[omg516]

Looking to pick up an e90 335i with sport pack this summer, I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the tires in the cold (not snow). Just curious how late I can push it until I have to shell out for some separate wheels and snows.

[darkcloud]

Yeah good luck. You will go nowhere, absolutely nowhere in snow even cm's worth of it. Matter of fact if the concrete is cold enough you wont go anywhere on that either.

My dad could hardly back out of his garage in his 330i when it dropped into the teens. Wheels just spun.

My advice, get the zsp for sure. But pick up a set of 159's on this site that someone in a southern state will be selling. You'll prolly spend 1k shipped. Or have a winter car and don't expect to drive the 335i for most of January and February and a little of March.

[Nyulak]

Or go to Tire Rack and buy a a winter wheel and tire package.

[RANJHA]

+1 That's what I did; setup works great.

[omg516]

Yeah thats what I figured, I just hate the way the car looks without the ZSP so thats a must have for me. Its just a PITA having to get a second set of wheels.

[Nyulak]

No pain, other than the hit on the wallet. I just went with the default winter package from Tire Rack, had them drop shipped to my dealer, and then the car was valeted to have the wheels changed. The only downside is that my dealership wouldn't store my wheels since I didn't by a winter package from them. That's what I have a garage for anyway.

[BM8311]

Nyulak and RANJHA, is there any particular reason you guys use/endorse a tire rack setup instead of using a set of 185 wheels purchased from someone who no longer wants them and snow tires? I'm trying to decide which option I should use.

[Nyulak]

I only went as far as to consider Tire Rack or the dealer. Dealer costs too much. The thought of buying somebody else's rims never crossed my mind. I have used Tire Rack many times before the winter setup and I have always been pleased with their service.

In Ohio, my car looks like a moving salt lick during the winter, so I wasn't too concerned with the wheel style.

[Revlis]

Originally Posted by omg516

Looking to pick up an e90 335i with sport pack this summer, I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the tires in the cold (not snow). Just curious how late I can push it until I have to shell out for some separate wheels and snows.

I found that in less than about 35 degrees F the tires have a noticeable lack of grip until good and warm. Once reasonably warm or above about 40 degrees tires worked just fine.

BUT

Put a little snow on the ground it was pretty bad, NOT disastrous, but going no where in a hurry. I just car pooled with the wife for a few days and that was that.

If you get a REAL winter? Park your car or at least get some decent all season if not Winter tires. Seriously.

[gregarious]

My '04 e46 w/ sport handled respectably well in the snow. e90 with w/ sport is HORRIBLE in the snow. Get some winter skins...I should look into this myself real soon.

[RANJHA]

Originally Posted by BM8311

Nyulak and RANJHA, is there any particular reason you guys use/endorse a tire rack setup instead of using a set of 185 wheels purchased from someone who no longer wants them and snow tires? I'm trying to decide which option I should use.

Honestly, whichever is more worth the money. I mean if you buy from someone, chances are they have miles on it. Could you get new wheels/snow tires for the same price from tire rack? If so, go for it - either way should get you through the winter.

I personally prefer BMW OEM wheels as opposed to a third party winter setup, but if you get the tires from tire rack you can get the warranty that will replace or repair them if they get punctured/damaged. Something to consider.

Hope I helped, just my two cents

[chicagolab]

i did OK this year on the 159s with allseasons, but there was not much snow in Chicago this year. Once the tread is gone on my current 159s I will probably go for m6 reps and put winter tires on the 159s.

I did OK this year but I was worried a couple of times and drove slooow when it snowed.

[RANJHA]

Yeah man you're from chitown, it's not that bad once it stops snowing I mean they're pretty quick at plowing the roads if you know what i mean..

lol half the time the plow trucks are out there 3 hours b4 it starts snowing....waiting lol

[darkcloud]

Originally Posted by chicagolab

i did OK this year on the 159s with allseasons, but there was not much snow in Chicago this year. Once the tread is gone on my current 159s I will probably go for m6 reps and put winter tires on the 159s.

I did OK this year but I was worried a couple of times and drove slooow when it snowed.

You were worried a few times with your 159's????? How? Cleveland gets more snow then Chicago and I cruised my 156's this winter with the OEM tires and never once felt uneasy, out-of-control, or anything for that matter. I actually felt so stable I would turn off the traction control just to have some fun drifting turns in the snow just to get a sense of not being stable for once.

I will also go as far to say that I felt more comfortable driving my E90 325i in a blizzard then I did driving past cars such as a Jeep Wrangler/Liberty, Mercury Mountaineer, or various Chevy trucks and all of them had either 4wd or AWD. Personally, until I move to Alaska for the winter or the ice age comes to Cleveland I see no point in spending more money on dedicated winter tires, that is unless you don't already have the OEM all-season set-up. Now if you only have the ZSP tires then I would def. recommend getting at least some OEM all-seasons.

[jet987]

I have an E90 with sport package in Chicago, the OEM Bridgestone runflats were terrible in the cold below 20 degrees F, and almost useless in the snow. I bought 19" wheels from tirerack with all-seasons and has been great year round.

[omg516]

Wow 19" all seasons and its been fine in the snow? Maybe I should just swap out the OEM runflats on the 162's and get some 18" all seasons then.

[jet987]

Yea, i'd say adequate in the snow, not as good as dedicated snow tires, but still safe and worlds better than the stock run-flats from the sport package. Check out my write-up on my tires:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39089

[saosinned]

is there anything comparable to tire rack in the chicago area? Maybe I'm missing something but Tire Rack doesn't show up around chicago on google maps.

I'll be getting my car right before it gets cold here and I def want to get some winter tires but i'm not sure the best place to get 'em and i barely know anything about buying/changing tires for anything but a flat.

[jet987]

saosinned, tirerack is all mail order, I don't think there's any physical location you can pick up their items. You could have tirerack ship them to an approved body/repair shop near your place instead of your residence, then have that shop change over the wheels & tires for you for about $10-$20 per wheel. all this info is on tirerack.com including the shops in/near your zip code.

[omg516]

Too bad the General's don't come in the OEM sport pack size for the rears.

[jet987]

omg516, Pirelli PZero Nero M&S fits the 335i Sport Pkg stagerred setup, tirerack has reviews on them, rated pretty highly for an all season low-profile tire.

[saosinned]

Originally Posted by jet987

saosinned, tirerack is all mail order, I don't think there's any physical location you can pick up their items. You could have tirerack ship them to an approved body/repair shop near your place instead of your residence, then have that shop change over the wheels & tires for you for about $10-$20 per wheel. all this info is on tirerack.com including the shops in/near your zip code.

Thanks for the info. I've looked around but can't find a definite answer, so heres 2 more annoying questions. (a) Do they put the winter tire onto the rim or is it a separate rim they put onto the car and (b) if so does that work fine with the runflats?

sorry for the newb questions, don't know much about this area and couldn't find any specific answers with