Winter tyres for 3 series - help

[omar2010]

Hi Guys,

I have just bought a 2006 330D.

Can anyone advise what the best winter tires for it would be.

I know we are a way off winter but the Scottish weather is really unpredictable!

Also - silly question - is it just the rear two tyre so that need changed or all four?

My former 325i was dreadful in winter and I want to avoid a repeat performance if possible....

[nickfrog]

Yes all four as the front will probably mean you won't plough straight on at the first corner plus it does a lot of the braking and steering.

Plenty of choice out there and loads of opinions. Stick to a premium brand and buy on price maybe. I like Nokians WR D4 as they're cheap due to people thinking they are a cheapo Korean brand.

[Spuffington]

As above - fit to all four.

I have been running Dunlop Wintersport3Ds on my various BMWs for a good few years now and have found them excellent. The Continental TS830s seem to have come top of many of the ADAC tyre tests in recent years and I fitted those to my F20 118d during this winter just gone and had nothing but high praise for them.

I'm currently researching winters for the Z4 and will probably go for the Contis again, although OEM fitment included the Pirelli Sottozero which I may give a go.

I have a look on realoem for the suggested winter OEM tyre fitment.

[Smuler]

I ran Hankook Winter Tyres last winter on my 335i and found them great.

My 335i's rims are 19s so for the winter I bought 17s rims (second hand BMW style 158s) and then saved the price of the rims in the difference between what I paid for the 17s winter tyres as opposed to 19s which are hard to come by as well as expensive.

I'm not sure if you, as I suspect, have 18s on your 330d there will be enough of a saving but something to consider and it does protect your main set of rims from salt corrosion.

[Vroomer]

Go on to ebay and buy a set of wheels with winter tyres on – you should pick up a bargain at this time of year.

[eztiger328]

omar2010 said:

Hi Guys,

I have just bought a 2006 330D.

Can anyone advise what the best winter tires for it would be.

I know we are a way off winter but the Scottish weather is really unpredictable!

Also - silly question - is it just the rear two tyre so that need changed or all four?

My former 325i was dreadful in winter and I want to avoid a repeat performance if possible....

On my 328 sport I've tried Conti Winter Contact, Falken Euro winter and Michelin Alpin 5.

Conti : Excellent in winter / standing water, noisy when driven hard in summer, less responsive in summer temps's

Falken: Excellent in winter / standing water, noisy when driven hard in summer, less responsive in summer temp's, weak sidewalls (lost a total of 3 over 2 years)

Michelin: Best of the bunch, excellent in winter / standing water, directional so quieter, don't think Ive run them in summer yet.

You might be better off with the Michelin Cross Climates, winter performance is identical to the Alpin 5's from my experience.

Also go for all corners, having good grip on the steering wheels is just as important as the rear driving wheels from my experience of driving BMW's in rural winter conditions over the last decade.

Edited by eztiger328 on Thursday 5th May 12:23

Edited by eztiger328 on Thursday 5th May 12:23

[omar2010]

Thanks a lot guys. That's really helpful and I will have a look on eBay which I hadn't thought about doing.

Sorry again for the noob question - so with the winter tyres on the car will be useable even in the snow?

There are some real horror stories around. One tyre fitter recently went as far as telling me "you might as well just park it up for the whole time it snows - cos mercs and BMWs are that useless in winter".

That doesn't really make sense to me as I imagine the winter weather in Germany is far worse than we get in the UK!

[nickfrog]

Yes a BMW on good recent winter will cope with a lot of snow. That's one of the virtues of winter rubber.

Don't listen to the tyre fitter (surprise, surprise). They're great in the snow when the friction at the contact patch is resolved, which is exactly what you're doing.

[eztiger328]

omar2010 said:

Thanks a lot guys. That's really helpful and I will have a look on eBay which I hadn't thought about doing.

Sorry again for the noob question - so with the winter tyres on the car will be useable even in the snow?

There are some real horror stories around. One tyre fitter recently went as far as telling me "you might as well just park it up for the whole time it snows - cos mercs and BMWs are that useless in winter".

That doesn't really make sense to me as I imagine the winter weather in Germany is far worse than we get in the UK!

That tyre fitter is partially talking BS. My old 93 320 coupe with no ASC / traction control on summer tyres would barely be able to get off the drive when snowy however my 328 Sport has ASC and traction control, combine that with a good set of winter tyres and a bit of winter driving experience and your good to go.

I suggest you go with the Cross Climates, you get proper winter performance when you need it without compromising your summer performance.

[omar2010]

Thanks a lot.

That's awesomely reassuring.

Presumably I can just buy 4 good winter tyres and put them on the current rims closer to winter?

No need to buy entirely new wheels?

[E-bmw]

nickfrog said:

Stick to a premium brand and buy on price maybe. I like Nokians WR D4 as they're cheap

OK, so they are now a cheap premium brand!

