[TiAg335i]

Originally Posted by pony_trekker

Had a RWD 325i and shod it with Pirelli snow sports. Handled fine in the snow even in my very hilly neighborhood.

The thing about BMW's is their 50/50 weight distribution and relatively slick sport tires = not good for driving in snow.

Especially 335i's which have a lot of low end torque, you could lose it pretty fast. Better to be safe than sorry and just not drive.

[silvergray545]

Drive your bimmer just like you drove your old cars. Only thing is just be ready to catch the rear when it breaks loose. Take your time and be careful.

[Deda]

Originally Posted by hanmaas

how is acceleration much better in snow? i must've missed something

acceleration with WINTER tyres is much better than with summer tyres on snow!

[Masheen]

Originally Posted by Sara504

OK so PM me a link to snow tires that I can purchase please. The best ones. Cause its coming down hard and Im freaking out. Im gonna leave for work 45 mins early now and just drive slow.

www.nokian.com

Best snow tires there is..

[deletedelete]

This is the bottom line. If you have to ask about RWD in the winter, then your not ready to be out there. If you need to drive though, get some winters from tirerack. Last thing you want is to damage your new car, or somebody elses new car and have to pay.

[742]

Originally Posted by TiAg335i

The thing about BMW's is their 50/50 weight distribution and relatively slick sport tires = not good for driving in snow.

Especially 335i's which have a lot of low end torque, you could lose it pretty fast. Better to be safe than sorry and just not drive.

No car is going to do well with summer rubber. You need proper tires, whether it is an E90 or an Outback.

[E90ice]

Don't listen to them....my car runs on Michelin PS2 and I have NO problem in the snow.

[barbados]

Originally Posted by TiAg335i

A RWD BMW, especially a 335i...is terrible in snow. I experience it first-hand. If you can, don't drive at all, or get snow tires.

Was it terrible with your factory summer tires? That's to be expected... I think it would be just fine with the appropriate winter tires.

[JunkStory]

UNDERSTAND the crucial fact that our BMW cars don't have an LSD system (limited slip differential) which is found in most RWD sports car.

This means that your car is technically a "one-wheel drive" car under slippery conditions, with only one wheel spinning at a time. For example, if you have one rear wheel on ice, and the three other wheels on dry pavement, you would still be unable to move.. that one wheel on ice would keep on spinning.

So avoid going up hills, inclines, and ICE!!!

[clivem2]

Use the highest gear you can, this massively reduces torque effects. MT is probably easiest to control.

[asdflkijd]

Originally Posted by JunkStory

UNDERSTAND the crucial fact that our BMW cars don't have an LSD system (limited slip differential) which is found in most RWD sports car.

This means that your car is technically a "one-wheel drive" car under slippery conditions, with only one wheel spinning at a time. For example, if you have one rear wheel on ice, and the three other wheels on dry pavement, you would still be unable to move.. that one wheel on ice would keep on spinning.

So avoid going up hills, inclines, and ICE!!!

umm no.. obviously you need to 5-link suspension, look it up Honestly, where I live it doesnt snow enough for me to get snow tires... However, it does rain year round and its sometimes just as bad as if it were to snow, especially in the spring/ summer time when the oil on the road mixes with the rain, it can become very slippery. Just take it slow and you'll be fine... No sudden stop and keep acceleration at a steady pace. Like I mentioned before, if the snow gets too bad and you absolutely NEED to drive, then make sure you stock up on some sandbacks from your local tireshop and put them in your trunk. This helps with traction a lot.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by TiAg335i

The thing about BMW's is their 50/50 weight distribution and relatively slick sport tires = not good for driving in snow.

Especially 335i's which have a lot of low end torque, you could lose it pretty fast. Better to be safe than sorry and just not drive.

It's actually a benefit...

[asdflkijd]

Originally Posted by TiAg335i

The thing about BMW's is their 50/50 weight distribution and relatively slick sport tires = not good for driving in snow.

Especially 335i's which have a lot of low end torque, you could lose it pretty fast. Better to be safe than sorry and just not drive.

You can fix the weight issue with a couple bags of sand in the trunk

[asdflkijd]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

It's actually a benefit...

under certain circumstances, since the weight of the car is balanced out, there is less chance of whipping out your rear, but since its RWD, the rear of the car has more push, a couple of sand bags will help reduce the amount of power coming from your rear since there is more weight to push.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by asdflkijd

under certain circumstances, since the weight of the car is balanced out, there is less chance of whipping out your rear, but since its RWD, the rear of the car has more push, a couple of sand bags will help reduce the amount of power coming from your rear since there is more weight to push.

