[willjames]

This may have been covered a thousand times in one way or another before, however here goes anyway...please don't berate me too much, but will accept some good old banter for mentioning the unmentionable words "winter tyres"!

Would I be better with Winter Tyres on S Drive or xDrive? I know both would be best for grip and traction, however as per my earlier thread I'm not sure about the xDrive height and claims of "a wallowy feel"?


P.s I'd put a poll up if I knew how.

[teaston]

Xdrive will help with traction on snow, but will do nothing to improve grip or braking distances! So in fact xdrive is probably more dangerous than sdrive on summer tyres as the sdrive won't get off your driveway and put you in danger of ploughing into someone or something!

So if you have to choose, it's sdrive with winters.

But, how much snow do you get in Cheshire?

[evdok]

xDrive all the way.

[pdk42]

I look at it this way:

- X-drive should be about max traction and fantastic roadholding 365 days of the year. However, that means a quite different suspension setup to what BMW fit to the xdrives as standard. X-drive plus a Birds or ACS setup will deliver an excellent car, but you'll need to budget another £2k on top of the purchase price.

- If deep snow is an issue then you should be driving a Range Rover or such like. The 3-series even with X-drive won't cut it.

- If the occasional UK winter snap is what you're thinking of then S-drive with winters is a perfectly good solution. Plus, the winter tyres will help with braking and cornering, neither of which x-drive will help you with.

Me? - I'd love an x-drive with Birds suspension but the car is also a family car so I've gone with s-drive plus winter tyres.

[willjames]

Originally Posted by teaston

Xdrive will help with traction on snow, but will do nothing to improve grip or braking distances! So in fact xdrive is probably more dangerous than sdrive on summer tyres as the sdrive won't get off your driveway and put you in danger of ploughing into someone or something!

So if you have to choose, it's sdrive with winters.

But, how much snow do you get in Cheshire?

Not very much to be fair, only had a little bit over last couple of years. Last year I only got stuck (on summers) when I tried to get onto to my drive! Neighbour helped push me on and ended up kissing the Tarmac when she slipped as it found some traction

I think I'll spend the money on Winters instead of the xDrive.

[PeteGB335i]

Slightly Depends on where you live- if u are driving regularly through snow/ice in the winter, you may want to consider x-drive, but if that was the case i assume you would have winter rubber also and this wouldn't be a question. 95% of the time, winters on s-drive will serve u better than summers on x-drive. I'm in london, and winter rubber on my 335i are more than enough down south. In fact i only even put them on one season so far for a Cotswolds trip.

[Rbrown]

I have X drive and winters and it works well. But you still need to be careful, it doesn't make you invincible!

My next car may be a 340, so need to decide whether I will be happy losing X drive and retaining winter tyres.

I live in Scotland, so winter can be unpredictable!

[Rbrown]

PS.

Remember winters are also very useful when temperatures drop and /or heavy rain. They are not only for snow and ice.

[335dJa]

I chose xdrive because of exactly the situation we had last week, monsoon rain making roads greasy like ice after a sunny spell.

[PeteGB335i]

Originally Posted by Rbrown

PS.

Remember winters are also very useful when temperatures drop and /or heavy rain. They are not only for snow and ice.

Agreed on temp.

As a side note- read up on the relatively new Michelin Cross Climate- could be a good choice for something in the middle

[willjames]

Originally Posted by PeteGB335i

Agreed on temp.

As a side note- read up on the relatively new Michelin Cross Climate- could be a good choice for something in the middle

I actually looked at these last time I needed tyres, however they didn't do them in my sizes at the time and I'm only on 18's and standard Bridgestone S001's.

If I recall, Michelin e mailed me and said they would consider those sizes however it may not be until 2017.

[Drisser]

S drive and winters every time. Enjoy sport suspension and rear drive handling for 9 months and stick winters on from 1 dec to end of Feb.

I have conti winter contacts on and was BLOWN AWAY at how good they were on snow - I did a full on hard brake test on a back road on lying snow. No slip, no slide, just grip. Good winter tyres inspire confidence and go round corners than no 4wd will give you on summer tyres. I was dubious as this is my first lot of winter wheels and tyres but am sold, even this winter which was mild.

They are also great at pushing away standing water on the dual carriageway etc, no aquaplaning as the tread depth and sipes are very different.

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Lobb

I live in Cheshire and have run rear wheel drive and Michelin Pilot Super Sports for years.

And I'm still alive.

I would back my Pilot Super Sports over winter tyres in the rain, over winter tyres, at anything above 4 or 5 degrees.

Agreed... We have quite a mild winder climate compared to some... Especially where I live...

