[AWD Addict]

Originally Posted by MassBimmer

Good Lord. Maybe my issue is assuming you know things about BMW that you apparently don't.

Originally Posted by MassBimmer

BMW only offers OEM wheels in 18" diameter for the 3 series as staggered set-ups (18x8 with 18x8.5). They do not offer any OEM wheels from the factory in 18" diameter as squared set-ups.

Dude, you don't need "square" wheels to run "square" tire sizes. Running 225s on the stock 18s looks exactly the same. I know that BMW doesn't offer square 18s, and I never said they did. Read my post. Didn't you just criticize me for not reading your post (even though I had )? Practice what you preach.

Originally Posted by MassBimmer

This is the reason I assumed the OP would want to retain the standard equipment sizes - after all, square tires on staggererd rims look absolutely retarded.

Don't get all b!tchy at me for making a bad assumption. His staggered 18" setup doesn't prohibit running 225s all around. In fact, winter tires are better thinner, and will offer better traction. This is the type of comment that comes from someone who's never mounted tires on wheels before.

Originally Posted by MassBimmer

The issue is not finding a 225/40/18 square all season or winter set-up, it's finding an all season or winter staggered set-up in the factory sizes to match his wheels. Get your shit straight.

Insanity. Tires don't have to be exactly the same as stock to fit his stock wheels. Seriously, I'm not the one who should be getting his shit straight. Now you're just arguing to avoid saying you're wrong. There are plenty of tire options as you describe that will run great on his stock 18s.

To clarify for the OP, and to correct MassBimmer:

1) 225s on staggered wheels absolutely does not look "retarded" See below. You can't tell anything different.







2) Staggered snow setup makes no sense. You want thinner tires for better snow performance, not wider. You do not need a "square" wheel setup to run "square" tires.

3) There absolutely are runflat options for 18" wheels. Pirelli offers the PZeros in 18" RFTs. They're even on tirerack.com. I believe Dunlop offers their Sport 01 offering in RFT 18" as well.

Seriously, how much information can you fit into one post! MassBimmer, this forum's about sharing good information between colleagues. Frantically arguing so you don't have to admit you are wrong helps no one, including most - yourself.

Do some homework before posting such nonsense going forward, and save yourself some embarrassment.

[Dark_Knight_335]

Originally Posted by AWD Addict

Dude, you don't need "square" wheels to run "square" tire sizes. Running 225s on the stock 18s looks exactly the same. I know that BMW doesn't offer square 18s, and I never said they did. Read my post. Didn't you just criticize me for not reading your post (even though I had )? Practice what you preach.



Don't get all b!tchy at me for making a bad assumption. His staggered 18" setup doesn't prohibit running 225s all around. In fact, winter tires are better thinner, and will offer better traction. This is the type of comment that comes from someone who's never mounted tires on wheels before.



Insanity. Tires don't have to be exactly the same as stock to fit his stock wheels. Seriously, I'm not the one who should be getting his shit straight. Now you're just arguing to avoid saying you're wrong. There are plenty of tire options as you describe that will run great on his stock 18s.

To clarify for the OP, and to correct MassBimmer:

1) 225s on staggered wheels absolutely does not look "retarded" See below. You can't tell anything different.







2) Staggered snow setup makes no sense. You want thinner tires for better snow performance, not wider. You do not need a "square" wheel setup to run "square" tires.

3) There absolutely are runflat options for 18" wheels. Pirelli offers the PZeros in 18" RFTs. They're even on tirerack.com. I believe Dunlop offers their Sport 01 offering in RFT 18" as well.

Seriously, how much information can you fit into one post! MassBimmer, this forum's about sharing good information between colleagues. Frantically arguing so you don't have to admit you are wrong helps no one, including most - yourself.

Do some homework before posting such nonsense going forward, and save yourself some embarrassment.

Wow, I think this wins the award for being the most tactful, tasteful rebuttal in the history of E90post. Kudos to you man, you are the epitome of class!

[yiboi]

i have a set of wheel tires and tpms if ur interested.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=455154

[iDriveanXi]

Get snow tires and you will be set. I'm happy with the A/S so far but will go with dedicated winters next year.

Summer tires in winter = disaster. I got caught in my old pickup with the summers still on and cracked up my Boyd's in the process.

[Dark_Knight_335]

You know, I think I made the same mistake. We got a badass blizzard (right Xi? lol).. I have 199 19's that I left on because I was too damn lazy to switch to 17s this year. I nearly slid halfway down my driveway today and almost took out my fence on a 1/4 inch of snow/ice. Bad idea. Never again.

[MassBimmer]

Originally Posted by AWD Addict

Dude, you don't need "square" wheels to run "square" tire sizes. Running 225s on the stock 18s looks exactly the same. I know that BMW doesn't offer square 18s, and I never said they did. Read my post. Didn't you just criticize me for not reading your post (even though I had )? Practice what you preach.



Don't get all b!tchy at me for making a bad assumption. His staggered 18" setup doesn't prohibit running 225s all around. In fact, winter tires are better thinner, and will offer better traction. This is the type of comment that comes from someone who's never mounted tires on wheels before.



