135 in winter?

[boostm3]

Originally Posted by michifan

Call Gill at Tire Rack. He's set up many of us on this board.

I did write him, and he wrote back that he thinks they should fit, but he has no way of knowing for sure... Guess Ill order the sensors, try to get them installed, and if no fit, just order four new rims and tires, and again, try and get them installed. At least if I have to order new wheel/tire pkg, I can make sure they only sell me wheels in which our tpms sensors will fit!

[Lubo]

Winter tires or bust.

Drove out from this conditions without shoveling.
I love driving the 1 in the snow, I got stuck only once and it was entirely my fault.

[boostm3]

Originally Posted by Lubo

Winter tires or bust.

Drove out from this conditions without shoveling.
I love driving the 1 in the snow, I got stuck only once and it was entirely my fault.

OMG... the arctic comes to Brooklyn! amazing pic.... was your 1 beautiful and shiny again by springtime?

[fwmcb]

Yeah, my 1er looked like that a few times last winter, but my neighbor was an awesome dude, up at the crack of dawn every day, so he always shoveled me out.

[Absorber]

Originally Posted by michifan

I downsized for the winter, no need to put 18" on the car. You can get inexpensive wheels and put a roundel in the hub. Stuff happens in the winter, and I can deal with losing a $125 rim easier than a $400 one.

+1

[boostm3]

What size tires do you 135i guys use for winter? 215s? 225s? Will 225/45R17 work on all 4 corners with 7.5" wide rims?

[BimmerSchnitzel]

For the WI snowmegeddon every winter I went with the 205/50R17 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D on the Sport Edition A7's. I wanted a narrower, higher profile tire because getting through deep snow around here is a must! Just as an FYI, this set-up does rub a little when going over dips. Not really sure why, I'm guessing the offsel on the A7 is not ideal for our cars.

[NYC6]

Originally Posted by fwmcb

I have a friend who got his tire and rim package from COSTCO at a great price. Also, the tire rack has some great deals... Wish my winter tires would only be on 3 months of the year...

I'll check em both out, thanks

[Evice]

17 inch Blizzaks and your car will be fine. I took my car our during the heaviest storms in Ohio to have some fun and it was fine, fun and delicious. Yeah I have an X3 but I don't like it during snow

[MA128]

I live north of Boston and commute 60 miles daily in my 128i 6MT w/ sport package. Had a great winter with the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3Ds (205/50x17 all around) on a second set of BMW Style 264 wheels. Never dealt with really deep snow (I work from home until the roads are plowed) but traction was very good in a light snow and excellent on ice. Obviously all of the above assumes that you are driving in a reasonable manner.

[MA128]

FYI - I tried Blizzaks first but hated the way the car felt on dry roads. I'm sure Blizzaks are better in deep snow than Dunlops but I didn't want to drive a "Buick" for 5 months. My dealer took the Blizzaks back in exchange for the Dunlops.

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by boostm3

What size tires do you 135i guys use for winter? 215s? 225s? Will 225/45R17 work on all 4 corners with 7.5" wide rims?

That is the exact setup we use on our 135i - Rial Flair 17x7.5" ET44 wheels with 225/45-17 Pirelli SottoZero 210 tyres all around.

[michifan]

I only had the Dunlops for one season, but I didn't like them as much as the Blizzaks that I had on my Infiniti and S2000 before it. I got the Dunlops on Gill's recommendation, the Blizzaks were also on back-order at the time.

Hard to say because I'm comparing tires across cars, but I felt the Blizzaks were a better snow / ice tire and softer (for those wanting a break from run-flats).

IF I moved back up north, I think I'd give Blizzaks a try this time.

[Evice]

Originally Posted by michifan

I only had the Dunlops for one season, but I didn't like them as much as the Blizzaks that I had on my Infiniti and S2000 before it. I got the Dunlops on Gill's recommendation, the Blizzaks were also on back-order at the time.

Hard to say because I'm comparing tires across cars, but I felt the Blizzaks were a better snow / ice tire and softer (for those wanting a break from run-flats).

IF I moved back up north, I think I'd give Blizzaks a try this time.

My Blizzak's are RFT. I am not gonna try to change tire, or temporarily fix it in the middle of highway when it is snowing.

[auto-rocks]

Snow tires and some common sense will get you through anything. I never had them until my 06' RX-8 and that RWD car was the best car in the snow I have ever driven!

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by Paul53

FYI - I tried Blizzaks first but hated the way the car felt on dry roads. I'm sure Blizzaks are better in deep snow than Dunlops but I didn't want to drive a "Buick" for 5 months. My dealer took the Blizzaks back in exchange for the Dunlops.

I'm about 40 miles south and east of Chicago, in a "lake effect snow" band.
Last winter, 1st with 135i, I'm running all season tires year round.
Not bad at all.
I learned to drive in RWD cars when that pretty much the standard.
Common sense and snow driving skills will get you through the days when snow is heavy.
I too don't like snow tires because for most of the winter the roads are either cold and dry or slushy and wet. These days the snow gets cleared pretty fast.