I doubt most would agree with Nokian being a premium brand.

I am not saying they are cp@p, I am just saying they are not a premium brand.


OP.
In my experience Contis are one of the best, I have used them on 328 & 530 in recent years, alas, I have yet to find a "all season" tyre that isn't the worst of both compromises. (I stress that I have NOT tried the Michelins personally to see if they are up to the claims)

Stick with another set of cheap wheels fitted winter tyres, what is stated above is good advice, get on "the bay that is e" and find a bargain nice & early.

Tyrereviews is your friend.

www.tyrereviews.co.uk

[eztiger328]

omar2010 said:

Thanks a lot.

That's awesomely reassuring.

Presumably I can just buy 4 good winter tyres and put them on the current rims closer to winter?

No need to buy entirely new wheels?

Depends on how valuable your current rims are. Ideally a set of cheap steel's that you dont care about is best.

I have BBS split rims on my 328, they would get ruined pretty quick if I left them on through
the winter so I use the 15" rims from my old 320 instead.

My stock summer tyre size is 245/40/R17 / 225/45/R17 my winter setup is 195/65/R15 all round. the narrower tyre section really helps in snow / standing water and are perfectly fine for normal driving though you do feel the lack of tyre width if you push it around corners.

[eztiger328]

E-bmw said:

OK, so they are now a cheap premium brand!

I doubt most would agree with Nokian being a premium brand.

I am not saying they are cp@p, I am just saying they are not a premium brand.


OP.
In my experience Contis are one of the best, I have used them on 328 & 530 in recent years, alas, I have yet to find a "all season" tyre that isn't the worst of both compromises. (I stress that I have NOT tried the Michelins personally to see if they are up to the claims)

Stick with another set of cheap wheels fitted winter tyres, what is stated above is good advice, get on "the bay that is e" and find a bargain nice & early.

Tyrereviews is your friend.

www.tyrereviews.co.uk

After trying both Michelin Alpin 5 winter's and Cross Climate all season I can confirm that the Cross Climates really do live up to the marketing hype, they are just as good as the Alpin 5 imo.

[nickfrog]

E-bmw said:

OK, so they are now a cheap premium brand!

I doubt most would agree with Nokian being a premium brand.

I am not saying they are cp@p, I am just saying they are not a premium brand.

Well done for cutting my quote so for accuracy:

nickfrog said:

I like Nokians WR D4 as they're cheap due to people thinking they are a cheapo Korean brand.

Would you share your definition of "premium brand" ? Or research Nokian as a Company ?

I agree that the brand perception that most people have of the brand is not up there - but I don't care about marketing. And once again on PH, what does it matter if "most" people think something (and are quite clearly wrong) ? It doesn't affect the product's inherent performance, does it ? Unless of course brand recognition is important.

Nokian quite pragmatically position their pricing aggressively and save millions by not doing marketing BS. Suits me. I get a premium product at a low price.

http://www.tyrepress.com/2015/10/continental-chalk...
Surely, the runner up in performance behind the Conti should be considered as a premium product irrespective of popular perception of its brand. The fact that it's consistently 25% cheaper than the 850 is quite irrelevant.

Edited by nickfrog on Thursday 5th May 13:19

[w1ntermut3]

Not to hijack too much.

I got a spare set of 18's with my new 335i with the old runflats on. Worth selling these and buying winters or just shodding them in new tyres?

Aware that some wheels will struggle with the front brakes and that I have spacers on the rear.

[nckr55]

Ever since the horrific winter a few years back (when both our Focuses sat useless, buried in the snow) I've had either / both 4WD and winter tyres. It has, of course, barely snowed since...

Anyway - of all the winters I've had (Dunlop WIntersport on an A4 Quattro & Golf R32, Bridgestone Blizzaks on a Mini Cooper S, Continental TS810 on a Cayman), I rated the Continentals over all the others. This is based primarily on how umcompromised they felt when it wasn't snowing (i.e. most of the time).

All were far better in standing water (a far more common hazard) than 'summer' tyres.

Based on that, when I got my M135i last October, I ordered Continental TS850 and they were great.
Actually, in a weird way, I preferred them to the summer tyres. My car came to me (2nd hand) on Michelin Pilot Supersports at the rear & PS2 at the front. I'm convinced that - while ultimate grip levels are obviously higher now I'm off the winters - it was better balanced on the square 225/40R18 winter fitment. It felt far more neutral on the throttle than currently, where the higher grip at the rear (wider tyres & stickier tyres vs the front) makes it push on into understeer a bit.


Also - my wife's Audi Q5 came on Continental Winter Contact and we just keep them on all year round. That car hardly demands a "high performance" tyre, and the wear has been fine. We did the fronts after maybe 18k miles and that was mainly due to uneven wear (tracking / alignment was off).

