Snow Story Anyone? - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum

Kev · 06-09-2008, 12:20 AM

Here's mine:

My school sends us all over the place for our 3rd year clerkship. I ended up with two far away sites back-to-back in the winter for 3 months. The commute each way ranges from 25 to 40 miles. I had to drive through multiple storms either to get to work or get home. The x-Drive system has been awesome. Together with the Dunlop Winter Sport 3D winter tires, I have never gotten stuck any where, even in the worst snow storm. I love the XI.

I remember this particular day: It was the worst storm of the whole winter. It started snowing overnight and the roads are all covered with fresh snow. I had to drive about 30 miles to work that day. I went to the Shell gas station and fueled her up. Next, I headed on to Storrow Drive. For those who know Boston, it's a pretty nasty old highway with lots of curves. At the on-ramp, the Camry in front did a 270 and its tail ended up hitting the guard rail. I continued on my journey. On Storrow, I fish tailed once for going to fast in a curve (my bad). Otherwise, the car handled well. Once I got onto I-93, it was like hell...... could barely see anything, the roads are not plowed and covered with snow. I drove slow and managed to ge to the I-95 interchange. After I got to Route 128, I witnessed multiple cars on the opposite lanes doing 180s, 270s, and 360s, couple cars ended up in the guard rail and couple in the ditch. When I got close to Beverly, the car next to me started to fish tail and did a 180 coming at me! That was one of the scariest moment since I've been driving. Of course, I got to work in one piece, albeit, 45 minutes late.

How about yours?

Dragonman4 · 06-09-2008, 12:52 AM

There was a snowstorm for just 1 day earlier this winter about 2 months after I got my xi and I had to drive to my rotation site from my house which is about 25 miles away. That day I saw 3 car accidents on 76 heading into philly while I had absolutely no problems whatsoever. The traction light only lit up once while on the local roads to get onto the highway and that was at a 90 degree left curve while everyone else was struggling to stay in a straight line.

rushmdat23 · 06-09-2008, 04:15 AM

Got my xi in Feb so in the middle of snow season here is Chicago. My work is 35 miles each way and most of itis on back roads in northern Ill/southourn WI that dont exactly get plowed on time. Car was very stable, no traction issues. I would actually pick the lane with snow on it just to pass the cars crawling in the slush. Plowing through 2 to 3 inches of snow was no problem with the Dunlop WinterSports.
On a side note, Kev and Dragonman4, by "clerkships" are you referring to med school clerkships?

Dragonman4 · 06-09-2008, 07:44 AM

I think Kev's on residency now. For me, I just finished my year of clerkship for a 6 year Doctor or Pharmacy program and will be heading to med school after a year.

Kev · 06-09-2008, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rushmdat23

Got my xi in Feb so in the middle of snow season here is Chicago. My work is 35 miles each way and most of itis on back roads in northern Ill/southourn WI that dont exactly get plowed on time. Car was very stable, no traction issues. I would actually pick the lane with snow on it just to pass the cars crawling in the slush. Plowing through 2 to 3 inches of snow was no problem with the Dunlop WinterSports.
On a side note, Kev and Dragonman4, by "clerkships" are you referring to med school clerkships?

Yep, I just finished my 3rd year med school, moving on to 4th.

I went to college and grad school in Madison so I'm pretty familiar with the back roads in IL and S. WI

sapperelite · 06-09-2008, 09:51 AM

I used to play Hockey in Madison when I was a kid and my Brother played Juniors there... Grew up in the UP (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) and Yes, we consider ourselves a seperate State. Too bad I live in DC now, at least I will in a month when I get the hell out of Spain. Speaking of snow, you guys obviously bought seperate snow tires. We don't get much snow in DC during the winter but I would hate to crack my car up because of being too cheap. Any recommended brands with rim combinations?

rushmdat23 · 06-09-2008, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sapperelite

I used to play Hockey in Madison when I was a kid and my Brother played Juniors there... Grew up in the UP (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) and Yes, we consider ourselves a seperate State. Too bad I live in DC now, at least I will in a month when I get the hell out of Spain. Speaking of snow, you guys obviously bought seperate snow tires. We don't get much snow in DC during the winter but I would hate to crack my car up because of being too cheap. Any recommended brands with rim combinations?

