cup holder.

That is the best advice I have ever heard for new winter drivers. Everyone has been right on the money so far. I was born and raised in Syracuse, NY (average 12 feet of snow per winter). Now I live in St. Louis, which still get some snow, but not enough that snow tires were neccessary. However, there were a couple times I got stuck where I wished I had them. It is more icy here than snowy.

Anyways, definitely invest in a good set of snow tires. Weight in the trunk helps. Bags of road salt are great, because they are heavy and if you get stuck they can help you get out. Possibly even carry a small shovel just in case.

Be very easy on the throttle and brakes unless you are trying to slide. Try to only accelerate and brake in straight lines, avoid accelerating or braking in turns if at all possible. Our cars have excellent traction and stability control and ABS brakes. So, if you get into trouble, the car is pretty good at getting you out of it. However, if you start to slide in a turn, let off the gas and brakes unless it is an extreme emergency, and allow the tires to roll on their own (most grip), stay calm, and steer your way into control. Sometimes it is best to turn off the traction control to give yourself more control of the throttle, especially if you get stuck. You can hold down the DTC button for 3 seconds until the arrow in a circle appears in between the speedo and tach. The problem with the traction control is if you lose traction, it will cut your fuel, and pressing the gas will do nothing. Like everyone said, practice practice practice. Learning and knowing the cars limits and how it will react is priceless. One other thing, hills. Everyones first instinct is to go slow uphill and fast downhill. On snow or ice you want to do the opposite. Gather momentum to take yourself faster up a hill. Take it very easy when traveling downhill. When going uphill it is very difficult for you to get out of control, because the car is naturally stable due to the weight transfer to the rear. When going downhill everything, as far as how the car reacts, is magnified. If you brake a little too much the car can slide, if you gas it the car can spin out of control, all due to weight transfer to the front causing instability. One thing to remember when the conditions are really bad is to start braking wayyyyyy before you normally would to determine if you will slide or not and to ease into stopping, rather than braking hard and causing your momentum to break the tires loose.

^^^ Hopefully my rambling helps...

[TP 135i]

Follow up question........

What are we doing with the DSC when driving in the snow?

I haven't drivin a rear wheel drive in the snow for about 30 years. The last time I did no one had DSC and I did well.
I just lost my Toyota 4-Runner to some black ice (truck was totaled and poor little wifey broke her back in two placers and split her forehead wide open. She's recovering fine BTW).
I just ordered new wheels with Dunlop SP Wintersport 3D's mounted and should get them next week.
So my 135 is now my "all weather" car :-(


CRAP.......I just read the post above mine DUH! (It must have taken me more than 7 minutes to write mine) Question answered.

Advice on the DSC setting ?

[jetblackone]

Excellent advice on this thread ! Take everyone's advice (including BMW's) and do not drive onyour summer tires below 45 degrees. Check out tirerack's videos on YouTube if you want to see what proper winter tires will do for a RWD car !

[Kamal]

Regarding traction control, in situations where wheel spin is inevitable, I usually engage DTC (press DTC button once) as it allows alot more spin before the fuel starts to cut off. Pressing and holding DTC will disengage stability control and traction control. I find that DTC mode is optimal in snow/ice.

[IDBMW]

Originally Posted by TP 135i

Follow up question........

What are we doing with the DSC when driving in the snow?

I haven't drivin a rear wheel drive in the snow for about 30 years. The last time I did no one had DSC and I did well.
I just lost my Toyota 4-Runner to some black ice (truck was totaled and poor little wifey broke her back in two placers and split her forehead wide open. She's recovering fine BTW).
I just ordered new wheels with Dunlop SP Wintersport 3D's mounted and should get them next week.
So my 135 is now my "all weather" car :-(


CRAP.......I just read the post above mine DUH! (It must have taken me more than 7 minutes to write mine) Question answered.

Advice on the DSC setting ?

DSC always on for me unless I need traction to get going.

That’s why I put winter tires on my vehicles I drive in the winter. Over the years I have been able to avoid a couple nasty accidents where I had to make quick moves on the snow/ice to avoid another out of control vehicle.
My Tacoma not only has 4x4 and DSC but I put sipped and studded tires on it.

Hope you wife’s recovery goes well.

[BrokenVert]

Bogart back in cuse this year we've already broken a record. We had 96 hours of continuous snow that dropped 4 ft back in December. Then we had a week of 50 degree weather, and then another 3 ft snowstorm.

The 1er does remarkably well in the snow. I keep dsc fully on unless I start to lose traction, ie up a hill and the engine starts to cut power...the dtc comes on inorder to allow that occasional slipping.

Dtc fully off in the reserve lot at carrousel tho when doing wicked snow drifts

:edit: tp 135 I have wintersport 3D and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that they are better than the pirelli winter tires I've had on in the previous two years.

I came from a 2000 mercury mountaineer 5.0 AWD with only ABS and that thing is still a tank throughout the snow on it's BFG all seasons. It has a two mechanical locking diffs and can vector it torque up to 60/40 and honestly that's all you need...miss that car...I learned how to do J-turns in it

[tgxmike]

Originally Posted by Kamal

Regarding traction control, in situations where wheel spin is inevitable, I usually engage DTC (press DTC button once) as it allows alot more spin before the fuel starts to cut off. Pressing and holding DTC will disengage stability control and traction control. I find that DTC mode is optimal in snow/ice.

I would advise against DTC mode, leave the car at the stock (DSC) setting, no lights on the dashboard. I used DTC mode about a week ago to get going at a light, and forgot to turn it back to DSC. A little ways up the road I was going maybe 35mph around a very wide (luckily) on ramp, and the ass end came out really fast, I was able to release the throttle and avoid completely spinning. If I was running in DSC mode the car would have reacted considerably faster to the slide prevent me from having to compensate.

BMW recommends ONLY using DTC when you are stuck in the snow have have to rock the car to get it out. It allows a little wheel slip, which is helpful when you are not yet moving. Then remember to turn it back to DSC right away (unlike me)

[psalm40]

Was driving home last night from the dealer in FREEZING RAIN on the stock sport package summer RFTs....kinda freaky...
Then I managed to get stuck in our uphill driveway.
I am not convinced that I will be using the 135 all that much in the winter! I will likely get some snowies for it, but only take it out in the dry.

I did use the DTC mode (and usually do remove most traction control nannies when driving in snow at less than 25 MPH). I usually find it more helpful to be able to acurately anticipate what the car will do. But I do agree with above post that at higher speeds, it is better to have all assist devices fully active.