new 135 arrives tomorrow, some questions for you all..

[Atropos]

Hello all!

New guy here... my better half pulled the trigger on a 2011 135i coupe today... 6mt, M package, etc. Absolutely lovely car.

My question to you folks is... what have / are you doing as far as snow tires go? They're going to be needed, even though we're probably going to drive it as infrequently as possible in the winter.

On my current car, I have a completely different set of rims and tires for snow seasons so I can just replace them whenever I need to, and was hoping to do the same with the 135 also.

Secondly... do any of you have the BMW performance suspension bits, and is it worthwhile?

Im sure we'll have more questions as we go Thanks in advance!!

[Remonster]

I've driven lots of 335is (all four body styles) and test drove a coupe with the Performance suspension, I really liked it. It's not too different from stock, very similar ride quality just a little lower and firmer. You can go way more extreme with after market parts but I personally wouldn't, I had Eibach's Pro System on my E90 and after 10,000 miles it was already pretty much worn out. You never know what you're gonna get from after market parts but with something OEM like the Performance parts you know it's the same quality as the original parts on the car since they were developed simultaneously.

There's no reason why you shouldn't get a separate set of wheels/tires for snow on the E82, I'd just be careful because the 135i has pretty big brakes so don't get any ridiculously tiny wheels and you'll be alright.

[Sylon]

I would try finding someone who is selling their stock wheels. Or, if you have the spare cash, grab a set of aftermarket wheels (or those from BMW Performance) and put your summer tires on those and save the snow tires for your stock wheels. Thats what Im going to do whenever my new wheels get here.

Also, dont forget Tire Pressure Monitor Sensors (TPMS) unless you plan on swapping them each time.

[fun2drv]

I bought a whole new set of wheels and snow tires from Tire Rack with TPMS. I just switch when winter is approaching and again in early spring... Works pretty good.

BTW - If you are going this route, don't wait until the last minute to order your package. There are not a whole lot of RFT options for winter tires and even Tire Rack runs out of stock every once in a while.

[emtrey]

I went with 17 inch (205/50-17) wheels and Dunlop D3 snow tires...worked perfectly.
Previous poster was correct--do no not wait too long if you want choices among wheels...Tire Rack does run out rather quickly...

[zeelimit]

I have a 2008 128i convertible with the original run flats. The car drives great in rain and snow without special tires. I would wait until next Winter before you decide to spend money. (I have complaints about the run flats, but not how the handle in bad wheather.)

[Nifty]

Originally Posted by zeelimit

I have a 2008 128i convertible with the original run flats. The car drives great in rain and snow without special tires. I would wait until next Winter before you decide to spend money. (I have complaints about the run flats, but not how the handle in bad wheather.)

Just my experience thus far, so take it as you will:

This is the first RWD car that I have owned, and one of my main concerns was its winter drivability. I didn't want to deal with keeping two sets of tires and or wheel so I decided to go the All Season tire route.

I ended up getting Continental DWS tires 225/35R18 Front and 255/30R18 Rear. After driving 10,000+ miles on them including a full winter season I've been very impressed. I don't think I would ever attempt to drive stock runflats in the winter, but I would agree that you might want to take the 'wait and see' approach before you spring for another set of wheels and tires.

[CincyOne]

I also have a second set of wheels and tires (from Tire Rack) for winter. 17" fit fine and you might think about TPMS and RFT's. I skipped them both since, like you, I don't drive the 135 a lot in the winter. I carry a mini compressor and slime for the possibility of a problem and I have a small TPMS warning on the dash all winter. Since I check the pressure regularly anyway, this really doesn't bother me. When I talked to the rep at the Rack while buting these, he said he would have gone without the TPMS if he had known the light was small and unobtrusive.

[nordique14]

Originally Posted by zeelimit

I have a 2008 128i convertible with the original run flats. The car drives great in rain and snow without special tires. I would wait until next Winter before you decide to spend money. (I have complaints about the run flats, but not how the handle in bad wheather.)

I assume you do not have the sport package that has the summer tires. You must have non-sport wheels with all-seasons tires. No way you would think summer tires do well in the winter unless you like a "skating on ice" feeling.

[fwmcb]

I took the 17" BMW RFT package, which worked well.

[Dackelone]

For a proper winter tire/wheel setup you want a MINUS ONE wheel/tire combo. Since the 135i's cme with 18's that means a 17 inch wheel.

I bought the winter tire wheel package thru my local BMW dealer. You can ask at the parts dept about it. It comes with four alloy wheels, proper rated top notch snow tires and TPMS (tire pressure sensors). It ran me 1,300 euros over here. I think it would be slightly cheaper in the US.

Note: IF you go the after market (wheels) route you will also need 20 wheel bolts for your new wheels.

What you want is: 4@ 7jx17" wheels with 205/55HR17's. You could also go with a slightly lower speed rating IF you wish.

Alot of people here just mount 18's snows on their summer wheels. But that is really not what you want for a proper winter setup. You WANT the skinniest and tallest tires - so the car presses down hard thru fresh snow. When you have huge 18" snows.... you also have wide tires which is NOT what you want! Plus the winter months salt really tear up the clear coat on the alloys - so its better to have a second set for winter time. ) IF you go with the factory winter setup from BMW you won't need axtra wheel bolts either.

[BForbes]

Congrats! You both will enjoy the car. I'd go straight to the BMW Perf Suspension.

[CincyOne]

The comment about needing and extra set of bolts with after market wheels isn't always/usually the case. The 'Rack' will tell you if the wheels you have chosen have any different needs from stock. Mine are fine with the OEM bolts as were others I considered.