M135I winter tyres??

[RichardM5]

AlistairF said:

It's that time of year again when the winter tyre question comes up. I am running the standard 225/40 18 and 245/35 18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports that I ran through last winter thinking it didn't really get that cold and it wasn't too slippery. Now with a spare new set of the same wheels a and tyres for the summer I thought I would put winters on my old alloys.

As this thread shows, there is only a Pirelli slottozero option in 245/35 18 which retail are kind £300 each!!! So, after some research I could:
- put 225/40 18s on all round which is a stretch on the rear 8.5" rims
- put 225/40 on the front and 255/35 18 on the rear

Using a tyre sizing tool off the internet it shows the circumference to be:
1975.1mm for the 245/35 18 original rears
1997.1mm for the 255/35 18
2001.8mm for the 225/40 18 original front

So it looks to me like the best fit option for the rears are the 255/35 18s that have less speedo error than the 225 option and still fit the rims. fronts remain 225/40 18

There are more plentiful options in these sizes, Michelin Alpin Pilot 4 or Pirelli sottozeros?

Which to go for?

You'll get better grip, and it will almost certainly cost less, getting 205/50 R17s and some cheap wheels to put them on, sell the spare set of wheels if needed.

[Wolands Advocate]

AlistairF said:

It's that time of year again when the winter tyre question comes up. I am running the standard 225/40 18 and 245/35 18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports that I ran through last winter thinking it didn't really get that cold and it wasn't too slippery. Now with a spare new set of the same wheels a and tyres for the summer I thought I would put winters on my old alloys.

As this thread shows, there is only a Pirelli slottozero option in 245/35 18 which retail are kind £300 each!!! So, after some research I could:
- put 225/40 18s on all round which is a stretch on the rear 8.5" rims
- put 225/40 on the front and 255/35 18 on the rear

Using a tyre sizing tool off the internet it shows the circumference to be:
1975.1mm for the 245/35 18 original rears
1997.1mm for the 255/35 18
2001.8mm for the 225/40 18 original front

So it looks to me like the best fit option for the rears are the 255/35 18s that have less speedo error than the 225 option and still fit the rims. fronts remain 225/40 18

There are more plentiful options in these sizes, Michelin Alpin Pilot 4 or Pirelli sottozeros?

Which to go for?

I thought the 436M-style alloys that are standard-fit on an M135i are 7.5" wide at the front and 8" wide at the rear, rather than 8.5"? I have a set of BMW-supplied Sottozeros on 436Ms for the winter and they are 225/40 R18s all round.

[AlistairF]

I am sure I read 8.5 from the BMW website but I shall check that!

[AlistairF]

Yes, I have checked and the std rears are 8" so 255s are too much of a stretch and 225s would be the better choice!
Thanks

[System-G]

So who actually runs right through winter on standard tyres?

My RWD experience -
RX8 OEM fitment Bridgestone RE050 (or whatever they were). Heavy snow fall for a few weeks. Rear end would swap with zero warning traction & stability on/off made little difference.

BMW 528 Touring - OEM sizes but Falken ZE504 or something. Heavy snow on/off for a number of weeks. Switched all electronic aids off and it drove fine, even a long motorway stint from Gatwick to Leicester when it seemed everyone else was stopping, sliding or crashing...
Electronic aids on - diabolical, undriveable.

VX220 - Exige sizes on R888's - twitchy as, but manageable, except on compacted slick ice. ABS bypass switch engaged. ABS in place made stopping a very scary experience...
Was actually quite entertaining to drive in slippy conditions!

I don't want to play devils advocate, but is it really necessary on (more) modern BMW's to change rubber just for a few days/weeks?

[RichardM5]

Even on winters my M6 is quite a handful in slushy conditions, undrivable on the summer tyres. When it's colder and the snow is more icy then it's much better on winters, on summers still virtually undrivable unless there is no incline what so ever.

My winters are going on tonight or tomorrow.

[AlistairF]

Well i have Michelin Pilot Alpin 4s in 225/40 18s all round. As expected turn in feels a little more wooly than the super sports and surprisingly the initial traction felt poor but the tread was covered in those little round "hairs" from the old process. It took about 100 miles to wear them off and the tyres bite much more effectively now Ambient has been between 1 deg C and 7C on my journeys to and from work so they feel justified. All in these were £551 fitted.

[Max M4X WW]

Saw this at Goodwood last weekend, anyone off here?

[CSLchappie]

I ran my M5 on summer tyres for 6 winters including a horrendous one back in 2010 when I remember seeing -17 on the dash display. The car has always been my daily, I never got stranded or had an accident but it always felt like I was chancing my luck...

I bought a set of OEM 245/18 winter Continental's last summer (I was due to move house to a more rural location and was also commuting from Cambridge to Nottingham weekly) I ran them for five months last winter and put them back on again last week. So far I've not experienced any snow but general cold / wet handling is a marked step up from the Continental SC6's that I've been running this summer (and in my opinion they have been the best all round summer tyre I've ever run, longevity aside...)

