Pirelli Scorpion Ice and Snow vs Conti DWS for winter

[Aaron in Denver]

X5 is ordered and will need to swap tires at delivery. Have done searches here on both the Pirellis Ice and Snows and Contis, but have not found anyone who has had both or compared the two directly (unless I missed it, but searched all different terms).

Actually have the Contis on my wife's Acura RDX, and we have been impressed with them. I'm debating which tire, and whether a dedicated snow tire like the Pirelli is way better than the Conti, which has been a great all season tire.

Can anyone compare the two? Will be on the staggered 20" setup. No storage space for an extra set of wheels/tires, and dealer has a deal where they store tires and do the seasonal swap.

Thanks for any thoughts! Aaron in Denver

[MattBianco]

If you are doing research also look at the Nokian Hakkappeliitta R2, 7 and 8. I have had the 8 on a different vehicle and they are phenomenal. Very popular in Europe and high marks in numerous reviews.

[Wing Co]

Interesting that the BMW dealer is talking about swapping over the tyres as over here because of the run-flats they always say do not swap the tyres over winter/summer as it can damage the tyre wall (it being run-flat). The route being full set of alloy wheels and tyres. Are your summer tyres in the US not run-flats?

[Aaron in Denver]

No, all tires are run flats on US delivered X5s AFAIK. Never heard of issues with swapping winter and summer RFT tires here.

Matt- will check out the Nokians, but I dont think the come in the correct sizes for the staggered 20" wheels. Will take a look!

[MattBianco]

I also recommend a set of 18" or 19" wheels to minimize swapping and balancing. Lots of great deals from those who have upgraded to larger wheels.

[MysticBlue]

If you are debating snow tires vs. all-season, in my opinion it's not even close. I drove a 4x4 Dakota as my winter vehicle for a decade on all-season tires. A few years ago I put Michelin snow and ice tires on it. I was blown away. Having driven that same vehicle for so many years in winter weather, I was very familiar with it. The dedicated snow and ice tires transformed it. For instance, in slick conditions at slower speeds, it was not unusual for me to put it in 2 wheel drive and goose it a little to break loose the rear end on purpose and do a little power drift around a corner to gauge the conditions (and have a little fun). Doing that with the snow and ice tires, it always felt like I was still in 4 wheel drive because there was so much more traction there. I always had to give it a little more power than I was used to to get it to break loose. There was a huge difference. I will never use all season tires again. They try to do everything good and end up doing nothing well. They are lousy at summer performance and they are lousy at winter performance. The Dakota got traded in for the X5, So the X5 is now my winter beater. I have a set of Pirelli Scorpions already mounted on 469's sitting in my garage, waiting for the first snowflake.

[turbotoy4me]

I would suggest a dedicated snow and ice tire, here in Colorado. I am going to get a set of 19's with the scorpion snow and ice tires so I am not running my 20's through the mag and salt. I have read many are very happy with the 20's with dedicated snow and ice tire.

[MRV99]

Do you want the best winter performance meaning: starting, stopping, evasive maneuvers, confidence etc.... Or are you looking for a tire which can go in the snow and handle summer conditions. Personally, I have done winter/summers for all my BMW's. Some I have no choice(M3) others (X5's) are by choice. I can tell you that my wife absolutely loves her Pirelli's ice and snow in the winter months. Yes the 255/19" look a bit small compared to here 275/315 summers but the abilities of the winters are what matters. There have been countless times when people all over the roads are struggling to get where their going snow and icy conditions and she can drive(with caution) in these conditions with confidence. To me I would rather have the best winter traction to avoid accidents than have an ok tire.

[patrick1]

How many days do we drive in Denver in snow/ice covered roads? A dedicated snow tire for the 80% + of the time the roads are clear is not needed in my opinion. Swapped my Pirelli's for Conti 20" staggered. Never had a problem with running all-seasons-even in rear wheel drive cars. Lived in Colorado all my life. Drive to Vail 30+ times in winter.If you feel safer and more confident with snows then go for it, but be prepared for poor handling and corresponding tire wear on dry roads.

