335d v M3

[x5x3]

sorry but could not resist the title!

last year I had a 335d in the snow and it was just hopeless, I spent about 10 days "stuck" at home - which was brilliant

this year I have the M3 with DCT, so I am wondering how much better (or worse?) in the snow it will be?

been avoiding trying to be honest, but will have to later today, the main roads round here are clear, but my problem is getting to them, we have an off camber 90 degree bend uphill so basically it is very hard to carry enough speed into the corner to get up the hill.

obviously I got my wife's Zafira up fine this morning, any bets on the M3?

[CarbonBlackM5]

On standard tyres its going to be tricky , Winter tyres would probably be OK.

I couldnt even get my RX8 out of our drive in Jan so the M5 will be staying put if we get a decent snow fall (nothing as yet). Even if you do make progress my worry is always that some idiot is going to crash into you.

[paulmon]

Worse than hopeless is the answer unless you have winter rubber fitted. Mine never moved last year and one of the guys at work had to abandon his.

[krallicious]

Mine is fantastic with the winter wheel set. The pictures were taken about 30m minutes after having them fitted in a large, empty car park. I was trying to find out how high the grip levels were

[x5x3]

are those the BMW winter tyres?

they quoted me 2 grand for those....

[Zod]

With winter tyres, it will be fine. Yes, BMW do charge over £2k for a set of wheels and tyres. It's not that surprising when you look at teh prices of tyres and alloy wheels!

I bought a set with my M5. This is their fourth winter. They make a massive difference. My new X5 is arriving on winter tyres on narrower wheels than the usual ones.

[krallicious]

x5x3 said:

are those the BMW winter tyres?

they quoted me 2 grand for those....

They are. £2000? I paid 2000€ from mine fitted with also included a complete winter check.

Think of it this way, an accident that may have been avoidable with the correct tyres fitted is likely to cost a lot more that the initial outlay for the winter wheels.

That is the justification that I used because I am now down to the one car as I sold my FWD runabout in September.

Edited by krallicious on Wednesday 1st December 11:23

[Zod]

krallicious said:

x5x3 said:

are those the BMW winter tyres?

they quoted me 2 grand for those....

They are. £2000? I paid 2000€ from mine fitted with also included a complete winter check.

Think of it this way, an accident that may have been avoidable with the correct tyres fitted is likely to cost a lot more that the initial outlay for the winter wheels.

That is the justification that I used because I am now down to the one car as I sold my FWD runabout in September.


Zod, have you replaced the M5 with the X5?

X5 arrives later this month. M5 is still there. I really ought to sell it, but I'm very attached to it. Winter wheels go on this weekend.

[krallicious]

Zod said:

krallicious said:

x5x3 said:

are those the BMW winter tyres?

they quoted me 2 grand for those....

They are. £2000? I paid 2000€ from mine fitted with also included a complete winter check.

Think of it this way, an accident that may have been avoidable with the correct tyres fitted is likely to cost a lot more that the initial outlay for the winter wheels.

That is the justification that I used because I am now down to the one car as I sold my FWD runabout in September.


Zod, have you replaced the M5 with the X5?

X5 arrives later this month. M5 is still there. I really ought to sell it, but I'm very attached to it. Winter wheels go on this weekend.

Beat me to my edit! I somehow missed "this is their forth winter" in your initial post! You know the best thing would be to keep it! I must say, my M will be staying until it falls to pieces.

[x5x3]

I do agree about the cost being relative, thing is I do not have to get anywhere these days, I work from home 99% of the time, so it is only occasionally like today where we need two cars fit to drive in this weather. £2K or so seems a lot to spend when I may only use them 2-3 times a year. Mind you, if we are going to have weather like this every year then it becomes more of a sensible idea!

and by the way, nice colour!

[Zod]

krallicious said:

Zod said:

krallicious said:

x5x3 said:

are those the BMW winter tyres?

they quoted me 2 grand for those....

They are. £2000? I paid 2000€ from mine fitted with also included a complete winter check.

Think of it this way, an accident that may have been avoidable with the correct tyres fitted is likely to cost a lot more that the initial outlay for the winter wheels.

That is the justification that I used because I am now down to the one car as I sold my FWD runabout in September.


Zod, have you replaced the M5 with the X5?