I just used the stock rims for my winter tires. Didn't like the way the 189's look on the car. Went with a set of M6 reps from Richie off the forums wearing Nitto555's for my summer set up. I never put a mile on my stock RFT's; had the dealer swap them to the winter tires upon delivery.

rushmdat23 · 06-09-2008, 10:35 AM

Enjoy your final year Kev, it's a lot of fun. Just don't get too stressed out about interviews and the match. It usually ends up for the best. What specialty are you interested in?
Dragonman4, that's a long painful road, good luck.

Kev · 06-09-2008, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rushmdat23

Enjoy your final year Kev, it's a lot of fun. Just don't get too stressed out about interviews and the match. It usually ends up for the best. What specialty are you interested in?
Dragonman4, that's a long painful road, good luck.

Thanks. Interested in critical care and still having a hard time deciding between Anethesiology --> Surgical Critical Care and IM --> Pulm / Critical Care.

Dragonman4 · 06-09-2008, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rushmdat23

Enjoy your final year Kev, it's a lot of fun. Just don't get too stressed out about interviews and the match. It usually ends up for the best. What specialty are you interested in?
Dragonman4, that's a long painful road, good luck.

Haha yea I know. I'm planning on doing the 6 year MD/PhD program. It's gonna suck.

Kev · 06-09-2008, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragonman4

Haha yea I know. I'm planning on doing the 6 year MD/PhD program. It's gonna suck.

You are crazy. By the time you finish residency and fellowship, you'll be close you 40

At least you won't have any loans to pay off though.

Dragonman4 · 06-09-2008, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kev

You are crazy. By the time you finish residency and fellowship, you'll be close you 40

At least you won't have any loans to pay off though.

Yea, I calculated I'd be 36 when I'm done lol. Long road.

Kev · 06-09-2008, 12:12 PM

I'm not far behind. I'm starting residency at 29 and completing fellowship at 35, so I'm in the same boat.

Dragonman4 · 06-09-2008, 12:14 PM

Let's just hope this socialized medicine thing doesn't go through. Because if it does, we're screwed.

VVA330 · 06-09-2008, 01:47 PM

I have yet to fully utilize my X drive. When it snowed (which is not a lot around my area) I just left it at home and drove my beater. I am not worried about my driving or the car not being able to handle the adverse conditions but I am worried that the soccer Mom mini vans slamming into my baby. Yeah! I am a tad overly paranoid but I am sure I am not the only one.

Dragonman4 · 06-09-2008, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VVA330

I have yet to fully utilize my X drive. When it snowed (which is not a lot around my area) I just left it at home and drove my beater. I am not worried about my driving or the car not being able to handle the adverse conditions but I am worried that the soccer Mom mini vans slamming into my baby. Yeah! I am a tad overly paranoid but I am sure I am not the only one.

I agree with you man. You can be the safest driver in the world but that doesn't mean the idiot next to you isn't going to lose control and slam into you. The day it snowed and I drove my xi into philly, I saw 3 accidents happen right in front of me. It was crazy.

Kev · 06-09-2008, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragonman4

I agree with you man. You can be the safest driver in the world but that doesn't mean the idiot next to you isn't going to lose control and slam into you. The day it snowed and I drove my xi into philly, I saw 3 accidents happen right in front of me. It was crazy.

As I posted about my experience earlier, it was very scary to see other people lose control on the road, but man I got no choice but to tough it out.......

Dragonman4 · 06-09-2008, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kev

As I posted about my experience earlier, it was very scary to see other people lose control on the road, but man I got no choice but to tough it out.......

Just drive faster than they do and they won't be able to hit you lol.

sapperelite · 06-09-2008, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VVA330

I have yet to fully utilize my X drive. When it snowed (which is not a lot around my area) I just left it at home and drove my beater. I am not worried about my driving or the car not being able to handle the adverse conditions but I am worried that the soccer Mom mini vans slamming into my baby. Yeah! I am a tad overly paranoid but I am sure I am not the only one.

