Winter Tire Discussion / Debate

[Karl Lazlo]

Well, may be a little late to the party as it is right after Thanksgiving and some parts of the country already have the white stuff, but worth a shot. BP and I had a late lunch and we got to talking about snow tires. The whats, whys and wheres, so to speak.

What are you folks running for winter? Give is some ideas of driving habits, impressions of your chosen snow tire and weather pattern in your geography, tire and wheel size would help, too.

For me, I went back to Blizzaks this season. Spent the past two on Connie EWC and was less than impressed. We will see how the WS80s do this year.

Car: 2006 ZHP Coupe
Tires: Blizzak WS-80
Size: 205/50-17
Habits: Chronic speeder with about 40k behind the wheel
Marginal snow accumulation - slushy mix with wet pack and some ice.

Impressions so far: Twitchy as hell on the dry. As expected. May go with a different offset or spacers to widen the rear track a bit. But, looking forward to the white stuff to test these out.

[ELCID86]

I run Blizzaks in the winter too. Have not put them on yet.

C&D just had a feature on winter tires: http://www.caranddriver.com/features...ce-data-page-3

[Johnmadd]

I have nitto's on my e30, it goes through the snow like a tank and I can't go anywhere with the Falken all seasons... just spin the rears.

[Johnmadd]

Dedicated winter tires are definitely worth it on any vehicle imo.

[Karl Lazlo]

I run Blizzaks in the winter too. Have not put them on yet.

I was a little late this season. Thankfully, it held off.

C&D just had a feature on winter tires: http://www.caranddriver.com/features...ce-data-page-3

I could have used this information a week ago! I was toying with the Nokian R2s. Been a fan of Hakks for a while. About the any loyalty I have had is on summer tires, as I seem to change my mind every other winter season. Now that I have three cars (smh in shame), I will likely put R2s on my other 330Ci next season.

Dedicated winter tires are definitely worth it on any vehicle imo.

Damn skippy! The only time my cars didn't wear dedicated snows is when I was too dumb to know any better and when I lived in climates where snow was barely a thought (Vegas, MS & Honolulu).

[az3579]

Car: 2005 330i ZHP Sedan, 6MT
Tires: Bridgestone Blizzak LM-32
Size: 225-45-17 all around

Habits: Very easy on throttle most of the time with shifts occurring at 2k or less, but enjoy the occasional blast up to redline on an onramp or a "spirited" overtake. Will drift any safe chance I get (no cars around whatsoever, parked or not) at low speed in 2nd gear. When there's snow on the ground, I'm very light on the throttle with very granular clutch control in order to gain traction, but will not hesitate to go 50-60 on the snow-packed highway provided nobody's around. When there's snow on the ground, traction control remains fully disabled at all times.

Typical conditions: Anywhere from a light dusting (maybe an inch) to 6-10 inches. Typical snowfall is around 4-6 inches per instance.

Impressions: Awesome stability and traction overall. Noise is low (I could barely tell I had them on when they were new). Noise did increase a tiny bit as they wore, but nothing near what other winter tires sound like. They are rated for 149mph, so I'm not limited when I feel like having a blast, though that rarely (if ever) happens when these are mounted. Grip is pretty awesome for a winter tire when it's dry out, and wet grip is amazing as well. Snow traction is great as well; I have never gotten stuck or had an issue with traction off the line. I could easily out-accelerate an SUV in the snow if it only has all seasons on. How do I know? I've done it. I have only driven on ice once with these mounted, and that was when I was driving on a highway that apparently wasn't salted enough. Cars were spun out/crashed along the side of the road and I wondered why... till I hit an icy patch. I started getting a little sideways at 55mph but was able to recover without too much drama, and was able to regain traction and keep it at a reduced speed. While it was an oh-shit moment, the tires did help keep me shiny-side up.

[NoVAphotog]

Car: 2005 330i ZHP Sedan, 6MT
Tires: Bridgestone Blizzak WS-80
Size: 225-45-17 all around
Habits: Granny shifting before 3k most times, occasional spirited jaunts if conditions allow. Not many with winter tires on in the dry as I don't see the point. Ran for one season (last year), extremely cold, good amount of snow in multiple driving outings. Absolutely ZERO issues with WS-80s and traction. Back end came out when I wanted it to, if I didn't try it would stay planted with one press of DSC button. Including up hills and around corners. Completely eliminated worry while driving around and getting caught in blizzard at ski resort (had to make return journey at night).
Typical conditions: Anywhere from a light dusting (maybe an inch) to 4-6+ inches.