Snow tires are great in the snow. But, if you don't live in an area where you have snow on the ground for more than 25% of the year, then you'll have to contend with the lackluster squishy-ness of snow tires when the roads are decent.
So, I choose slow careful car control on big snow days, and enjoy the performance of high performance all seasons for the rest of the winter and the rest of the year.

Big question for me will be how good the tires will be by the 3rd winter though.

[moveswiftly]

I had bridgestone blizzaks....I recorded a video last winter for everyone to see how it is driving around.... i think it's pretty easy just a little bit of tail correction is needed...

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by chesterfan1230

I had bridgestone blizzaks....I recorded a video last winter for everyone to see how it is driving around.... i think it's pretty easy just a little bit of tail correction is needed...

I think you'd be better served to use DTC in the snow.
It's fun to drive without it, but the system works really well when it's on in low traction roads.
I have all seasons and use DTC all the time in the winter, and I go up steeper hills that that easily without my car getting sideways doing it.

The cool thing with DTC is that it modulates the throttle and especially braking at the wheels very well, and that allows the car to move up steeper grades.
HOWEVER, if you're already on a steep hill, let's say for a stop, the DTC SUCKS! You actually need some wheel spin to get moving on steeper grades.

A few winters ago, a 7 series got caught right in the middle of steep hill on a very snowy day. There was traffic ahead so the cars had to stop. Once it cleared the cars started moving, except for the 7 series. He couldn't get moving at all. I saw the problem as his wheels would start spinning then stop, the start, then stop. I got out of my E46, went up to the guy and told him to turn his traction control off. He looked quite surprised. I had to explain what was happening. He turned it off, gave it throttle, wheels spun and up he went, slowly of course.

[moveswiftly]

Originally Posted by RPM90

I think you'd be better served to use DTC in the snow.
It's fun to drive without it, but the system works really well when it's on in low traction roads.
I have all seasons and use DTC all the time in the winter, and I go up steeper hills that that easily without my car getting sideways doing it.

The cool thing with DTC is that it modulates the throttle and especially braking at the wheels very well, and that allows the car to move up steeper grades.
HOWEVER, if you're already on a steep hill, let's say for a stop, the DTC SUCKS! You actually need some wheel spin to get moving on steeper grades.

A few winters ago, a 7 series got caught right in the middle of steep hill on a very snowy day. There was traffic ahead so the cars had to stop. Once it cleared the cars started moving, except for the 7 series. He couldn't get moving at all. I saw the problem as his wheels would start spinning then stop, the start, then stop. I got out of my E46, went up to the guy and told him to turn his traction control off. He looked quite surprised. I had to explain what was happening. He turned it off, gave it throttle, wheels spun and up he went, slowly of course.

I'll try it out next winter! One question though. In my video I was on completely unplowed roads. You sure the roads you took weren't plowed lol?

[Nifty]

Originally Posted by RPM90

I think you'd be better served to use DTC in the snow.
It's fun to drive without it, but the system works really well when it's on in low traction roads.
I have all seasons and use DTC all the time in the winter, and I go up steeper hills that that easily without my car getting sideways doing it.

The cool thing with DTC is that it modulates the throttle and especially braking at the wheels very well, and that allows the car to move up steeper grades.
HOWEVER, if you're already on a steep hill, let's say for a stop, the DTC SUCKS! You actually need some wheel spin to get moving on steeper grades.

A few winters ago, a 7 series got caught right in the middle of steep hill on a very snowy day. There was traffic ahead so the cars had to stop. Once it cleared the cars started moving, except for the 7 series. He couldn't get moving at all. I saw the problem as his wheels would start spinning then stop, the start, then stop. I got out of my E46, went up to the guy and told him to turn his traction control off. He looked quite surprised. I had to explain what was happening. He turned it off, gave it throttle, wheels spun and up he went, slowly of course.

First off, +1 for the all season tires year round. This is the first RWD car I've had and I was worried that I would have issues in winter. So far though, I'm very happy with my all seasons (I think you have the Conti DWS as well?).

When you said "turn traction control off" do you mean turn DTC on?

[ptack]

Originally Posted by RPM90

Big question for me will be how good the tires will be by the 3rd winter though.

Based on my experience with BMW's and all season tires in winter, I predict major fail. All seasons are not the best at anything and once they wear down they become very bad at critical things such as handling snow. I would recommend replacing them before they get you into an accident.

[KingOfJericho]

I find all season tires to be completely useless on cars like ours. It's the only part of the car that touches the road so my philosophy has always been to never skimp on tires. We have pretty high performance cars so why would you put something on the car that you would find on a Camry? Performance car = performance tires. Summer tires in summer, winter tires in winter. You spent $40k+ on the car, why detract from the performance by being cheap now??