I am new to this forum and it has been great thus far. I picked up my 04 530i recently with the sports package and 18" wheels. I live in New York (Queens borough) and drive primarily only on the weekends as I take the train in mon-fri. I've been reading about all the compaints about how the 18" Run flats arr horrible on the site and wondered if I really need to invest in winter tires. Like I mentioned I don't drive everyday and don't want to invest in a set of tires....

I was wondering if anyone who lives the the northeast area particularly in NYC could give me advise as to needing winter tires or could I get by with my stock wheels on my weekend driving? I know we can get as much as 3-6 snow storms per year...

thanks much for your help.

-gene

Bottom line is -- and it has nothing to do with the runflat technology -- the sports package tires will be terrible in the snow.

If you can avoid snow by not driving the car on snowy weekends, then great. If you think you'll be driving in snow at all, you should invest in a set of four dedicated snow tires (on dedicated rims, if you choose.)

Clearly the performance tires are not designed for snow and cold temperatures -- they don't stay soft in the cold and the width of the tires gives them less traction in slippery conditions.

Let put it this way. Last winter we (I live in the same area) had 5 days with snow on the ground. 2 days fell on a weekend. So if staying home 1 weekend a year does not bother you then why waste money. Keep in mind that putting winter tires on you car will take away all driving fun BMW gives you. In 2002 I leased a BMW 540 Sport and did get winter tires for it. I used them for 2 seasons and the decided that the trouble of installing them and no fun driving for 3 month are not justified by 2-3 days of comfort in snow. BTW my 540 did pretty well when I had to drive it to work (once) and back home (twice). That was it. 30 miles over the entire winter. The only reason to get snows in NYC is to extend the life of you stock tires and only if you leased your car. Winter tires may also give you a little better traction on cold rainy days.

We had a bit of snow here in Poughkeepsie..(not much).I drove my car just to find out the limit of my tires. It was not bad at all. Now I have an idea when to use my car and when not to.

17"x8 GY NCT 5 RF