DETON8R_530xi

Hello all,

I live in Calgary, Alberta Canada and with the -25c temperatures and falling snow having arrived, I've just swapped the OEM Bridgestone Potenza RFTs for a set of Michelin Pilot Alpin tires.

Predictably, the RFTs render the car completely undriveable in that sort of weather and comparing the RFTs to the Pilots is like comparing Teflon to Velcro. But even given a somewhat more valid comparison, in this case my 1998 Audi A6 Quattro (although no 5er, it is a really good winter car with excellent grip even with the all-seasons), the 530xi sticks to the road with these new Michelins like glue. The biggest difference between the two cars' snow performance is in the handling balance, as the 5er has the drive bias starting clearly to the rear, whereas the Audi starts clearly in the front, but will gradually move to the rear through corners. And although my 5er is still a country mile ahead of the A6 in terms of grip, I'm not sure that given the same class of tires that one will get you out of a situation the other won't but there is no question which car is more fun, predictable and controllable. The other factor of course, is that the A6 is 8 years old, vs. the 530xi, which is state-of-the-awd-art.

In accelerating on snow (in this case, a local grocery store parking lot after hours), I really had to punch it to get the DTC to kick in (ummm...wait a minute, maybe that says more about the power than the tires!), but even with the DTC limited, and then completely shut off, it was pretty much the same. On the icy spots, it was only a little worse but still very stable and not at all worrying.

In slick or snowy cornering, I find the DTC in regular mode to be very abrupt (think back to your driving instructor in high school who had a penchant for stabbing the brake pedal in the driver's ed-mobile when you least expected it) which kills a bit of the fun, but at the same time, that solution is a button-push away. Realistically, though, it's just as well that it kicks in before you do something stupid enough to wreck the damn car.

In the dry, the handling is only marginally less sharp in regular driving, but I suspect it will be a lot squirmier (new word, there) closer to the limit. The noise is no more than the RFTs, maybe even a bit quieter, until about 120km/h (75mph) when you can start to hear and feel (although only slightly) that you're not on performance tires anymore. But the HUGE difference is in the ride. I just cannot believe how much better the ride is comparted to the RFTs. It is absolutely amazing and I can now completely understand why there has been so much written about the difference between RFT and conventional tires. Most noticably are expansion joints and manhole covers that are now just a faint 'bonk' you hear (sort of like the sound of dropping a banana on a kitchen floor), rather than something tranmitted through the whole cabin of the car now.

My second choice for tires was the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S which the dealer recommended, but I figured I wanted a little extra for deeper snow and didn't mind spending the money come summer on some high performance summer tires. The Alpins were also a few bucks cheaper that the A/S ($203 vs $253 from Tirerack, who by the way were just awesome) which never hurts. I didn't want to go with a total monster winter tire such as the Blizzaks or the X-Ice Michelins because of the wear factor on dry pavement, and let's face it, there are still a LOT of dry-driving days through the winter.

Hope this helps fellow member's shopping.

Cheers

KAF

Good post.

DETON8R_530xi

Thank you, and I'm happy to finally have something to give back! The posts by the members of this site were a huge help to me in ordering my car and after 21,000 trouble-free kms I couldn't be happier.

Cheers

E60Sim

-25c ?!?!

Do you preheat your engine before startup on such a cold day ?

KAF

I've heard that a couple of grams of Uranium keeps the engine nicley warm

-25c..............They are not called crazy canuks for nothing.

E60Sim

hahah !

We have a DEFA preheating (electric, 220V) installed, and use it before startup at cold mornings.. It's very good for the engine and the environment !

DETON8R_530xi

It was only about -10c in my garage this morning, so no not this time, but much colder than that, and yes, I plug it into my engine block heater. Pretty much every car sold in this area in the past 20 years has them. But the heated steering wheel option sure is nice on days like this!

And contrary to popular rumour, we don't use uranium...we use 'urinium'...we just have our sled dogs lift their legs on the radiators. Warms 'em right up.

Newbie joke there. Ahem.

KAF

You only get away with jokes like that by being a newbie.

Consider your allowance used up.

nickolas_g

After much hemming and hawing I made my decision too.

I ended up ordering the Continental WinterContact 810 S from Tirerack.com. I ordered my same 123 rims from bmwwheels.com. I know the tuners out here think I should have gone with the 166s or something more agressive. I just like my 'factory' looking 530i. I must say that the guys at tirerack are really professional in their sales.

I chose the Conti Sports for the winters here in New Jersey that too have some really dry days. I also will be moving to North Carolina where snow is not really a factor after this season.

I am so curious to see how much better the non RFTs are compared to these. I will give an update in about a week or so!

Ricracing

E60Sim !

- 25 C - no problem.

Also with DEFA

but the plug is pretty good hidden (see box).