Insanity. Tires don't have to be exactly the same as stock to fit his stock wheels. Seriously, I'm not the one who should be getting his shit straight. Now you're just arguing to avoid saying you're wrong. There are plenty of tire options as you describe that will run great on his stock 18s.

To clarify for the OP, and to correct MassBimmer:

1) 225s on staggered wheels absolutely does not look "retarded" See below. You can't tell anything different.

2) Staggered snow setup makes no sense. You want thinner tires for better snow performance, not wider. You do not need a "square" wheel setup to run "square" tires.

3) There absolutely are runflat options for 18" wheels. Pirelli offers the PZeros in 18" RFTs. They're even on tirerack.com. I believe Dunlop offers their Sport 01 offering in RFT 18" as well.

Seriously, how much information can you fit into one post! MassBimmer, this forum's about sharing good information between colleagues. Frantically arguing so you don't have to admit you are wrong helps no one, including most - yourself.

Do some homework before posting such nonsense going forward, and save yourself some embarrassment.

Thankfully through our arguing, I think the OP has plenty of info to go off of lol Either way, I think we both wound up arguing the same points over and over. I know you don't need square wheels to run square tires. It's a matter of taste, I can tell the diff in tire stretch and it would bug me, may not matter to others.

Either way OP, you can run staggered all seasons or square winter tires and be much better off than your summers. Hopefully this info helped you out!

[elratrero69]

Driver.
Sorry buddy you need more practice and common sense.
Be aggressive the 3er will take the pressure.
I drive on stock wheels and tires and I love xi

why rear wheel sucks in snow

[AWD Addict]

Originally Posted by MassBimmer

Either way OP, you can run staggered all seasons or square winter tires and be much better off than your summers.

+1

[cbcb]

Originally Posted by rangrua

thanx for all the reply....i've decided to get snow tires...sears or townfair ok??? any particular tires i should buy, i don't wanna cash out a whole lot since i'm only gonna use them for 2 months or a little bit more. Thank you.

It will be a LOT more expensive when you wrap your car around a pole or kill somebody else (or yourself) because you cheaped out on winter tires. Get good ones, you can use them for several years.

Also, it sounds like you need some driver training for winter conditions. Again, much cheaper than the alternatives.

[hfxbimmer]

I bought General Exclaim winter tires, which I believe are the same as Michelin X-Ice but branded under General and cheaper. Anyhow, I just got hit with a storm in the Maritimes, and the highway was covered with snow, some white outs, etc. I have a 328xi and had no issues driving at decent highway speeds. Kept it at 100km/hr let's say, but they worked amazing. I have them on 16" OEM wheels.

[ScaredOnce]

Originally Posted by rangrua

Hi everyone, it's nice to be part of this big bmw fan club. I'm new here and I have a question to ask everyone. We just had a big blizzard here in MA and my xi had the biggest problem driving in the snowing condition. It gets out of control when I try to apply my brake and it can't even climb a small hill while my dad's car can, and it is a honda civic!!! I'm thinking the problem is the tires and they are the summer tires re 050a potenza bridgestone or maybe all season tires not too sure. Maybe i'm not using my car correctly? (first bmw, and got really excited too until now) can someone help. thank you.

LOL... you did read the sidewall where it says that the Potenza REO50As shouldn't even be used below 40 degrees F, right? It's the tires, dude...

[IN54NITY]

I'll say it too. (In case there isn't enough emphasis already....)

Tires, tires, tires.

FYI. I am running Michelin Alpin PA3 non-RFTs in 235/40/18 all-around (i.e. "square") on the BMW style 189 wheels like AWD_Addict. The ride is astoundingly good. Traction is awesome. Tire strecth barely noticeable - if anything, the fronts look "cushy".

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ilot+Alpin+PA3

[BMW1986]

I have the same car with (09 335xi M Sport). I went the Continental DWS instead of the Potenza's. Yes, I was in the same snow storm as you and I had NO TROUBLE!! My 335i was the best snowmobile ever!!! It's a very aggressive All-Season and it will ride wayyy better then the RFT's!

[ScaredOnce]

JFYI- the Potenzas are great in the summer. I loved my 19" Potenzas on my 08 G8GT.

[IN54NITY]

FYI. Another link:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...sp?type=W&VT=C

[BMCoupe_782]

Originally Posted by SDeFranco1

You know, I think I made the same mistake. We got a badass blizzard (right Xi? lol).. I have 199 19's that I left on because I was too damn lazy to switch to 17s this year. I nearly slid halfway down my driveway today and almost took out my fence on a 1/4 inch of snow/ice. Bad idea. Never again.

Are you serious dude? that's crazy! that's why I just swapped out my stag 19's back to my OEM 17's with the all seasons.

[Jake335xi]

Originally Posted by rangrua

Hi everyone, it's nice to be part of this big bmw fan club. I'm new here and I have a question to ask everyone. We just had a big blizzard here in MA and my xi had the biggest problem driving in the snowing condition. It gets out of control when I try to apply my brake and it can't even climb a small hill while my dad's car can, and it is a honda civic!!! I'm thinking the problem is the tires and they are the summer tires re 050a potenza bridgestone or maybe all season tires not too sure. Maybe i'm not using my car correctly? (first bmw, and got really excited too until now) can someone help. thank you.

