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[Sigma Relief]

Ok 1st BMW post here goes...

I live in an area where snow tires will be a requirement (between New York and Philly), but severe blizzards are rare. The 128i with sports package suffers two set backs in the winter, low clearance, and wide tires (especially in rear).

My understanding based on growing up in snowy climates as well as from fellow engineering friends in the automotive world is wide knobby (think suv) tires are good in deep snowpack, but in moderate snow/slush (anything sane to venture out in a sporty car) narrow tires allow the weight of the car to be applied over a smaller area, increasing pressure and the chances that the car will "break thru" to the road below, not ride on a layer of slush. I know this works for all season tires with a mild tread pattern, my question is does it still apply with dedicated snow tires.

A quick forum search turned up little sizing info for snow tires. My reaction would be use the same width all around and go a size or two narrower than the stock fronts. The other issue of reduced ground clearance can be partially offset by increasing the overall diameter of the tires. While the car will not be driven hard in winter, it is dry 95% of the time from December to February so higher profile tires will just add to the mushy feeling that snow tires are known for. An increase in rim diameter will not add much ground clearance, but the point is just to not be the lowest car on the road, they will do all the hard work for you.

I know the quality of the rubber affects a lot, but I would like to know if there are any sizes people tend to like for their 1 in the winter. Not all sizes are available in all brands/styles, are there any "common" sizes for narrow larger diameter tires/rims?

Finally, does the TPMS light get anoying? I don't want to fork over $160 for sensors to do what I have done all my life, feel how the car behaves and look for indications of a flat.

[Feyd]

Welcome.

Check this thread out..

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=218972

Here you will find everything you need to know about a winter setup. Thoughts and opinions on tire size/feel, etc, etc...

You might also try posting your tire questions in the wheel and tire forum.. they might get more views from people who could speak more to the specific questions you might have.

[BrokenVert]

On a 128i most people will tell you 205/50 R17 all around for the reasons that you mentioned in you post.

I live on LI, so we have similar winter climates. I decided that for the 2 days of solid snow that we get a year, days that I will most likely not be driving, that it was worth it to value car performance over snow driveablility.

So I went 225/40 R18 and 255/35 R18 on my stock wheels, so that I could drive fast during the winter, but still be able to drive through the snow if i needed to because they were winter tires.

[Sigma Relief]

Thanks for the info, after more manual digging I came across some good posts.

As a regular to web forums, I am a bit disappointed in my earlier choice of search terms and subsequent lack of results, I guess I need to stop searching like an engineer.