540i vs. snow/ice

[Mike-AZ]

Well, after having had my beloved '94 540i for over three years now, I will be moving from Phoenix to Buffalo, NY in January to finish school. I am considering selling my 540i and picking up a 2001 SAAB 9-3 for use in the snow........unless of course someone can persuade me in to believing that the BMW is good in the snow as well. I have the tranny with the snowflake mode, but I am not sure what good that really does. I have an open diff and no ASC+T. -- Mike

[Espen]

My 525i had no problems here in Norway this winter.
Just make sure you have good snowtires.

[BillionPa]

ASC+T is pretty useless in wet slippery snow or on ice, but a LSD would be nice.

whats really nice for snow traction is a torque converter.

[Russell]

ASC+T seemed to help in ice and snow to me. Much better than without it. Escpecially compared to my old e28.

[Eric Clark]

I rather take the bus then drive another Saab.

[ILoveMPower]

You will have absolutely no problems whatsoever driving in the snow as long as you invest in some quality snow tires.

[Mr Project]

I drove my 535i through 2 winters and quite a bit of snow/ice. If it was more than 4 or 5 inches deep and unplowed, I had trouble due to ground clearance issues. I had an LSD and all-season tires.

After I sold that car to a friend, he put cheapo (Firestone WinterForce) snow tires on it. Suddenly the car was unstoppable on snow and ice...getting around was no problem at all.

I'm actually planning on using my Touring primarily as a winter/bad weather car, as I'll have a Corvair to drive when it's nice. Pick up a cheap set of 15" wheels and some dedicated snow tires of virtually any kind and you'll be golden.

[brosher]

You will have absolutely no problems whatsoever driving in the snow as long as you invest in some quality snow tires.

I wouldn't go that far. I'm assuming you have never lived/driven in a state with a lot of snow? There will always be the people who tell you all you need is snow tires. This ignores the fact that driving in winter weather is a skill! I would highly recommend picking up a "winter beater". You can continue to drive the 540 when the roads are clear, but this ussually takes a day or two after a storm. You will still be doing a lot of damage to the car from road salt alone though.

I just got my 540i and planning on keeping the all seasons on. I am going to look for an old tacoma or posible an E30 to get me through the deep stuff. I would recommend doing the same. If you really are going to trade to another car pick up a 325xi or an A4. FWD is not the answer in snow, it's a combination of driver ability, tires and ground clearance.

[brosher]

Oh and here is a funny page on snow in buffalo...

http://www.buffaloresearch.com/snow.html

[Tiger]

No problem whatsoever with Nokian Hakka RSi snow tires. I got no traction control on my 540i.