[ourlee]

Originally Posted by M2siast

The story about not driving a certain type of car because of the weather. Sure some people prefer not to take their cars out because of reasons, but it has nothing to do with where the traction goes or how much power it makes.

AWD cars are absolutely not better in the winter.

Over here, every single car in a ditch (and I didn’t look up your pile up example, but would bet money it applies there too) is because they are AWD/4WD.

I’ve rescued many a AWD vehicles with my RWD 400hp slammed 135i (KW suspension all the way down). Including rescuing my ex with her X3 at work one day because the X3 was undriveable.

Winter driving = good tires + patience and smoothness.

AWD is a performance feature, it helps the car launch more quickly. That’s why they’re becoming ubiquitous, because 0-60 matters. If it doesn’t matter to you, and I assume it doesn’t because the M2 (especially manual) isn’t the quickest car to begin with, then the M2 is fine.

Otherwise we wouldn’t see so many civics on the road during winter. It’s lower than the M2 and it has worse traction.

My personal belief (and the reason why I winter drive my vehicles) is that winter is too long to drive a shitbox around. So I’d only enjoy my car 5-6 months of the year? And miss out on the other 6 months and arguably the most fun months? Heck no.

Just my perspective of course, as I said, to each their own. But some things are facts, car in a ditch? It’s a truck/SUV with AWD 9 times out of 10. Because people with AWD believe this myth that it’s better in winter, and don’t know when it’s slippery because they got going so easily.

We did snows on all our cars (AWD cx5, TT, GTIs etc) in north jersey. I agree it’s tires. So, what’s your snow tire of choice?

[Lost23]

I see a lot of rim size options for a snow tire setup. 19s all around the way to go?

[two_three_two]

Originally Posted by Lost23

I see a lot of rim size options for a snow tire setup. 19s all around the way to go?

whatever you can get the best deal on that will clear the front brakes. i got brand new OEM size snows for approx ~900$ in total including mount and balance so i went that route. tire compound>wheel size. might be possible to jump up one size on the sidewall ratio vs OEM to give you some additional clearance up front without rubbing but i havent confirmed that

[Squidget]

Originally Posted by Lost23

I see a lot of rim size options for a snow tire setup. 19s all around the way to go?

There's no "performance" advantage for smaller wheels. But people typically run 19s because more sidewall makes your setup more resistant to potholes.

If you drive in places where the roads have potholes, or get them in winter, 19" wheels are a good idea.

[M2BOT]

In Ohio, first snow today of around 2 inches. I have the BMW Winter wheel set and it performed very well. So long as you don’t put a ton of power down, drive carefully, and give space from other vehicles, I have no concerns about it performing well in ice and snow.

I could see it being an issue with heavy snow fall higher than 3-4 inches due to clearance, but the winter wheels perform great and give confidence. Highly recommend.

[Lost23]

Originally Posted by M2BOT

In Ohio, first snow today of around 2 inches. I have the BMW Winter wheel set and it performed very well. So long as you don’t put a ton of power down, drive carefully, and give space from other vehicles, I have no concerns about it performing well in ice and snow.

I could see it being an issue with heavy snow fall higher than 3-4 inches due to clearance, but the winter wheels perform great and give confidence. Highly recommend.

Which winter wheel set are you using?

[M2BOT]

Originally Posted by Lost23

Which winter wheel set are you using?

This one

[two_three_two]

Originally Posted by M2BOT

This one

that strikes me as awfully expensive for what it is...

[two_three_two]

Originally Posted by M2siast

Find a cheaper option. I’ve done the math in another thread… don’t think you can find it cheaper anywhere. It’s a good deal (if not great).

i got 2 brand new 2021 date stamped 285 rears for ~$250 shipped from utires and 2 brand new 255 fronts for like $450? or so, all sottozeros. all in under $900 mounted and balanced on the OEM rims. then i spent $1700, shipped, on 500 mile tire 824M takeoffs for the summer. ill sell the OEM 19/20 summers and my total cost on winter and summer setup is like maybe $2600, minus whatever those brand new summer 19/20 OEM tires fetch me? so yea, you can do it way cheaper with OEM quality stuff. if you are married to 826Ms you can also find something cheaper on the M3 forum as well and then grab some winter tires.

[two_three_two]

Originally Posted by M2siast

Well that’s like saying a new car is too expensive because you bought a used one for less.
If you try to spec all the parts separately it’s cheaper, and all genuine.

i mean not really. my winter tires are all still brand new. i peeled the stickers off them. its not like i went down and bought USED tires.

i bought used summer tires in theory, but this was about getting the cheapest OEM quality 19/20 inch winter set up- which i think i probably did it as cheap as humanly possible with all new, OEM or OEM quality equipment.

[two_three_two]

Originally Posted by M2siast

No I get it. I’m referring to buying parts that aren’t genuine. Sottozeros may be good tires but these aren’t what BMW uses. So YMMV. I was referring to comparing tires BMW sells (Michelin Alpin and Pzero Winter), in the same sizes, plus wheels, plus TMPS, plus centre caps, plus mounting, plus balancing, I don’t know if they can be had cheaper and the wheels won’t be genuine. That’s what I’m referring to. I’m sure one can buy “winter tires” cheaper, but then the argument of “being expensive for what it is” flips, in my mind.

gotcha. i guess if you have strong preference for whatever tires BMW specs, go for it. my thought process was that you can do a dedicated, OEM quality winter/summer setup for far cheaper than the $4500 they want. you can even do it with OEM parts if you just wait for the right deal. folks are selling very low mile takeoffs for very cheap. i have a strong preference for OEM wheels so that was the route i took, now having 2 OEM sets of wheels, one with BMW spec tires that are essentially brand new, and the other with high quality winter tires. but point taken

[DSTR]

Originally Posted by two_three_two

gotcha. i guess if you have strong preference for whatever tires BMW specs, go for it. my thought process was that you can do a dedicated, OEM quality winter/summer setup for far cheaper than the $4500 they want. you can even do it with OEM parts if you just wait for the right deal. folks are selling very low mile takeoffs for very cheap. i have a strong preference for OEM wheels so that was the route i took, now having 2 OEM sets of wheels, one with BMW spec tires that are essentially brand new, and the other with high quality winter tires. but point taken

My winter tire/wheel setup was every so slightly used/like new condition, 930M in black for 1300 and new PA5 BMW spec tires for 1300. No need to see the dealer to purchase just for install. Tires were / are new and the wheels with literally a few kilometers on them here Germany.