I feel you on the paraniod... My wife keeps telling me to sell my Jeep because I don't need two cars. I plan on driving the Jeep most days into Clarendon or Metro'ing in and driving the car on weekends wen it is sunny and nice.

rushmdat23 · 06-09-2008, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragonman4

Yea, I calculated I'd be 36 when I'm done lol. Long road.

I was the opposite. I'm an attending at 28 (that's after a 4 year residency). I practice Emergency Medicine; critical care is a lot of fun, but sad to say don't do much where I'm at right now. But that will soon change

TambourineMan · 06-13-2008, 01:59 PM

I decided to keep my old car (an '03 FWD minivan) as the dealer wouldn't give me much for it. It sits high and is great in the snow. I got the AWD so I could still go in the snow. But now I am thinking - should I really risk my BMW i the snow as there are a lot of bad drivers out there. If it is going to snow should I just take the minivan?

radix · 06-13-2008, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rushmdat23

Got my xi in Feb so in the middle of snow season here is Chicago. My work is 35 miles each way and most of itis on back roads in northern Ill/southourn WI that dont exactly get plowed on time. Car was very stable, no traction issues. I would actually pick the lane with snow on it just to pass the cars crawling in the slush. Plowing through 2 to 3 inches of snow was no problem with the Dunlop WinterSports.
On a side note, Kev and Dragonman4, by "clerkships" are you referring to med school clerkships?

I'll go one step farther, I got my xi at the beginning of March. Thinking the snow was near done, I didn't bother to order winter tires for the remainder of the season. The last big snowfall of the year 6-8 inches happened just after I got my car with summer rubber 18 inch tires. I took the car to an unplowed parking lot and managed to drive through and drift around in what was easily 6 inches of snow.

I decided to come to a complete stop, just to see how easy it was to get going again and had no problems at all. Granted, the tires were brand new. I'll also add that stopping distances were increased compared to winter tires. That said, the car was completely manageable on 18 inch summer tires. xDrive is pretty awesome.

06-09-2008, 12:20 AM	#1
Kev Friendly UW Medicine Intern Drives: Interlagos Blue M3 Coupe Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 8,066 iTrader: (23) View Kev's Garage	Snow Story Anyone? Here's mine: My school sends us all over the place for our 3rd year clerkship. I ended up with two far away sites back-to-back in the winter for 3 months. The commute each way ranges from 25 to 40 miles. I had to drive through multiple storms either to get to work or get home. The x-Drive system has been awesome. Together with the Dunlop Winter Sport 3D winter tires, I have never gotten stuck any where, even in the worst snow storm. I love the XI. I remember this particular day: It was the worst storm of the whole winter. It started snowing overnight and the roads are all covered with fresh snow. I had to drive about 30 miles to work that day. I went to the Shell gas station and fueled her up. Next, I headed on to Storrow Drive. For those who know Boston, it's a pretty nasty old highway with lots of curves. At the on-ramp, the Camry in front did a 270 and its tail ended up hitting the guard rail. I continued on my journey. On Storrow, I fish tailed once for going to fast in a curve (my bad). Otherwise, the car handled well. Once I got onto I-93, it was like hell...... could barely see anything, the roads are not plowed and covered with snow. I drove slow and managed to ge to the I-95 interchange. After I got to Route 128, I witnessed multiple cars on the opposite lanes doing 180s, 270s, and 360s, couple cars ended up in the guard rail and couple in the ditch. When I got close to Beverly, the car next to me started to fish tail and did a 180 coming at me! That was one of the scariest moment since I've been driving. Of course, I got to work in one piece, albeit, 45 minutes late. How about yours? __________________ kev < E92 Interlagos Blue M3 >

06-09-2008, 12:52 AM	#2
Dragonman4 Brigadier General Drives: '08 SG/BL E92 335xi Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Philadelphia, PA / Madison, NJ Posts: 3,561 iTrader: (2) View Dragonman4's Garage	There was a snowstorm for just 1 day earlier this winter about 2 months after I got my xi and I had to drive to my rotation site from my house which is about 25 miles away. That day I saw 3 car accidents on 76 heading into philly while I had absolutely no problems whatsoever. The traction light only lit up once while on the local roads to get onto the highway and that was at a 90 degree left curve while everyone else was struggling to stay in a straight line. __________________ 2008 E92 335xi 6MT /SG/Brushed Alum/Black Leatherette/CA/iDrive/Nav