I have only ever run winter tyres on one car I have owned and that was because, in the summer, it ran on Pilot Sport Cup tyres...

Otherwise, I have always run the summer tyres year-round and, in 34 years or so of doing so, have only ever once felt like I should have stayed at home when running in winter weather o the summer tyres...

Yes, I know this is not the case for the whole of the UK, but it is for where I live.....

[Rbrown]

Originally Posted by Lobb

I live in Cheshire and have run rear wheel drive and Michelin Pilot Super Sports for years.

And I'm still alive.

I would back my Pilot Super Sports over winter tyres in the rain, over winter tyres, at anything above 4 or 5 degrees.

That's a very good advert for MPSS tyres!

As has been said, the winter climate is very different across the UK and not everyone is exposed to harsher winters. But have you ever used winter tyres to compare the differences?

[kitster]

Couple of months back I managed to get up and down 17% road on sdrive + winter tyres with about 5cm of snow on the ground and falling fast . Bit of wheel spinning but I'm still alive.

Admittedly going down was a lot more scary!! Locals we're flying down the road or I was just too chicken!!

[Rbrown]

Originally Posted by Lobb

Yes I've driven winters and fully agree that at sub zero and particularly snowy conditions they are a must. X drive is far too compromised and unnecessary unless you live up a mountain.

In Cheshire. MPSS are your year round tyre.

I may have to have a look at these tyres when the time comes for me to change. They sound very good!

Will have to wait a while as "the boss" has told me we are saving for work to be done on the house.....

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by teaston

Xdrive will help with traction on snow, but will do nothing to improve grip or braking distances! So in fact xdrive is probably more dangerous than sdrive on summer tyres as the sdrive won't get off your driveway and put you in danger of ploughing into someone or something!

For me stopping is more important that getting moving in winter conditions around freezing temperatures.

Having experience in the Highlands where we have all kinds of winter conditions, tyres are more important than the drivetrain. RWD and winter tyres, far better for total car control than xDrive (AWD) on summer tyres.

My experience 'slush' at just above freezing is one of the worst conditions, it's where most summer tyres, on whatever they are fitted to go adrift. Slush-planing (hardly ever discussed) is so unpredictable, more so than aqua-planing. AWD does little to make a vehicle safer, tyres do the work in the conditions which are treacherous.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

For me stopping is more important that getting moving in winter conditions around freezing temperatures.

Having experience in the Highlands where we have all kinds of winter conditions, tyres are more important than the drivetrain. RWD and winter tyres, far better for total car control than xDrive (AWD) on summer tyres.

My experience 'slush' at just above freezing is one of the worst conditions, it's where most summer tyres, on whatever they are fitted to go adrift. Slush-planing (hardly ever discussed) is so unpredictable, more so than aqua-planing. AWD does little to make a vehicle safer, tyres do the work in the conditions which are treacherous.

Exactamundo!

Xdrive is bloody brilliant though, and if you're going to fit ACS springs anyway, there is absolutely no reason to choose sdrive instead of xdrive!

[....,,,,..,,..]

For the Majority of England, you don't need winter tyres full stop.

The temperatures rarely drop sufficiently, also if following the below 7c bollox, then you equally have to change back to summers when it's 12c and over.

If you are entirely worried go for xdrive WITH winters, as that combination will simply kick the shit out of an Sdrive.

Again for majority of England, it's more placebo effect, let's face it likely 90% population bimble around on the same tyres all the time with limited problems.

If you live somewhere with pretty much guaranteed crap weather then winters should be mandatory.

Also if it's bad weather, what the fuck are you going out in the car for anyhow?

Stay at home simples

[E30toF30]

As many have already said, you should do winters regardless of xdrive or fwd or rwd.

[Rich9600]

Summer tyres do not suit Northern English winters in my opinion. However, neither do winters particularly... Though, I appreciate the wet weather and cold damp weather characteristics that they offer... I'd rather run winters in winter than summers!

I think I'll replace my winter rears with another set the same and then consider running a summer set and a replacing my winters with a cross climate set for winter use...

Could this be the ideal solution for UK use?

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by Rich9600

Summer tyres do not suit Northern English winters in my opinion. However, neither do winters particularly... Though, I appreciate the wet weather and cold damp weather characteristics that they offer... I'd rather run winters in winter than summers!

I think I'll replace my winter rears with another set the same and then consider running a summer set and a replacing my winters with a cross climate set for winter use...

Could this be the ideal solution for UK use?

I have been keeping an eye on these new all season tyres, sizing is the biggest issue, they don't seem to cater for bigger rims.

Yeah I think though these would be best all rounder, especially for an xdrive.