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View Full Version : Anybody got snow tires on yet?



scott540
11-02-2007, 07:36 AM
Especially WI, MN? Thinking of doing it this weekend just because I hate doing it after it gets too cold.

Brandon J
11-02-2007, 09:57 AM
I ran snow wheels and tires on my e34 for 5 years. I know how you feel. The only problem is if the temperature gets warm then the tires are too soft and squealy. As I hate changing wheels when it is cold, it is still kind of warm. I live in Chicago so I am not too far from you. I would change them when it was consistently under 55 for the high. I would at least wait a week or 2. When ever you change them, good luck with the the weather.

Black 535i
11-02-2007, 11:01 AM
Ordered some new Hakka 4's from the Tire Factory in MI and installed them here on my car this past week. Got caught short last year and do not want that to happen again. Will let you know how they do here in Chicago this year.

RockJock
11-02-2007, 11:13 AM
Ordered some new Hakka 4's from the Tire Factory in MI and installed them here on my car this past week. Got caught short last year and do not want that to happen again. Will let you know how they do here in Chicago this year.

I love Hakka's, I run studded ones on my truck. Are the Hakka 4's studded/studable?

e34_Jay
11-02-2007, 03:22 PM
I think i might put mine on this weekend......it could snow here any day now

repenttokyo
11-02-2007, 03:51 PM
Here in Quebec, I'm going to wait until the end of November / beginning of December.

uscharalph
11-02-2007, 04:12 PM
Haven't put mine on yet. Oh yeah that's right, I don't have snow tires, I live in Southern California. LOL!!!

EngPhys09
11-02-2007, 05:04 PM
I didn't run snow tires last year on mine, and we got hit really hard with snow in Ontario, "snow belt area". The car handed fine i found, yes snow tires would make a difference but I'm not getting them until I get some new summer tires. Just drive carefully. My gti has them though, it really needs them

repenttokyo
11-02-2007, 05:32 PM
I didn't run snow tires last year on mine, and we got hit really hard with snow in Ontario, "snow belt area". The car handed fine i found, yes snow tires would make a difference but I'm not getting them until I get some new summer tires. Just drive carefully. My gti has them though, it really needs them


that is not a wise decision to make. It's not just snow, but temperature that makes a big difference in how your tires perform. The colder it gets the less capable an all season tire is of holding the road with any kind of grip. Eventually, the rubber can even freeze. It's dangerous to not run winter tires in our climate.

Barney Paull-Edwards
11-02-2007, 05:54 PM
Anybody got an opinion on winter grade rubber? Designed for below 5C but do they work?

whiskychaser
11-02-2007, 06:04 PM
Anybody got an opinion on winter grade rubber? Designed for below 5C but do they work?
Lived in Kent for 5 years and was the only one who went to work when it snowed. Ok they were P6's so I'm going back a bit. Where are you going to be thats -5? Keep the tyres and fit snow chains?

BMWDriver
11-02-2007, 07:45 PM
Here in Quebec, we sometimes get below -35 Celsius; the tires are not the problem, but the abrasives they put on the road which become inefficient below -20, so then they switch from salt to sand. So you still have to be careful no matter. Otherwise, we're usually below -10 from mid-December to March, seldom close to freezing point.

My Nokkians Hakka are awesome; I've never been stuck with them. But, you can slip and slide no matter what tires you have when there's ice or lots of snow; such is winter. But with winter grades, it's much, much, much, so much less dangerous than 4 seasons tires up here, which just don't cut it. You simply can't brake well enough or control the car too well with your rears (or front) spinning as you start. Even with ABS, your wheels could lock up and then you just slide; has happened when I cornered a bit too fast with my winter tires during a snowstorm.

RockJock
11-02-2007, 09:03 PM
that is not a wise decision to make. It's not just snow, but temperature that makes a big difference in how your tires perform. The colder it gets the less capable an all season tire is of holding the road with any kind of grip. Eventually, the rubber can even freeze. It's dangerous to not run winter tires in our climate.


I agree. When I first got my e34 a few years ago it came with ‘all seasons’ on the stock basketweaves. Winter was pure hell!! Intersections get icy and polished and I’d get stuck on the slightest inclines. Driving on side streets was a nightmare, stopping wasn’t an option because I needed the momentum. I got stuck countless times until I put on a set of snow tires and the e34 became a snow plow! Highways can become unbelievably dangerous; blizzards, massive drifting snow, black-ice, pea soup fog (I’m sure Dave M can relate to this). At certain temps, when you get blowing snow the highway surface gets so polished/slick and you don’t notice it until you step on the brakes (studded tires are nice in these conditions)….

All season tires suck, totally useless, don’t waste your money on them.

If you’re going to be in the middle of bu#@ fu#k nowhere (i.e., Alaska highway in the depth of winter); 4x4, studded snow tires & a set of chains in the event that you need them.