[MtgMaster]

Originally Posted by patrick1

How many days do we drive in Denver in snow/ice covered roads? A dedicated snow tire for the 80% + of the time the roads are clear is not needed in my opinion. Swapped my Pirelli's for Conti 20" staggered. Never had a problem with running all-seasons-even in rear wheel drive cars. Lived in Colorado all my life. Drive to Vail 30+ times in winter.If you feel safer and more confident with snows then go for it, but be prepared for poor handling and corresponding tire wear on dry roads.

Right on. Same thoughts here. w

Winters are as bad in dry as all season is in the snow.

[Heden]

Originally Posted by MtgMaster

Right on. Same thoughts here. w

Winters are as bad in dry as all season is in the snow.

Well this is an incorrect statement. You have to consider the temperature, not just if it is dry or not. A general rule of thumb, if the mercury shows below +7 degrees celsius, then the rubber in the summer tyre will be to hard/firm to be any good.

Regards,
Niclas

[MRV99]

Originally Posted by patrick1

How many days do we drive in Denver in snow/ice covered roads? A dedicated snow tire for the 80% + of the time the roads are clear is not needed in my opinion. Swapped my Pirelli's for Conti 20" staggered. Never had a problem with running all-seasons-even in rear wheel drive cars. Lived in Colorado all my life. Drive to Vail 30+ times in winter.If you feel safer and more confident with snows then go for it, but be prepared for poor handling and corresponding tire wear on dry roads.

I know it is subjective but i would have to disagree that the 255/19 vs the 275/315-20 cause poor handling. Yes you may not be able to have the same confidence with the 19's doing 80 mph doing through the pass compared to the 20's but they still perform very well. I have driven on the the 255 winters 275/315 summer combo since my 2002 E53 and I would not call the handling poor, maybe 10% less during situations which are outside "normal" driving.

As for your statement about "corresponding tire wear on dry roads" is completely false. A winter tire is designed for cold temps not just snow and ice. All seasons are designed just to be good enough work on warm and cold conditions and that is why you have a corresponding treadwear in the 400's. There is compromise with all season in the type of rubber compound that they use. Winter Rubber will perform better in the cold during stopping conditions as well as panic maneuvers than an All Season tire. Most tire people will say the same.

From a wear perspective, you speak of having Pirelli's in the past. Did you have 20" Pirelli's or did you have 19" Pirelli's. I know from my past 12 years of owning 19" Pirelli winters in the Midwest that they do not have poor tire wear. If you use them during the conditions they are designed for(mid 40's and below), I have been getting 4-5 seasons out of my winters which for an X5 that is good compared to the 2-3 seasons I have gotten from my 545/550/M3 winters..

[patrick1]

My original post was meant to say that winter tires perform poorly on dry roads. In addition they wear at a much greater rate in dry warm temps than they do in colder temps. In Colorado if you are diving outside the city on un-plowed roads they are probably a good idea.
I swapped Pirelli's summer setup/stock P Zero's on my '14 X5 for Conti's DWS for the winter. 20" wheels on both set-ups. I do have a basic understanding of tire compound differences between summer/all season/winter. THX

[stewy604]

I opted for the Pirelli Snow & Ice in the staggered 20's form (yet to be mounted), as its still too warm here. I've heard good things about these tires, so I'm looking forward to testing them out this year. Options were definitely limited if I wanted to stay in the 20's, especially staggered. I'll post my feedback once I put some kms on them in the colder temperatures.

[Jenya B]

Just ordered Conti DWS

[EmPower]

Need some help here. I live in the DC metro and had some trouble with the X5 last year when we had the snow and less than stellar temperatures. Should i get winters and swap out my all weathers? What sux is that from a. Geographical standpoint; DC should have mild winters but last year was far from it; and with this year it seems we may get a colder winter... If i do swap out my tires and we don't see a lot of snow or icy conditions, how worn will my winter tires get come spring?

Also how are the Hankook I Pike RW11 winter tires?

