Chosing winter tyres

[benjj]

Hi there, I'm after some advice on picking out some winter tyres for my E39 Sport.

I'm not going to buy an extra set of rims, just buy the 4 tyres and have them fitted in November, changed back in Spring next year.

The question is that of sizes. My car has the stardard 17'' Sport alloys - 235/45/17 on the front, 255/40/17 on the back.

Would I be advised to keep the exact same dimensions for my winter set or can I change them around a bit?

Any advice would be great.

[scz4]

I picked up a set of 17" sport rims for my E39 540i. The previous owner had Nokian winter tyres fitted and he has 4 fronts rims with and 225 or 235 (can't remember) all round. I beleive this works better in winter months than the staggered (wider rears) setup.

I'll let you know in spring I guess

Edited by scz4 on Wednesday 13th October 14:25

[Guyr]

Fit narrower winter tyres, they grip better. Also go smaller wheel, with higher profile they're cheaper. Your owners manual should say whats recommended. On my E60, I went from 245/35 and 275/30 19s to 245/40/18s all round.

Oh and if you can stomach steel wheels, then order them, they cost about the same to buy as having the tyres removed and fitted twice.

Edited by Guyr on Wednesday 13th October 16:44

[EK993]

The advice I got was to switch to a different set of wheels - this enables you to go to a smaller / narrower size more suited to winter / snow driving, and the cost to swap over summer / winter tyres on your existing rims would offset the cost of a cheap set of steel wheels. You also avoid any potential damage to your existing wheels that the fitter may cause when swapping tyres over.

[benjj]

Interesting, thanks chaps.

As I have this staggered setup am I limited on what other wheels I can stick on?

I guess a set of 16's would look ok with a 50 profile tyre on it...

[Fox-]

No, you can fit the conventional 16's from an SE without an issue. They are 225/55/16 and will be cheaper for you to buy.

Don't forget to buy a snowmobile as well, you probably wont need that either but you can never be too safe in our harsh English winters.

[benjj]

Last winter where I live (North Yorkshire)...

Snow on the ground for 39 consecutive days

Our road not gritted for 5 weeks

Average daytime temps of 3-4 degrees for all of December & January

Average night time temps of at or just below 0 for all of December & January

Having had a look on ebay at a set of 16'' turbines and some part worn (6mm depth) Bridgestone winter tyres (all in for under £250 for all 4 wheels) it looks like a steal.

[Fox-]

Yes, we had an extreme and atypical winter last year. It wasn't normal which is why it dominated TV news for 3 straight weeks.

Turbines will fit straight on so will be fine. 16" is the smallest you can go on a 530i because of the brake sizes. They will however make your car look a bit crap. You may as well sell it and buy an SE and pocket the change

Edited by Fox- on Wednesday 13th October 19:03

[benjj]

I'm not that fussed about the look. My Sport is a real workhorse anyway, mechanically sound, aesthetically a bit bashed up!

I've lived in North Yorkshire for 5 winters now. I could have used a winter tyre setup for every one. If this is the one I don't need them for I really wouldn't care less. Frankly me spending a few hundred quid to keep the roads open feels like a fair deal...

[Fox-]

Thats a shame, hate to see shabby looking Sports, they really are great looking cars.

Guess if you've got the space you might as well keep a set. I wouldnt put them on until the weather gets properly crap, mind.

[benjj]

Its not that bad, just to my eye its far from perfect...

[dcb]

Guyr said:

Oh and if you can stomach steel wheels, then order them, they cost about the same to buy as having the tyres removed and fitted twice.

Careful.

I read the owners manual for my 530 E39 and it said
steel wheels not permitted.

525 and below, fine.

Something to do with brake ventilation.

So a final question - it's ok to have only one set of alloys
and swap the tyres around every spring/autumn ?

I don't fancy shelling out for a 2nd set of alloys
and I don't fancy a set from the scrappie.

[phelix]

dcb said:

Careful.

I read the owners manual for my 530 E39 and it said
steel wheels not permitted.

525 and below, fine.

Something to do with brake ventilation.

And not sure 16s would fit on a 530 - I think you might need 17s to fit over the brakes.

dcb said:

So a final question - it's ok to have only one set of alloys
and swap the tyres around every spring/autumn ?

Yes. But do go as narrow/unstaggered as you can - tyres will cost you less and give you better grip as well.

[Fox-]

phelix said:

And not sure 16s would fit on a 530 - I think you might need 17s to fit over the brakes.

You can, both 530 and 540 SE models had 16's as standard.

[rassi]

I had the 16" style 48 on my 530d (standard fit)with 225/55/16 winter tyres, as recommended in the manual. Steel wheels would certainly also be ok, as evidenced by the number of 530d owners with this setup in Germany.

[phelix]

Fox- said:

phelix said:

And not sure 16s would fit on a 530 - I think you might need 17s to fit over the brakes.

You can, both 530 and 540 SE models had 16's as standard.

Interesting - the E46 330i has brakes big enough so that only 17s will fit - (wrongly) assumed the E39 was the same.

[Fox-]

phelix said:

Fox- said:

phelix said:

And not sure 16s would fit on a 530 - I think you might need 17s to fit over the brakes.

You can, both 530 and 540 SE models had 16's as standard.

Interesting - the E46 330i has brakes big enough so that only 17s will fit - (wrongly) assumed the E39 was the same.

For some odd reason the brakes on the 330i are marginally larger than those on the 530i.

[sparks_E39]

One thing the E39 is utterly useless at (where my H Reg Fiesta didn't struggle) is snowy/icey conditions. Granted I don't bother with/ can't afford winter tyres but the bloody thing was sideways at 10 mph last year. I found Sports mode, 2nd gear and traction off the best answer.

[rassi]

sparks_E39 said:

One thing the E39 is utterly useless at (where my H Reg Fiesta didn't struggle) is snowy/icey conditions. Granted I don't bother with/ can't afford winter tyres but the bloody thing was sideways at 10 mph last year. I found Sports mode, 2nd gear and traction off the best answer.

A RWD without wintertyres that is useless in snowy icey conditions? Wow, that's a surprise...

[briers]

If your thinking about winter tyres don't wait too long i can see stocks going already and prices going up plus some of the winter tyres makers aren't concentrating on the UK market this year to reduce costs as the market is so much bigger for the rest of Europe.

Vredestein Wintrac Extreme or Nokia WR G2's are both excellent tyres and if you want a budget tyre imo the Falken HS-439 tyre is the best bet.


I just got some OEM Style 185's off ebay and some Wintrac Extremes. Cost a bit all in but should be worth it. I dont think i've got a chance in hell of moving a 335d on 19" summer runflats.