e46 winter preparation - touring 330i

[dubbs]

Chaps,

Looking to get the touring (e46 330i) ready for winter. It currently runs on 18" Alloys (MVs) but I'm looking to get some alloys from ebay or similar and get good quality winter tyres (Vred wintrac or similar) in a cheap size.

I'm expecting a 16 or 17 inch alloy to give a much wider choice of good quality tyres at decent prices.

Anyone got any suggestions on what to look for both as an alloy (2nd hand on ebay) then as a tyre choice to get the car capable enough to cope with snow (appreciate it's limited capability due to RWD)

Thanks in advance... thought it best to do this now before everyone else!!

[ghibbett]

Not sure if 16" will fit over the brakes on a 330i?

As for tyres, I've used Bridgestone Blizzacks and Goodyear Ultragrip Eagles during winter months.

The Blizzacks are extremely good in the snow, but otherwise I found them overly soft and also very noisy.

The Goodyears are not quite as good in the snow, but better in every other way. That said, I still had no problem with them in the snow, and I live in Austria where we get a reasonable amount.

HTH

[soda]

You will need 17 inch to clear the brakes on a 6cyl E46. Never bothered with winter tyres though so no advice on that front

[Jobbo]

I've been looking for winter tyres for my 330i too. As everyone has said, you'll need 17" wheels to clear the brakes. I've got a spare set of 17" Style 68s in my garage but the rears are 8.5" wide and I can't find any winter tyres wide enough at a sensible price.

Mytyres will sell you a set of winter tyres and 17" steel wheels to fit but they look awful if you're going to have them on the car for 4-5 months.

Current plan is to try to find two more front Style 68s (since they're 7.5" wide) so I can use four of those with sensible sized (and priced) winter tyres.

[Luca Brasi]

I fit a set of 225/50 R16's styling 136 on my E46 with Michelin Alpins. Or does a 330 have bigger brakes than a 325?

[Jobbo]

The 330i (and, I think, 330d) have bigger brakes than smaller engined E46s, yes.

[Patrick Bateman]

Something like that- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-e46-3-Series-17-Styl...

I got those style of alloys (without tyres) for £90 + £40 postage about a month ago off ebay.

Not in the best condition but can't complain for a winter set (or the price) and always gonna look better than steel wheels.

[cslwannabe]

I bought a set of 2nd hand 17s from ebay for about £200 when I had my 330Ci - they were the standard BMW 7 spoke wheels from a 330Ci SE etc. Had a few marks on but were dead easy to clean compared with my MVs!

Tyre wise you'll want 225/45/17 (same front and rear). I went for Michelin Pilot Alpins from Costco but last year I bought a set Vredestein from Reifen (Germany) for 1 of our cars and a set of Fulda from Mytyres for the other. I see Kwikfit are offering 25% off at the moment - no idea if their prices are competitive however.

[Jobbo]

Having just discovered that I can fit 225/45R17s to my 8.5" wide rear wheels without any problems (not stretched - it's within the recommended size), I've found a set of Nankang SV2 winter tyres, delivered for £315 or fitted for £364. Anyone had any experience with them? I'm planning to use them all winter, not just when it snows, so the reviews online which say how good they are in snow aren't that relevant...