Quote:
Originally Posted by doug_999
OMG Yes. I had a friend who had a 2003 GS430 here in Chicago (he always seems to get the same car as me...ahem) and he said "I don't need snow tires. I only live 2 miles from work."
After the first snow fall, he called me basically crying. Said it was over an hour to get home and even then he could not get up the 1" lip of his driveway. These summer tires are plain dangerous in the winter and should not be used. My neighbor had one of the first 2004 545s and almost got stuck crossing rail tracks one winter (leased car, did not want snows). And as noted, AWD does not help here - the tires just don't work.
For my previous leased cars, I purchased some used rims, then bought snow tires and TPMS sensors. If you buy from Discount Tire, they will even swap your wheels for you at no charge (yes, put the snow tire/rims in your car, drive over there, they put them on, bag your old ones for you to take home) -repeat in the spring (Nov 15/April 15 were always my two days). Dealers will also do this and store them (for like $200 a year)
When you sell the car, sell the tire/wheels - lots of people will buy them.
More tips..
Get OEM BMW wheels not something from tirerack. You might have these on for 6 months and you paid a lot of money for your car -you don't want to hate to look at it 6 months out of the year. Plenty of people will sell you the wheels that they don't want (and if they have all seasons on them, well that might work out just fine*)
Always go with a narrow tire. So if you have 20s, try going with a 19 or an 18 if it will fit. Wide tires float on top of the snow and you slip/slide more. Narrow tires cut through the snow.
*True snow tires suck in the dry and wet. In fact, they are often more dangerous than an all season in these cases. Their stopping distances in the dry are horrific and the wet is not much better. So determine if you need a TRUE snow tire or a great all season will work for you. The guys over at Nokian (one of the top snow tired mfgs) turned me onto their WRG2/3 series tires. They work AMAZING in the snow, but ultimately are just an all season. I've put two sets on my Mother in-law's Kia and truth be told, if I had the choice, I would drive her car in the snow over my X6 with stock all seasons. For you guys in northern Texas or even Atlanta, I'd go with an 19" all-season tire vs. a snow.
Oh and nothing beats a summer tire in the summer - for both dry and wet. So the best of both worlds is changing your tires.
Oh and if you are considering a S6 like I am, strangely, Nokia makes a 19" and a 20" that fits the car. Weird sign.
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Thank you for all of the advice. You seem to be very knowledgeable on this subject, so thanks for shaing with the rest of us.
What you say makes a lot of sense. On all of my previous cars, I have always picked up some aftermarket wheels, and wrapped them in all season tires. Over the years, my experience with the all season tires never let me down in many different weather conditions.
This is the first car I've decided to stay stock with the tires, but we all seem to be in agreement that the stock 20'' are no good in the cold.
I will do some research this weekend, then pick out some nice all season tires for the GC, and just hope that I don't get carried away and end up picking out some 21/22 inch wheels as some habits are hard to break out of, lol... and I have doing so well for the past year...