This group of words just makes no sense. You have no undersatnding of physics, nor of what you are saying. The best way to maintain control of a vehicle is equal balance between the front and rear axles

[asdflkijd]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

This group of words just makes no sense. You have no undersatnding of physics, nor of what you are saying. The best way to maintain control of a vehicle is equal balance between the front and rear axles

are you fucking serious right now? I may have worded that sentence horribly but I am not wrong about the sandbags. You WANT more weight in the rear to help gain traction in heavy snow conditions.. Please take note that I said UNDER SOME CIRCUMSTANCES.

READ HERE:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...light=sand+bag
HERE:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...light=sand+bag
HERE:
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...light=RWD+Sand

[galahad05]

asdf is right on.

Putting sandbags in the trunk is a classic way to gain traction for RWD vehicles. Used to be done (still is done) all the time.

Question: Why do FWD cars seem to do better in the snow than RWD cars?
Answer: weight over the driving wheels during low-traction events.

More weight over the driving wheels means that those tires get pushed down harder, compacting the snow more, or moving it away from the tires, increasing traction (a little bit).

FWD cars have lots of weight over their front tires...

[Saintor]

Explore the limits of your ESP, you'll develop confidence.

In areas with snow, I would never want a RWD without it.

[asdflkijd]

Originally Posted by galahad05

asdf is right on.

Putting sandbags in the trunk is a classic way to gain traction for RWD vehicles. Used to be done (still is done) all the time.

Question: Why do FWD cars seem to do better in the snow than RWD cars?
Answer: weight over the driving wheels during low-traction events.

More weight over the driving wheels means that those tires get pushed down harder, compacting the snow more, or moving it away from the tires, increasing traction (a little bit).

FWD cars have lots of weight over their front tires...

on a snowy day if you are having trouble getting up a hill or driveway, putting sandbags in your trunk is night and day.

[SkySoldier]

The first snow of every winter I go and practice in an open area where you can't hit anything before I go out into traffic. Try emergency braking and controling slides.

You'll learn a lot in a few minutes about how your car handles the snow and the limits of the traction control system without putting anyone/thing in danger.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by galahad05

asdf is right on.

Putting sandbags in the trunk is a classic way to gain traction for RWD vehicles. Used to be done (still is done) all the time.

Question: Why do FWD cars seem to do better in the snow than RWD cars?
Answer: weight over the driving wheels during low-traction events.

More weight over the driving wheels means that those tires get pushed down harder, compacting the snow more, or moving it away from the tires, increasing traction (a little bit).

FWD cars have lots of weight over their front tires...

An over bias of weight in either end of the car make it more susceptible to spin. The best design for overall handling of any car is a 50/50 weight balance. If it makes sense for dry road traction then it makes even more sense in poor traction situations. Snow driving is not just about traction of the drive wheels. The steering wheels need an equal amount of traction to steer the vehicle and provide balanced braking. Go drive a old VW beetle in the snow, see how fast it will spin on you. Get a FWD car started in a spin and it is virtually irrecoverable.

The big complaint about old 911s were that once they started to loose grip (on dry roads) they'd instantly snap into a rear end spin. It has taken Porsche a long time to engineer that attribute out of the 911 chassis; mostly through modern stability control systems.

Sandbags in the trunk is the classic way to help the weight bias of an old Detroit V-8 sedan gain traction.

[galahad05]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

An over bias of weight in either end of the car make it more susceptible to spin. The best design for overall handling of any car is a 50/50 weight balance. If it makes sense for dry road traction then it makes even more sense in poor traction situations. Snow driving is not just about traction of the drive wheels. The steering wheels need an equal amount of traction to steer the vehicle and provide balanced braking. Go drive a old VW beetle in the snow, see how fast it will spin on you. Get a FWD car started in a spin and it is virtually irrecoverable.

The big complaint about old 911s were that once they started to loose grip (on dry roads) they'd instantly snap into a rear end spin. It has taken Porsche a long time to engineer that attribute out of the 911 chassis; mostly through modern stability control systems.

Sandbags in the trunk is the classic way to help the weight bias of an old Detroit V-8 sedan gain traction.

You know, you have a point there. Traditional RWD vehicles still have more than 50% of their weight over the front wheels. Putting 100-200 lbs of weight over the rear wheels would:
a) increase driving-wheel traction
b) even out weight distribution overall.