[RichM]

Hey,

I have recently bought a 2007 E90 320D. It will be replacing my Land Rover Discovery 1 as my daily drive. I am keeping the Land Rover for the winter in case we get any snow here in England.

However, I have considered buying snow chains for my BMW. Question is, how effective are they? It's no secret that RWD cars are disadvantaged in snow, so I'm not quite sure how much snow chains will really help. - Will it still be a battle?

A few years ago, I had an E46 and I recall how hopeless it was even with a slight dusting of snow. No doubt a standard E90 is equally poor in that respect.

Cheers

[Bimmer84]

Are you using snow tires? My E46 drove just fine in the snow without the need of chains, and same goes for my E92 here in Germany.... as long as you have dedicated snow tires it should perform without chains...

[Quick6EF]

Wish you weren't in the UK. I'd sell you my set of winter's super cheap - they were only used for 5 months

[ideliver]

Chains are usually reserved for extreme mountain passes...winter tires are plenty sufficient

[Chewy734]

umm... you don't need chains. Get a nice set of Blizzak studless winter tires and you're good to go.

[E90SoFlo]

I ran summer tires and used chains when I would go to the mountains. Work perfect. Just make sure you know how to use your chains before you're on the side of the road in the snow

[RichM]

Hardly anyone in the UK uses winter tyres, myself included. I'm pretty sure most people here don't even know that winter tyres exist because they're that uncommon here. Tyre brands don't even bother to market them. You simply don't hear about them here until you speak to others who live abroad.

Given how little snow we get, it's hard to justify spending out on new rims + winter tyres. Sure, they can still be of benefit even in milder temperature conditions but normally summer tyres work fine until we get the slightest bit of snow, where the country grinds to halt. (we rarely have snow lasting for more than a week per year)

Will snow chains do the job or are they only suitable for moderate to heavy snow conditions?

[Bimmer84]

http://www.ecstuning.com/News/ISSE_T...nowChains_BMW/

Maybe look into those? To answer the new question you posed: Yes, they will do the job even on summer tires, if you don't plan on having snow for long periods of time. They are required by law here in Germany (winter tires), but I would have them anyway.

[aussie_kc]

Originally Posted by Quick6EF

Wish you weren't in the UK. I'd sell you my set of winter's super cheap - they were only used for 5 months

What are you selling?