[Guvernator]

Originally Posted by a11y

LOL so much trollage in this thread

Fun isn't it?

I love how emotional some people get over bits of rubber (oo-eerr)

[shrink]

15 years ago huh? 2 years ago, i had so much snow where I live (just outside Edinburgh, so not like deepest mongolia) That my 5 series at the time, sat inside a snow drift for 3 weeks!

I couldnt go anywhere, drive anywhere or even get the car out until it stopped snowing for more than 2 days.

Pics for enjoyment:







This was november 2010, and yes theres a 5 series on 18's under there. The snow was so high in one shot, that you cant even see the wheels. Some of you need to get out of surrey now and again and see that not everywhere is Sun and Wimbledon all year round!

[Guvernator]

Originally Posted by shrink

15 years ago huh? 2 years ago, i had so much snow where I live (just outside Edinburgh, so not like deepest mongolia) That my 5 series at the time, sat inside a snow drift for 3 weeks!

I couldnt go anywhere, drive anywhere or even get the car out until it stopped snowing for more than 2 days.

Pics for enjoyment:







This was november 2010, and yes theres a 5 series on 18's under there. The snow was so high in one shot, that you cant even see the wheels. Some of you need to get out of surrey now and again and see that not everywhere is Sun and Wimbledon all year round!

Well to be honest if you insist on living somewhere where it snows so much and the local council don't do a decent job of cleaning up it, then you've only got yourself to blame

I've got relatives who live in Scotland so I've been many times and it only seems to have 3 default weather settings as far as I am aware, cold, very cold and f*cking cold so it might as well be Mongolia

[shortie]

Just ordered four VREDESTEIN WINTRAC XTREME 225/45 R17 94 V XL to go on my rims

[Danny.B.]

Still got my falkens on from last year

Theyve not worn themselves that much either which im suprised about!

[dufctubs]

After getting rid of the X5 here's my street in the 3rd week of March this year , does that justify winter tyres after getting an auto 3 series !!

[spirocheter]

I bought a set of BBS CK 18" rims and mounted Staggered standard fit sized Falkens, perhaps overkill on the rims, the opposite for the tyres.

A word of warning, the Falkens took about 500 miles to wear in! They do work well in the snow, but in milder ondifions I was no too happy (I found temperatures had to be around zero before here was any performance improvement over my Michelins PSs, I know this I contrary to the 7 degree rule.

I have run Vredestein Wintrac Extremes on other cars and have been far more impressed with those, with definite performance improvements in temperatures below 7C.

No matter how good or careful a driver, if the temperatures are sub zero, which they're boud to be for a section of the winter at least in all parts of the UK, if you value safety, it's a no brainer, but I always enjoy the nonsensical arguments otherwise!

Anyone want to buy my part worn Falkens!! If I get a reasonable offer I'd change them..... For other winter tyres of course!

[CJ92]

I have used a winter tyre setup for the last 4/5years on a 130i/123d and my 330d.
For me they are a no brainer,as i have to go to work at some very unsocial hours.

I have been on the road in some very severe wintery conditions and have been extremely grateful,that i have been driving on winter rubber.

Most people that knock them have never used them,the people who have know what a sound investment they are..

[phil200tdi]

Originally Posted by shrink

15 years ago huh? 2 years ago, i had so much snow where I live (just outside Edinburgh, so not like deepest mongolia) That my 5 series at the time, sat inside a snow drift for 3 weeks!

I couldnt go anywhere, drive anywhere or even get the car out until it stopped snowing for more than 2 days.

Pics for enjoyment:







This was november 2010, and yes theres a 5 series on 18's under there. The snow was so high in one shot, that you cant even see the wheels. Some of you need to get out of surrey now and again and see that not everywhere is Sun and Wimbledon all year round!

Surely if the snow was that deep you wouldnt be able to move the car even with snow tyres... Its not got the ground clearance and you would just plough the snow.

I'd recommend a landrover for these conditions.

[phil200tdi]

Best test I've seen...

[IanS100]

We seldom get snow in Southport but I took this in January 2010:



It was only about 6 inches deep but the problem was that it lasted weeks & the local authority only made one outing with sand & salt before they ran out. After a few days all the side roads were lethal with inches of compacted snow that lasted weeks. I managed to get stuck a number of times while visiting clients & took to carrying old clothes, shovels, bits of carpet & anything else I could lay my hands on.

As a total contrast, last year I prepared with a snow plough & a dozen 50 lb bags of salt, but never saw a snowflake, the roads were never the less still lethal with black ice all over the place, making a rear wheel drive car interesting to drive, to say the least.

This year I've bought winter wheels & tyres which I consider a sensible & responsible approach to winter driving where I take my safety and that of my family seriously, but each to their own!.

[IanS100]

Originally Posted by phil200tdi

Best test I've seen...