06-09-2008, 04:15 AM	#3
rushmdat23 Enlisted Member Drives: '08 335xi coupe Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Chicago Posts: 32 iTrader: (0)	Had a fun winter as well Got my xi in Feb so in the middle of snow season here is Chicago. My work is 35 miles each way and most of itis on back roads in northern Ill/southourn WI that dont exactly get plowed on time. Car was very stable, no traction issues. I would actually pick the lane with snow on it just to pass the cars crawling in the slush. Plowing through 2 to 3 inches of snow was no problem with the Dunlop WinterSports. On a side note, Kev and Dragonman4, by "clerkships" are you referring to med school clerkships?

06-09-2008, 07:44 AM	#4
Dragonman4 Brigadier General Drives: '08 SG/BL E92 335xi Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Philadelphia, PA / Madison, NJ Posts: 3,561 iTrader: (2) View Dragonman4's Garage	I think Kev's on residency now. For me, I just finished my year of clerkship for a 6 year Doctor or Pharmacy program and will be heading to med school after a year. __________________ 2008 E92 335xi 6MT /SG/Brushed Alum/Black Leatherette/CA/iDrive/Nav

06-09-2008, 10:35 AM	#8
rushmdat23 Enlisted Member Drives: '08 335xi coupe Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Chicago Posts: 32 iTrader: (0)	Ahhh, med school Enjoy your final year Kev, it's a lot of fun. Just don't get too stressed out about interviews and the match. It usually ends up for the best. What specialty are you interested in? Dragonman4, that's a long painful road, good luck.

06-09-2008, 09:51 AM	#6
sapperelite Second Lieutenant Drives: 07 335XI, 03 Wrangler Sport Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Springfield, VA Posts: 219 iTrader: (0)	I used to play Hockey in Madison when I was a kid and my Brother played Juniors there... Grew up in the UP (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) and Yes, we consider ourselves a seperate State. Too bad I live in DC now, at least I will in a month when I get the hell out of Spain. Speaking of snow, you guys obviously bought seperate snow tires. We don't get much snow in DC during the winter but I would hate to crack my car up because of being too cheap. Any recommended brands with rim combinations?

06-09-2008, 12:12 PM	#13
Kev Friendly UW Medicine Intern Drives: Interlagos Blue M3 Coupe Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 8,066 iTrader: (23) View Kev's Garage	I'm not far behind. I'm starting residency at 29 and completing fellowship at 35, so I'm in the same boat. __________________ kev < E92 Interlagos Blue M3 >

06-09-2008, 12:14 PM	#14
Dragonman4 Brigadier General Drives: '08 SG/BL E92 335xi Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Philadelphia, PA / Madison, NJ Posts: 3,561 iTrader: (2) View Dragonman4's Garage	Let's just hope this socialized medicine thing doesn't go through. Because if it does, we're screwed. __________________ 2008 E92 335xi 6MT /SG/Brushed Alum/Black Leatherette/CA/iDrive/Nav

06-09-2008, 01:47 PM	#15
VVA330 Captain Drives: e90 335xi Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Northern VA Posts: 977 iTrader: (2)	I have yet to fully utilize my X drive. When it snowed (which is not a lot around my area) I just left it at home and drove my beater. I am not worried about my driving or the car not being able to handle the adverse conditions but I am worried that the soccer Mom mini vans slamming into my baby. Yeah! I am a tad overly paranoid but I am sure I am not the only one.

06-13-2008, 01:59 PM	#21
TambourineMan Second Lieutenant Drives: 335xi coupe Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Born in ME, In exile in MA Posts: 223 iTrader: (0)	I decided to keep my old car (an '03 FWD minivan) as the dealer wouldn't give me much for it. It sits high and is great in the snow. I got the AWD so I could still go in the snow. But now I am thinking - should I really risk my BMW i the snow as there are a lot of bad drivers out there. If it is going to snow should I just take the minivan?