Ready for winter?

[shortseller]

Originally Posted by Fed

I know I am late to the party, but considering the area we live in, especially us DC metro folks, how bad is it going to be on the stock tires during the winter. I do understand there will be no traction in the snow whatsoever, but unless you are planning on driving it in the snow, is there really a need for winter tires, or will just some caution when driving off in the morning enough to get by?

I've played this game for years, sometimes it works sometimes not. Winters down here are unpredictable. If you need your car as a DD and if you do not have alternate transportation for those bad days...then don't do it, just spend the roughly 2k, bite the bullet and be safe.

[mnesia]

shortseller is spot on - invest the money and be safe -- the car offers little in the way of control during icy or snow conditions using performance tires. Snow covered secondary roads, where snowplows aren't prevalent, provide a huge challenge to seasoned drivers with appropriate all season/winter tires.

[s0ul]

Summer tires tread will wear off much faster when temperatures are below 45. They're hockey pucks around that temp.

[Fed]

Not arguing the subject, and completely agree on the safety aspect. I am just seeing a lot of people opting for snow tires. Personally, I would probably go with something all season, like the Michelin PS4s

[mul1gan]

argh! i need me some winter wheels... hate to leave the M couped up indoors for 4 months

[Matt_B]

Originally Posted by Fed

I know I am late to the party, but considering the area we live in, especially us DC metro folks, how bad is it going to be on the stock tires during the winter. I do understand there will be no traction in the snow whatsoever, but unless you are planning on driving it in the snow, is there really a need for winter tires, or will just some caution when driving off in the morning enough to get by?

I'm a bit of an outsider here since I'm from PA - these message boards never know where to throw us over at Audizine we count as midatlantic here we're thrown in with new york and new jersey - anyway, about the summer tires in the cold. If you can guarantee you will never drive on snow or ice the traction isn't really that bad - the compound doesn't grip as well in the cold but driven with common sense you will not spin out of control or lock up your brakes the moment you touch them. It's not ideal compared to a decent set of winter or even all season tires but it's really not that bad.

The problem is that most people can't guarantee that they will never be surprised by a sudden flurry or encounter ice on their morning commute. You will be surprised at how useless summer tires are in these conditions.

[bmwhoo]

I bit the bullet after asking the same question last year and got the winter tires (OEM). The change in grip and how confident the car felt in low temperatures was significant enough to warrant it.

Which brings me to my question, when are folks switching over to their winter tires?

[pseto]

Originally Posted by bmwhoo

I bit the bullet after asking the same question last year and got the winter tires (OEM). The change in grip and how confident the car felt in low temperatures was significant enough to warrant it.

Which brings me to my question, when are folks switching over to their winter tires?

Putting mine on this weekend

[KZEVO]

Originally Posted by e90_2_f80

2cents

The Michelin pa4 is a 2012 tire that Michelin is replacing soon. If you go to tirerack you can find a good deal on them.

The blizzaks lm32 are a newer tire released last year to replace the lm60.

The consensus is that the blizzaks have a better bite in snow. While the michelins are better on dry and wet.

Either choice is a great performance winter tire.

Take it for what it's worth. I had Michelin pilot alpin on my Evo before. For a AWD car they were not confidence inspiring in the snow. I personally would not get them on RWD car if you plan on doing any driving on snow covered roads (which may happen if for instance you need to drive somewhere after a storm... clean up takes a while here). They were fine on dry and wet roads in the winter. I thought one of the magazines had used Pirelli and likes those.

[bmwhoo]

Originally Posted by pseto

Putting mine on this weekend

Wish I'd done the same. Just curbed one of my black rims yesterday.

Oh well...figured I was within 1-2 weeks of needing to do this. May hold out for another 2 weeks.

[s0ul]

Originally Posted by bmwhoo

I bit the bullet after asking the same question last year and got the winter tires (OEM). The change in grip and how confident the car felt in low temperatures was significant enough to warrant it.

Which brings me to my question, when are folks switching over to their winter tires?

From what I heard, mid-late November.

[AnujS2K]

Just put winter tires on my parents rwd F30 today. Figured it's a good idea considering the morning and evening temperatures here are now becoming consistently under 50°F even though the highs are in the high 50s to high 60s. They have General Altimax Arctics (rebranded Gisalved Nordfrost 3 from Finland).