[MtgMaster]

Originally Posted by Jenya B

Just ordered Conti DWS

ðŸ‘

[MRV99]

Originally Posted by EmPower

Need some help here. I live in the DC metro and had some trouble with the X5 last year when we had the snow and less than stellar temperatures. Should i get winters and swap out my all weathers? What sux is that from a. Geographical standpoint; DC should have mild winters but last year was far from it; and with this year it seems we may get a colder winter... If i do swap out my tires and we don't see a lot of snow or icy conditions, how worn will my winter tires get come spring?

Also how are the Hankook I Pike RW11 winter tires?

It all depends what you are looking for in terms of long term temps and performance.

1) if you feel the cold and snow conditions in DC are not normal and that they will go back to the milder conditions then you can choose to stick with your All seasons and tough it out until winters are back to what your used to.

2) If you felt that the All seasons were less than acceptable for the winter conditions, then you have to make the decision if you want to have 2 sets. One designed for Cold(wet/dry), Snow and Ice.

3) How much do you drive. Is it 30-40 miles every day for work or is it a 30-40 miles during the week and what miles you put on during the weekend. Short or non-existent commutes may not warrant the need for dedicated snow tires. Hours on the road a week may convince you.

My personal opinion is that I want a tire which performs best in winter no mater what the conditions are for safety reasons. My family has avoided many situations which without the winter tire could have caused accidents and has taken the stress out of poor winter conditions.

[EmPower]

Originally Posted by MRV99

It all depends what you are looking for in terms of long term temps and performance.

1) if you feel the cold and snow conditions in DC are not normal and that they will go back to the milder conditions then you can choose to stick with your All seasons and tough it out until winters are back to what your used to.

2) If you felt that the All seasons were less than acceptable for the winter conditions, then you have to make the decision if you want to have 2 sets. One designed for Cold(wet/dry), Snow and Ice.

3) How much do you drive. Is it 30-40 miles every day for work or is it a 30-40 miles during the week and what miles you put on during the weekend. Short or non-existent commutes may not warrant the need for dedicated snow tires. Hours on the road a week may convince you.

My personal opinion is that I want a tire which performs best in winter no mater what the conditions are for safety reasons. My family has avoided many situations which without the winter tire could have caused accidents and has taken the stress out of poor winter conditions.

Thank you for taking the time to answer that question. Money is not an issue when safety is concerned; however with DC seeing some snow/ ice, my concern was the health of the winter tires. How much wear would i expect with a 5 month setup on winters through March of 2015? Would it be that much? I usually drive the truck on weekends and have a car for office use. Of course when there is bad weather i will drive the truck to work.

[MRV99]

I get 4-5 seasons on the winters. I try to keep them on my card when the times I am driving are mid to low 40's consistently. Yea there will be a warm spell once and awhile but it will not cause wear issues. Square setups will allow for tire rotation which on my x5 is needed because the rears do wear faster than the fronts

[MysticBlue]

After 7 or 8 years of experience with summer performance tires in the winter, I know how they drive in temps below 40*... Not good. I've always had a winter truck to drive in the snow, but when it's dry, but cold, I would often drive my car with summer performance tires on it. I always have to be very aware of the reduced traction. It is very, very easy to light up the DSC warning light on the dash, just accelerating at what I consider a normal rate. The traction just isn't there below about 40*, and below freezing, they just turn into hockey pucks. I have the summer performance tires on my new X5 (my new winter beater). With those tires on it now, I consider changing to winter tires a necessity. Even if it's an easy winter with very little snow where I live, there will still be plenty of cold temperatures where the summer tires don't work very well. As far as wear of the winters, Nothing in this world is free. Yes, I suppose they wear a little more, but remember, while they are getting worn, your summer tires are not getting worn. I definitely won't have them on 5 months... more like 3 months at the most. Probably put them on a week before Thanksgiving because I'll be driving in the mountains to Grandmothers house. Depending on the conditions, probably take them off in the middle of February. So, bottom line, my opinion is if you have summers, winters are important as much for the low temps as for any snow and ice you might encounter.

[EmPower]

Would it matter if i dont get run flats? I have a choice between Pirelli Scorpions winter vs Pirelli Scorpions snow/ice. Which would be better suited for a 'mild' DC winter?