Last November, in the e34, I got caught with my pants down and got stuck on a snowflake with the 255’s on the back …. Believe me, It totally sucked!

EngPhys09
11-02-2007, 10:37 PM
I would like to point out that I have driven this car is some crazy snow storms and blizzards. The fact is at those point, you don't gain too much advantage either way, Trust me I know. The only thing you can do is slow down or stop.

Yes I agree get a full set of winter tires and a full set of summer tires. But for my situation currently being a student and living in a larger city the roads are always clear and if i have to drive somewhere I check the weather ahead of time and plan my route, if it looks bad don't go.



I agree. When I first got my e34 a few years ago it came with ‘all seasons’ on the stock basketweaves. Winter was pure hell!! Intersections get icy and polished and I’d get stuck on the slightest inclines. Driving on side streets was a nightmare, stopping wasn’t an option because I needed the momentum. I got stuck countless times until I put on a set of snow tires and the e34 became a snow plow! Highways can become unbelievably dangerous; blizzards, massive drifting snow, black-ice, pea soup fog (I’m sure Dave M can relate to this). At certain temps, when you get blowing snow the highway surface gets so polished/slick and you don’t notice it until you step on the brakes (studded tires are nice in these conditions)….

All season tires suck, totally useless, don’t waste your money on them.

If you’re going to be in the middle of bu#@ fu#k nowhere (i.e., Alaska highway in the depth of winter); 4x4, studded snow tires & a set of chains in the event that you need them.

Last November, in the e34, I got caught with my pants down and got stuck on a snowflake with the 255’s on the back …. Believe me, It totally sucked!

RockJock
11-02-2007, 10:57 PM
----snip----currently being a student----snip----

let me guess; 1st term 3rd year of Engineering Physics @ either McMaster, Waterloo, UofT, Queens or Western?!?! ... really tough program i hear. :D


----snip----living in a larger city the roads are always clear and if i have to drive somewhere I check the weather ahead of time and plan my route, if it looks bad don't go.

good point, it's nice when they can keep the roads clear, but when they can't then snow tires make all the difference...

Qube
11-02-2007, 10:58 PM
Myyy tirees are alllll seasonnnnn... ok no. they are UHP that barely make M+S. Holding off until perpetual 3 deg where the rubber doesn't warm up enough to grip.

RockJock
11-02-2007, 11:09 PM
----snip----Holding off until perpetual 3 deg where the rubber doesn't warm up enough to grip.

.....that's kinda balmy, you should be ok ;)

Barney Paull-Edwards
11-03-2007, 03:28 AM
So forget winer yres then! Borrowed a 525IX las winer as my faihfull was on a rip,in Pyrennes it was awesome,sideways on demand and gripped as well when you want it, one of the bes real world 4WD`s on market, including X3/X5`s due to cenre diff seings.

Black 535i
11-03-2007, 05:44 AM
...I opted with go for the ones without studs for now. Something about the $500.00 state fine that scared me off. I can always get them studded later if the weather goes bad or when I go up tp Alpina, MI for the SNo-Drift Rally in February.

repenttokyo
11-03-2007, 10:10 AM
I would like to point out that I have driven this car is some crazy snow storms and blizzards. The fact is at those point, you don't gain too much advantage either way, Trust me I know. The only thing you can do is slow down or stop.

Yes I agree get a full set of winter tires and a full set of summer tires. But for my situation currently being a student and living in a larger city the roads are always clear and if i have to drive somewhere I check the weather ahead of time and plan my route, if it looks bad don't go.

i'm glad you;ve been lucky so far. why push your luck? buy some snow tires and put them on so you're not putting everyone else on the road at risk. You are wrong about the advantages / disadvantages of snow tires. Driving your car in crazy snow storms and blizzards with all season tires is just dumb, and in fact, in Quebec, if you were in an accident in those situations, the police can cite you for not having the proper tires for the conditions.

As a student, it's going to be more expensive to pay higher insurance premiums when your luck runs out and you hit a pole, than it is to buy a set of used winter tires at 50 dollars a tire.

repenttokyo
11-03-2007, 10:12 AM
...I opted with go for the ones without studs for now. Something about the $500.00 state fine that scared me off. I can always get them studded later if the weather goes bad or when I go up tp Alpina, MI for the SNo-Drift Rally in February.


I did a winter rally without studs last year, just good snow tires, it was a lot of fun - plan on doing it again this winter :)

attack eagle
11-03-2007, 12:27 PM
Haven't put mine on yet. Oh yeah that's right, I don't have snow tires, I live in Southern California. LOL!!!

Yeah I put my snow tires on... Bridgestone potenza re750s :p

last year:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b106/AttackEagle/100_1068.jpg