Plan to remake this video with LSD and a little bit more production quality this winter...if it ever snows or gets cold here lol

[3ZHP]

Car: 2003 ZHP Saloon
Tires: Blizzak WS-70 2011/2012
Size: 205/50-17
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sports, winters of 2006/2007, 2007/2008, 2009/2010, 2010/2011
Size: 205/50-17

Habits: I was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. Graduated from HS in 1977 (the year of the great buzzard) driving a snow plow during it. Moved into a 24hr towing & recovery service for the local police from 79 to 84. Always 2 wheel drive dual axle trucks. Used tire chains on the outside tire when the snow got over 4-5" and never missed a call. Along with that, I've never personally owned a front wheel drive. In 1986, relocated to Cleveland, OH and spent most Christmas's back in Buffalo. That included countless, heavy snow trips. So, yeh, I know snow.

First Bimmer was a 99 323I, that I purchased in 03/04. The car had all season Michelin's and after a snowy Thanksgiving trip to Kalamazoo. I learned how to use the different functions of the DCS. Throttle kill, wouldn't let me spin to get up my sisters driveway.

Purchased my ZHP Saturday 12/23/2006 and also purchased the winter wheels & tires they had from the PO. Tires were Michelin Pilot Sports and in good condition. These worked OK for me for the next few years. Snow in the Northern Ohio region is a mix of everything and accumulates up to eight inches or more. Never got stuck with the Michelin's but, never had the confidence to push it. Now, with the Blizzak's that lack of confidence nearly disappeared. Those tires were incredible in the snow and ice. Traction was absolutely outstanding. The tires would bite on ice, grip on snow, crawling out of ruts and running on top and the stopping power was also outstanding. I'm currently doing winter holiday commutes to northern OH in my Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4X4 running BFG Trail T/As and can say. I would feel safer in my ZHP with the WS70 Blizzak's than I do in the 4 wheel drive Tacoma.

[slater]

Car: 2004 330i ZHP 6MT
Tires: Michelin X-Ice3
Size: 215/50-17
Habits: we get some crappy weather where i live. surrounded by lake ontario on 3 sides, it's basically an island, and it's not out of the ordinary to have a 12" drifts on the road i live in. i grew up in central VT, so i've had plenty of experience driving in any snowy condition. my wife leaves DSC + DTC on and has not had any problems. i leave the DSC + DTC on most of the time - it is a very impressive system for a 'one wheel peel' RWD car. i keep speeds and throttle application sane. when i'm alone in the car, DSC + DTC are often turned off and around here, it's easy to casually hang the rear end out. but you have to understand, there might be 10 cars that go by my house in a day, and often one is a plow.

Impressions so far: the X-Ice3's have been predictable and decent. they're not as aggressive as some other snow tires i've used (think old-school nokian hakka's), but are a nice balance for dry and snowy stuff - not twitchy, just stable and confidence-inspiring. really, you can't go wrong.

i just picked up a set of 8/32" blizzak WS-80s 225/45/17, on silver BMW steel wheels (the 17x7 ones), for a song. i might run those for a bit and see how they are, for comparison. plus, the steel wheels look cool.

[ryankokesh]

Exactly what Guy said... the right snow tires on a low, 10 year old, RWD car can provide more confidence than a 4wd truck with all-seasons.

Another anecdote... after my wife drove with snow tires for the first time, she has ever since basically refused to drive in the snow (even 1/4" or less) if I haven't put them on yet!

Car: 2004 330i ZHP Sedan, 6MT
Tires: Bridgestone Blizzak WS-80
Size: 205-50-17 all around
Notes: Getting the WS80s installed this Thursday. I don't drive the ZHP much in the winter, and when I do I don't drive it 'hard'. But I take it to work maybe once a week. That can include tons of ice, snow, sleet, ice, and some more ice depending on what the weather feels like doing. And I often leave before any of the roads are plowed, so there's that too. So I'm willing to sacrifice some dry handling to get the best snow/ice control possible.

I previously used General Altimax Arctics and had no complaints except, for maybe glare ice. They're not the most expensive winter tire, but I was very pleasantly surprised with them. Great in deeper snow (I've easily made my way through at least 3 inches of fresh powder... splitters = snow plows). A little more slippage than I'd like driving on solid ice (which I have, on the toll road, in the presence of large trucks), but the relatively harder compound provides very respectable handling and phenomenal wear. Actually, anyone who wants to buy them, let me know...still around 6-7/32nds left!

For those of you still shopping, the Sottozero 3 and Conti WinterContact Si are both great options as well.

If you haven't seen them before, TireRack has some interesting videos touting the benefits of dedicated winter tires. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=206