I'm a bit confused by this, all the reports I've read state that above 7 deg summer tyres function better & below 7 deg winter tyres etc, but this test was done in September on what looks to be quite a warm day, so why are the winter tyres performing better? Am I missing something?

[phil200tdi]

Originally Posted by IanS100

I'm a bit confused by this, all the reports I've read state that above 7 deg summer tyres function better & below 7 deg winter tyres etc, but this test was done in September on what looks to be quite a warm day, so why are the winter tyres performing better? Am I missing something?

They are driving on Skid pans to simulate the low grip coefficient of a cold wet/icey road. There is a section of warm dry track where they say the summer tyres perform better. But the winters are not "unsafe" in these temperatures just have less absolute grip.

The 7 degrees figure is slightly misleading in my opinion. This is the result of different rubber compounds used by the premium brands and not as a result of the tread pattern/design. Do less premium brands use these high tech rubber compounds, probably not.

So in summary:
In snow Winter tyres are invaluable
In temperatures of less than 7 degrees premium brand winter tyres provide more grip than all season tyres.

[phil200tdi]

[kaishang]

Originally Posted by IanS100

As a total contrast, last year I prepared with a snow plough & a dozen 50 lb bags of salt, but never saw a snowflake, the roads were never the less still lethal with black ice all over the place, making a rear wheel drive car interesting to drive, to say the least.

Black ice will still have you off even with winter tyres though....

Nothing grips well on ice. Except studs.

[IanS100]

Originally Posted by phil200tdi

The moral in the story being, if you're going to entrust your life to 4 small patches of rubber don't skimp on the quality of that rubber

[kaishang]

Interesting. Expensive summer tyres and better than el-cheapo winter tyres according to that...

[Hotcoupe]

I noticed that both the presenters of the SMMT video work for Michelin.

One being the PR manager,the other head of public affairs.

[jamesbilluk]

Hi all,

I've managed to find some winter tyres and wheels at a good price, the make is Khumo
Depth looks ok, 6mm on two of the tyres and 3mm on the other two.
The size of the tyres are 245/40/R18
The alloy wheels are style 94's from a 7 series
This style- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1x-BMW-Gen...item27cb673010

Will these fit a 2010 320D ok?

Cheers

James.

[Hotcoupe]

Originally Posted by jamesbilluk

Will these fit a 2010 320D ok?

Cheers

James.

No,offsets are all wrong,ET24 is way too low.

[jamesbilluk]

Ah, shame that. Many thanks for the reply.

James.

[Subzero2003]

Originally Posted by shrink

15 years ago huh? 2 years ago, i had so much snow where I live (just outside Edinburgh, so not like deepest mongolia) That my 5 series at the time, sat inside a snow drift for 3 weeks!

I couldnt go anywhere, drive anywhere or even get the car out until it stopped snowing for more than 2 days.

This was november 2010, and yes theres a 5 series on 18's under there. The snow was so high in one shot, that you cant even see the wheels. Some of you need to get out of surrey now and again and see that not everywhere is Sun and Wimbledon all year round!

Yay, let's base all our decisions based on extremes! The 2010 winter was the coldest since records began in 1910.

BTW, I'm getting my entire house decked out with air conditioning ready for next summer because in 1976 we had the hottest summer on record.

Before 2010, nobody even spoke about winter tyres. Since 2010, people think they're a necessity because 2010 was a massively cold winter compared to normal. 2011 winter was a UK average winter, cloudy, wet, a bit cold and a bit of minor snow for a couple of days, so was the 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 winters etc etc - yet the winter tyres crew never seem to remember them, they always bring up the 2010 winter.

Most UK winters aren't harsh, but people seem to base all of their decisions on extremes, because this is what they remember most clearly.

I remember last year, most people with snow tyres went out in the 2 days of snow deliberately to drive around in it - i guess to justify a purchase that was otherwise unjustifiable. Some even admitted that the tyres weren't worth it.

Lots of people mention 7c as the cross over point (propagated by tyre manufacturers - you know, the ones who want to flog you an £800 set of tyres?), but tests have shown that this is much closer to 3c. Tests have also shown good summer tyres are far supreme to winters in the dry, even in the coldest conditions. In wet, 3c conditions, the decent summer tyres come close to matching winter tyres. However, in the snow, winter tyres win hands down. If we got more snow in the UK, i would get winters, because this is where they far outshine summer tyres, but since most winters are cold and wet, the difference between good summer tyres and winter tyres is no where near enough to justify the:

A) hassle of getting new rims
B) storage of wheels
C) paying £500-800 for a new set of tyres
D) Having significantly less grip in dry conditions, or wet conditions above about 5c.

There were people last year who fitted their tyres when it was still between about 10-15c everywhere in England! Even with their over optimistic 7c cross over mark, 10-15c on winter tyres leads to significantly less grip.