Dude Potenzas are strictly summer tires!! I have them for my bimmer also and I take them off weeks before the first snowflake falls. That's crazy driving in the winter with those, no wonder you are slipping all over the place.

My winter tires are Nokian Hekkapalita Rs. They have a wickedly aggressive tred. I have more traction than my girlfriend does in her 4X4 truck. They are absolutely sweet, Nokian actually invented the winter tire back in the early 1900s. Trust me put those on and you'll be loving your xDrive. It'll make your bimmer feel like an M1 Abrams tank in the snow compared to your dad's civic.

[Jake335xi]

Originally Posted by MassBimmer

Read my post again - I meant as the OEM size combination of 225/40/18 & 255/35/18 there are no winter tires available on tirerack. There are also no all season runflat tires in that size combination, including the link you posted. OP could go +1 size to find options. Please read the post carefully next time you try to call someone out.

I ended up going with 17" Winter Non-Runflat Nokians with aftermarket rims myself. They were not hub centric and I had a bit of shake as a result at first, but rectified the issue with hub rings. Works just fine now and drives like a dream even in deep snow. I am a huge proponent of winter tires over all seasons. Mind you I'm Canadian and our winters tend to get rather nasty, so I'm biased.

I keep a patch kit and pump in my trunk in case of a flat since the tires are non-runflat and BMW isn't in the habit of supplying a spare.

[N55]

I have all seasons on my 2011 335i X-Drive Sport Package (Stock RunFlats) I watched a several cars struggle up this snow covered steep hill and all of them couldn't even make it up 1/10 of the way. They just spun! I watched a some FWDs a few RWDs try. So I took the challenge! I hit the DTC button and made it up all the way! The hill is very steep and abour 1/4 mile. I was very impressed! My car was the first one up there that day, judging from no other tire tracks. It was about 2 pm and had been covered since 6am. DTC FTW!

[bluefly]

Originally Posted by N55

I hit the DTC button and made it up all the way! The hill is very steep and abour 1/4 mile. I was very impressed! ... DTC FTW!

Hitting the DTC button turns it off, so technically it is "DTC off FTW!" or, perhaps, "DTC FTL!".

[N55]

Originally Posted by bluefly

Hitting the DTC button turns it off, so technically it is "DTC off FTW!" or, perhaps, "DTC FTL!".

Hmm when I hit the DTC button it's says Dynamic Traction Control Activated, Dynamic Stability Control Limited. ?? Lol

[Ackrite]

Originally Posted by AWD Addict

Dude, you don't need "square" wheels to run "square" tire sizes. Running 225s on the stock 18s looks exactly the same. I know that BMW doesn't offer square 18s, and I never said they did. Read my post. Didn't you just criticize me for not reading your post (even though I had )? Practice what you preach.



Don't get all b!tchy at me for making a bad assumption. His staggered 18" setup doesn't prohibit running 225s all around. In fact, winter tires are better thinner, and will offer better traction. This is the type of comment that comes from someone who's never mounted tires on wheels before.



Insanity. Tires don't have to be exactly the same as stock to fit his stock wheels. Seriously, I'm not the one who should be getting his shit straight. Now you're just arguing to avoid saying you're wrong. There are plenty of tire options as you describe that will run great on his stock 18s.

To clarify for the OP, and to correct MassBimmer:

1) 225s on staggered wheels absolutely does not look "retarded" See below. You can't tell anything different.







2) Staggered snow setup makes no sense. You want thinner tires for better snow performance, not wider. You do not need a "square" wheel setup to run "square" tires.

3) There absolutely are runflat options for 18" wheels. Pirelli offers the PZeros in 18" RFTs. They're even on tirerack.com. I believe Dunlop offers their Sport 01 offering in RFT 18" as well.

Seriously, how much information can you fit into one post! MassBimmer, this forum's about sharing good information between colleagues. Frantically arguing so you don't have to admit you are wrong helps no one, including most - yourself.

Do some homework before posting such nonsense going forward, and save yourself some embarrassment.

Spot effin' on!

Now, let me preface this by saying that I'm "still" driving an e46 ZHP, but I have the exact same set up on my car (RWD). That is, BMW OE 18x8 (F) and 18x8.5 (R), and am running Nokian Hakka RSIs in 225/40/18 all around. Stretching a 225 tire over an 8.5 wheel is perfectly acceptable, and even recommended by Nokian. After all, the tires are made out of rubber...which is flexible! The sidewall angle on your rears will obviously be a bit more canted than those on your front tires, but you'd have to be a real eagle-eye (and anal) to notice.

I'm sure there are many very fine snow tires out there, but I'm on my third or fourth set of Nokian Hakkas and all have served me fine. Both e46s I've had them on have been RWD, and I've been able to head up to the mountains of VT every weekend, every winter for the past 9 years. There's something reassuring about a snow tire designed in Finland too!