I recenty moved from Seattle to New York and had the unfortunate experience of driving my 545 in two inches on snow...
Other than keeping it in the garage for 6months of the year...any recommendations other than the obvious(X5, RangeRover Sport, A6)? :'(

 

Some forum members swear by (not at) the practice of putting snowtires on all four corners. I think the manual has some information indicating that a single push on the "DTC" button before driving in snow makes it a more pleasant experience.

 

Try snow tires. I use winter sport m3's. They give you some winter traction, and some performance.

 

You have to swap to Snows in the upper east in the winter.
I have M3 's on all four corners in 17 " on my 545 and I have not gotten stuck the last two years, last year had more snow here in Cleveland.
I drive it daily.

DR.Z

 

Winter Tires.

If u're not comfortable with it, you might wanna get a pair of tire chain. but with a tire chain on, you won't be able to go over

30mph.. About buying SUV, I'll recommend X5 or Range Rover rather than any other Suvs. Since You don't wanna buy

those, I would say Volvo XC 90 might be a good decision.

 

Same thing with me, except I use the winter M3s on the stock sport package's 18-inch 124s. No problem through three winters.

 

Just contact the Tire Rack and talk to them about your snow tire needs www.tirerack.com

Clearly you'll need 4 snow tires but what types and or what sizes will depend on your individual needs...

 

As you found out, BMW was serious when they called your tires SUMMER tires. I think the manual has a bunch of warnings about this.

I've driven RWD cars with snow tires since 1995. I purchased my rims off ebay, got my tires at Discount tire and twice a year I load the wheels into the car, hop over to Discount Tire and they swap them out gratis.

My recommendation with TireRack is to do your OWN research - I have not found their salespeople to be ethical in what they recommend (and never have I found their recommendations to match the user ratings).

 

Great info on this forum. I pesonally did what someone else here suggested. I did my own research! Tirerack is a good source, but not the only one. Take the experience of those in this forum and then come to your own conclusion. I personally went with Bridgestone Blizzaks for the winter and then swap them out for Vredersteins in the summer. My next set of summer tires will be Michellin PS2s. But for the winter I couldn't find a better tire for the money than the Blizzaks. Now they are runflats, so that's another determination you'll have to make. I specifically went with the Blizzaks and will go with the Michellins is because I purchase my tires at COSTCO! They only sell Bridgestones and Michellins and you won't find it anywhere cheaper. I just happened to get a great deal on the Vredersteins. I'm not dissatisfied with them, just want to try what everyone else advised is the best tire for the E60, Michellins! Good Luck.

 

After 30 years of snow tire experience with BMWs, I STRONGLY suggest Tire Rack. They will get the WHEEL OFFSET RIGHT for your model and its brake calipers if you want to go for the recommended wheel and tire package. Trust me on this: the others don't and it becomes a nightmare of trial and error.

Can't imagine what you would have done in last night's 2 feet that we got here in upstate. And the good news is that you should get some spring-clearance bargains right now, for next year!
Cheers,
Ray