C's Bimmer

Well, today in NY we had our first little blizzard of the year. I decided to take the xi out for a test spin this morning to see how it would do, before allowing my wife to take the car to work. Although the car did handle ok, it was definitely sliding more than I liked. When I pulled the car back into my garage, all the tires were covered in a layer of snow. There was no visible tread anywhere on the tire. I have the Bridgestone Potenza RFT's (245/40/18) as stock tires.

That said, it looks as though I'm going to order a set of Blizzak LM-22's from TireRack ASAP. I am still considering the Dunlop M3's, but think the Blizzaks are my first choice.

Oh well... :thumbsdown:

aybeesea

I thought I read on this forum that the US manual contains a warning about runflats being inappropriate in snow.

ABC

JStraw

Aren't the Potenza's All Season tires??

I have the Dunlop M3 RFT (winter tires) and am quite happy with it.

ipp

What did you expect? In Sweden it's illegal driving a car with summer tires in the winter. Even with my Dunlop M3 winters the car slides a little too much in snow.

C's Bimmer

Here's what TireRack says about the tires on my car, and I quote:

"Original Equipment (OE) summer tires are an appropriate tire choice for sporty vehicles manufactured in the U.S., as well as those imported from Europe and Asia. Developed for use on new cars and light trucks, these tires provide a sporty blend of ride quality, noise comfort and handling, along with dry and wet traction. These tires are not intended to be driven in snow."

Again, these are the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A RFT, 245/40/18.

Your Dunlop M3 runflats are still winter tires, even though they are runflats. I think this is the excuse I needed to ditch my runflats, throw some Blizzaks on my 18" 123 wheels and go get myself a new set of wheels and tires for summer.

C's Bimmer

Well, with the AWD, I expected something better than what I got. Keep in mind that I came from an E39 530i Sport which was completely useless in the snow (I always kept the summer wheels and tires on the car).

It's not ice that I'm driving on. It's snow, so I expected a little bit better traction. However, once I saw the layer of snow on tires I knew right then why these tires are useless. That's interesting to know that you still slide with your Dunlop M3's. I think you've just sealed the deal for me, in terms of ordering the Blizzaks. Thanks!

ipp

I think you're doing the right thing. Last winter I had Good Year winter something RFTs, the were even worse than the Dunlops. The dimensions might be the problem for all of the makes. With my last E-class I had 215 wide 16" winters with spikes, they were much better.. And thats a car which has worse handling from the beginning.

C's Bimmer

I just learned that they don't make the LM-22's in a 245/40/18. They make them in a 245/45/18. Not sure if these will fit. Therefore, I'm going to go with the LM-25's instead.

JSpira

Uh, no. In fact, there are RF snow tires. RF tires present no problem in snow.

JSpira

Not sure why you are surprised. You went out in snow and ice with summer tires. BMW's own catalog says that summer tires should not be used in snow and ice.