X5 arrives later this month. M5 is still there. I really ought to sell it, but I'm very attached to it. Winter wheels go on this weekend.

Beat me to my edit! I somehow missed "this is their forth winter" in your initial post! You know the best thing would be to keep it! I must say, my M will be staying until it falls to pieces.

Sorry about that! I am already making up arguments to myself on the lines of, "It's only worth x. Anyway, if I keep it, I can sell both it and the DB9 next year and buy a V12V! "

[Zod]

x5x3 said:

I do agree about the cost being relative, thing is I do not have to get anywhere these days, I work from home 99% of the time, so it is only occasionally like today where we need two cars fit to drive in this weather. £2K or so seems a lot to spend when I may only use them 2-3 times a year. Mind you, if we are going to have weather like this every year then it becomes more of a sensible idea!

and by the way, nice colour!

You'd use them for four or five months of the year, not jsut 2-3 times. When you think of it that way, it makes more sense.

[krallicious]

Thanks. It's not the colour I initially wanted but it has grown on me a lot.

On my old car, my winter tyres were on from the beginning of November to March/April depending on the weather, they lasted nearly 30,000 miles and had at least another winter on them! I remember getting caught in a snow flurry driving from Norwich to Sheffield last February with my PS2s and as soon as it started to settle my M was awful on even the slightest of slopes.

In the end it's your decision but I can highly recommend them.

Pete

Zod, when you put it that way I can fully understand. The V12V is one of the best cars I have ever driven and is on the list to own one day.

[s99ane]

krallicious said:

x5x3 said:

are those the BMW winter tyres?

they quoted me 2 grand for those....

They are. £2000? I paid 2000€ from mine fitted with also included a complete winter check.

Think of it this way, an accident that may have been avoidable with the correct tyres fitted is likely to cost a lot more that the initial outlay for the winter wheels.

That is the justification that I used because I am now down to the one car as I sold my FWD runabout in September.

Edited by krallicious on Wednesday 1st December 11:23

What rim/wheel is that? 280?
Which tyres did you get?

Thanks

[krallicious]

It is the winter wheel set from BMW for the M3. As far as I know, the alloys are unique to the M3.

Tyres are Michelin Alpin.

[Mr E Driver]

I bought some 18" SE alloys from a Fleecebay seller, about £700 with tyres which I sold on E90.com for £75 each. Then put some winter tyres on the alloys and they are now on their 3rd winter from Nov to April.

[swanny71]

s99ane said:

What rim/wheel is that? 280?
Which tyres did you get?

Thanks

Official BMW winter package for the M3 is
270M wheel (8x18 et20) shod with Michelin Alpin PA3 235/40/R18 95V

I did a st load of research before buying my winter set-up - turned out a lot cheaper and less hassle (insurance wise) to just get a spare set of OEM 19's and fit Wintrac Xtremes. Don't think we see enough snow to worry about the slightly larger and wider wheels/tyres compared to the optimal BMW set-up.

[x5x3]

swanny71 said:

s99ane said:

What rim/wheel is that? 280?
Which tyres did you get?

Thanks

Official BMW winter package for the M3 is
270M wheel (8x18 et20) shod with Michelin Alpin PA3 235/40/R18 95V

I did a st load of research before buying my winter set-up - turned out a lot cheaper and less hassle (insurance wise) to just get a spare set of OEM 19's and fit Wintrac Xtremes. Don't think we see enough snow to worry about the slightly larger and wider wheels/tyres compared to the optimal BMW set-up.

what was the total cost for those in the end?

in the end I got up the hill very easily, the sun had melted the top half so was easily able to carry enough speed to get round the corner with only a tiny bit of a sideways slip. Mind you, supposed to be out again this evening and now the sun has gone in and the snow is coming down again!

[Koing]

Debating on taking the E46 M3 to the gym after work...the roads look pretty clear but I have about 4m of drive to reverse out of with snow on the drive and pavement...and a wall about 30-40cm away on one side and about 50-60cm the other side.

Koing

[swanny71]

x5x3 said:

what was the total cost for those in the end?

Under £1300 and I've got a spare set of good Michelin PS2's that came off the 2nd hand wheels. But I did order my tyres in October - prices have rocketed since then.

eg. mytyres are now asking £661 EACH for 255/35/19 Pirelli winters