Winter tyres
 

Just realised that there's no front wheel drive motors in the household now (excluding vans) and we stay at the very top of a reasonably steep hill.

Im considering the option of winter tyres for the 320d'erv to make sure we dont get completely stuck - well more her when she 'needs' and 'must' go out - sales and that shit mostly :banghead:

You lads any experience with them? Cars running Falkens at the moment and the winter version seems reasonably priced.

My 125i will be getting Falcons next week, so I may be able to say more about them then. Whatever you get will be day an night different to battling with summer tyres.

All the Germans swear by Vredestein Wintrac Extreme as being a great RWD winter tyre. I ran them on the CSL last winter, and on the few snowy morning when I was forced to go out, they were great. I ran std CSL sizes too (which is ridiculous to do on winter tyres), so on a 320d, with presumably narrower rims you should have no problem finding something that will give you enough grip (smaller contact patch = better traction in snow / ice).

On Ebay / PH you can often find used tyres on rims that are only a year or so old for a good price. Prob better to go that way if something is on offer, rather than buying brand new tyres and fitting them on your existing rims. I'd try to downsize an inch or so on width if you have the chance . If you look on RealOEM you can see what winter wheel dimensions BMW recommend then try to find something similar.

Hey Bryce, hope this finds you well.

I've run Winter tyres on both our cars the last 4 years and will always do so from now on. A Golf and various BM's, most recently an E90 M3.

On the BM I've opted for Michelins but the Goodyears that we had and Firestones that we now have on the Golf have been fantastic. Any Winter tyre is going to be better than even the best All year round tyre in the winter, during temps below 7 degrees.

People have this misconception that you need snow to feel the real benefits of 'Winter' tyres but they're better in colder temps, heavy rain, ice, snow, slush and all the other shite that gets thrown at them during half our year. I changed over end of October purely and simply because it was the last chance I would get until early December and I'm glad I did, looking at the temperature at home the last couple of days.

Good luck, heard good things about the Falkens to be honest, check out some of the magazine tests too.

good advice gents and could not agree more. I swear by winter tyres and the temps are already here to get the benefit. Summer tyres stop working properly below 7 degrees so stopping power and grip are hindered.

I lived in Germany for years and was always amazed at how RWD cars would just cruise up hills covered in snow.

in Germany, Austria, Switzerland its law to run winters. in Germany they talk about the 'O bis O' period to run them - Oktober bis Ostern (Easter). I think its the same in the scando countries as they have boat loads of bad weather.

I have just put the winters on the wife's A3. winters going on the Q5 today. the best time to change is when the temps are below 7 degrees for the time of your journey. not the maximum in the day. if you need the car for work in the morning at 6am and its always 1 degrees then you have the answer right there.

I always go down a size in diameter of the wheels. Q5 runs on 19s for summer but 18s for winter. tyres are a bit cheaper and better ride too.

its amazing how soft the material stays even when really cold. if you feel the summer tyres they are rock hard.

if you are going to run them on the CSL then I would go to 18s (OEM e46 m3 wheels) with 225/40/18 fronts and then 245 rears. you are better off with thinner tyres are just get more purchase in the rain and snow.

people think you are fine with 4wd on summer tyres but you are not....in fact its worse as once you get a slide on then stopping 2 tonnes of AWD bus then there is no stopping it.

it should be law in uk to run winters as there would be so fewer claims for bumps or at least firms should offer discount for running them!!

brand wise falken or federal or toyo will be fine. Michelin or contis are the best winters. Nokian are very good as they are a finnish brand and they have harsh winters. I would not go super cheap but as you would not with summer tyres.

if you are buying second hand then don't buy anything below 4mm as winters lose their benefit below this tread. plus they will be old too and they start to harden up and lose efficiency.

my fave moment from last year was pulling the copper out of the ditch in the snow in the Q5 on winters. he was in his 4wd Volvo but on summers and going far too fast for the conditions. plonker!!

get the winters on defo in a RWD and you will have no worries.

great long running thread here on pistonheads too:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/t...t=Winter+Tyres

Couldn't agree more with the above statements. Last year I bought another set for the other half, a set of 14 inch steels and Yokohama W drives for her Fiat 500 to replace the 16's. Looks crap but transformed it. Should be a legal requirement and hopefully one day will be.

i need some winter rims and tyres for the CooperS

tbh winter tyres are great fun in the snow

So what are you getting Shimmy? I need to get some for the GP and then the Mrs can use them on her Cooper. I am going to get her to look up the sizes today. I currently run 18" (summer) and I think she has 16" but maybe 17". I have bought a spare set of 17" anyway so hopefully they will do.

Pip

dont know yet

i guess with wheel size just got to be careful callipers fit underneath

take a look on mytyres.co.uk as they do wheel and tyre combos in steels so you get wheels and tyres.

just drop in your car typre and it recommends size. Normally one inch less in diameter and thinner width

http://www.mytyres.co.uk/Complete_wheels.html

Ive got conti winters going on the mini tomorrow..
Bring on the snow!