[Crackie]

Smuler said:

I ran Hankook Winter Tyres last winter on my 335i and found them great.

My 335i's rims are 19s so for the winter I bought 17s rims (second hand BMW style 158s) and then saved the price of the rims in the difference between what I paid for the 17s winter tyres as opposed to 19s which are hard to come by as well as expensive.

I'm not sure if you, as I suspect, have 18s on your 330d there will be enough of a saving but something to consider and it does protect your main set of rims from salt corrosion.

I have ( had ) the same setup with my 335i........19s for summer (with Goodyear Eagle F1) and 17s ( second hand refurbed style 158 ) for winter; the 17s have Dunlop WinterSport 3D on and have been faultless.

Edited by Crackie on Thursday 5th May 20:43

[Crackie]

omar2010 said:

Hi Guys,

I have just bought a 2006 330D.

Can anyone advise what the best winter tires for it would be.

I know we are a way off winter but the Scottish weather is really unpredictable!

Also - silly question - is it just the rear two tyre so that need changed or all four?

My former 325i was dreadful in winter and I want to avoid a repeat performance if possible....

I have a set of 17" style 158 wheels, for sale if you're interested. They were made for BMW by BBS; tyres are Dunlop Winter sport 3Ds; 6mm tread on all four.

Not sure where in the UK you are; I'm in North Yorkshire. I have some good images of them to show their condition; please PM me if you're interested.

Edited by Crackie on Thursday 5th May 20:46

[Mr Tidy]

Crackie's offer sounds like just what you want!

(I think you will need at least 17 inch rims on a 330d to clear the brakes, but you don't need large rims for winters - it just means tyres cost more!)

I got a set of 16 inch rims with Michelin alpins for my 325ti last November from another forum for a very good price. It is easiest yo just change the wheels myself than have to mess about with getting tyres removed and fitted.

Probably because I had them fitted, we had no snow in Berkshire this winter - at least by keeping it away I did everyone else a favour. (I have similar powers with rain - if I wash the car it WILL rain)!

[E-bmw]

nickfrog said:

E-bmw said:

OK, so they are now a cheap premium brand!

I doubt most would agree with Nokian being a premium brand.

I am not saying they are cp@p, I am just saying they are not a premium brand.

Well done for cutting my quote so for accuracy:

nickfrog said:

I like Nokians WR D4 as they're cheap due to people thinking they are a cheapo Korean brand.

Would you share your definition of "premium brand" ? Or research Nokian as a Company ?

I agree that the brand perception that most people have of the brand is not up there - but I don't care about marketing. And once again on PH, what does it matter if "most" people think something (and are quite clearly wrong) ? It doesn't affect the product's inherent performance, does it ? Unless of course brand recognition is important.

Nokian quite pragmatically position their pricing aggressively and save millions by not doing marketing BS. Suits me. I get a premium product at a low price.

http://www.tyrepress.com/2015/10/continental-chalk...
Surely, the runner up in performance behind the Conti should be considered as a premium product irrespective of popular perception of its brand. The fact that it's consistently 25% cheaper than the 850 is quite irrelevant.

Edited by nickfrog on Thursday 5th May 13:19

If you look at my statement above, I will break it down for you.

"I am not saying they are cp@p, I am just saying they are not a premium brand."

What that means is, I am not saying they are no good, I am saying they are not a premium brand! That does not mean that only premium brands are any good & nothing else is. It is simply a statement that they are not a "premium brand".

If you want to know what is a premium brand phone your local tyre place up & ask what premium brands they sell.
If you want to know what premium brands are go on "tyrereviews" website & see what are listed as "premium brands".
If you want to know what a premium brand tyre is go on AA tyres website & see which manufacturers tyres are listed as "premium brands".

Is Aldi tea or PG tips a premium brand?
Are Lidl baked beans or Heinz baked beans a premium brand?

Just because they are a premium brand doesn't mean they are the best thing out there, but they are still premium brands & Nokian is n't.

I don't feel the need to add what is MY definition of a premium brand, because I was not quoting MY definition, I was simply stating a fact.

If you like Nokian tyres & have good experience of them, well good for you, don't make them out to be something they are not, ie a premium brand.

I covered all of that in one succinct listing earlier rather than filling the page, but if that is what you want, then that is what I will do.


You go on to quote the results of 1 winter tyre test, well here are the winners of the last 50+ and Nokian have won 1 in 2011, have winter tyres come on any since then? Feck 'aye they have, most current budget winter tyres now are better than the premium brands were in 2011.

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre-Tests/#winter

If you want a truly representative tyre test data snippet try that one.

To end this post, are Nokian WR D3 any good?
If I believe what is written by users that have reviewed them on Tyrereviews then I am sure they are.

Are Nokian a premium brand?
No.

Edited by E-bmw on Thursday 5th May 20:14