I'm a convert, the car feels so much more planted in the current conditions and given the choice I wouldn't go back to running summer tyres through the winter months.

System-G said:

So who actually runs right through winter on standard tyres?

My RWD experience -
RX8 OEM fitment Bridgestone RE050 (or whatever they were). Heavy snow fall for a few weeks. Rear end would swap with zero warning traction & stability on/off made little difference.

BMW 528 Touring - OEM sizes but Falken ZE504 or something. Heavy snow on/off for a number of weeks. Switched all electronic aids off and it drove fine, even a long motorway stint from Gatwick to Leicester when it seemed everyone else was stopping, sliding or crashing...
Electronic aids on - diabolical, undriveable.

VX220 - Exige sizes on R888's - twitchy as, but manageable, except on compacted slick ice. ABS bypass switch engaged. ABS in place made stopping a very scary experience...
Was actually quite entertaining to drive in slippy conditions!

I don't want to play devils advocate, but is it really necessary on (more) modern BMW's to change rubber just for a few days/weeks?

[ladderino]

System-G said:

I don't want to play devils advocate, but is it really necessary on (more) modern BMW's to change rubber just for a few days/weeks?

Have a 335i, and as soon as the temperature goes below 10 degrees it starts to get all of shape.

Am quite late putting the winters on this year (normally do it in October), and over the past few weeks have really noticed the difference in traction.

Keep in mind they're not just snow tyres; they're tyres that perform better in the wet and cold. So it's not just for a few days/weeks that they're optimal, it's the best part of 6 months.

[bennyboysvuk]

System-G said:

So who actually runs right through winter on standard tyres?

I do, but the M135i is even more woeful in light snow than my E46 M3 (lack of LSD?). After 15 minutes of snow a couple of years ago, I was stranded on one side of a traffic-light controlled hump-backed bridge. It was the usual story, all the front drivers just carried on as normal and the M135i was incapable of forwards motion with its one-wheel-drive. After half an hour though, the snow melted and the car made it over the bridge without a hitch.

[AlistairF]

Time for a LSD then!

[bennyboysvuk]

AlistairF said:

Time for a LSD then!

It pains me to buy an LSD for it when for a number of other reasons I'll get rid of it for something much more sporty come the end of the PCP. I just can't bear to plough any further money into a car that I dislike.

[PTF]

Max M4X WW said:

Saw this at Goodwood last weekend, anyone off here?

Mineral grey with coral red leather. Yum yum

It even looks alright with those stupid silver LCI air scoops

[Max M4X WW]

PTF said:

Max M4X WW said:

Saw this at Goodwood last weekend, anyone off here?

Mineral grey with coral red leather. Yum yum

It even looks alright with those stupid silver LCI air scoops

Chrome round the windows too! Should have beige leather and wood

[nckr55]

Continental TS850 on mine, for the second winter. Square 225/40R18 setup.
Can't recommend them highly enough.

Have always put winters on since that horror November a few years back.
It's barely snowed since (obviously) but these are great in cold or damp weather - certainly vs. the MPSS.

Would always look for the Continentals now, had the older version (TS810 on my Cayman) and they were also excellent.

They were very squidgy feeling last winter but seem to have settled a bit with some wear.

Edited by nckr55 on Saturday 19th November 00:15

[FocusRS3]

bennyboysvuk said:

AlistairF said:

Time for a LSD then!

It pains me to buy an LSD for it when for a number of other reasons I'll get rid of it for something much more sporty come the end of the PCP. I just can't bear to plough any further money into a car that I dislike.

You dislike the car? Can I ask for what reasons

[Billy_Whizzzz]

Put these on today.

[PorkInsider]

ladderino said:

System-G said:

I don't want to play devils advocate, but is it really necessary on (more) modern BMW's to change rubber just for a few days/weeks?

Have a 335i, and as soon as the temperature goes below 10 degrees it starts to get all of shape.

Am quite late putting the winters on this year (normally do it in October), and over the past few weeks have really noticed the difference in traction.

Keep in mind they're not just snow tyres; they're tyres that perform better in the wet and cold. So it's not just for a few days/weeks that they're optimal, it's the best part of 6 months.

This ^^

I have an F30 330d and completely agree. I've just put my winters back on and the difference in surefootedness in the cold/wet is remarkable.

[shim]

I have a set of winter rims and tyres from my old long gone M135i sitting in the garage in BMW tyres bag carriers if anybody is interested

BMW style (replica) 313 Performance rims 17 x 8J et 34 with Vredestien Xtreme tyres 225/45 17RF 91V M+S with 4.5 to 7.0mm tread on

£400 pick up from Herts, will go on ebay soon