Winter Wheels & Tyres

[TitanTim]

Hi all,

Decided too dig the Zed out and press it into winter service which brings me onto getting some winter wheels and what size alloys and tyres too go for. I'm currently looking at 8x18 all round with 225/40 tyres. As the Zed has always had wider tyres on the rear can I expect disasterous handling results if I opt for same width all round. Obviously for winter use I don't want massive width on the driven wheels so thought 225s would be a sensible choice. Its not that long to go until the Autumn and looking at winter wheels for the Z4 will cost a holiday around £2500 Will also be looking at a hardtop for the Z3 at some point

Any ideas for wheel size?

Cheers,

Tim.

[BladeRunner919]

Hi all,

Its not that long to go until the Autumn and looking at winter wheels for the Z4 will cost a holiday around £2500

Spend half that on a Subaru Legacy for the winter and go on holiday with the rest. I laugh my head off when it snows and I drive around all the stranded BMWs, Mercs, Jags in my Legacy.

[TitanTim]

Hi all,

Its not that long to go until the Autumn and looking at winter wheels for the Z4 will cost a holiday around £2500

Spend half that on a Subaru Legacy for the winter and go on holiday with the rest. I laugh my head off when it snows and I drive around all the stranded BMWs, Mercs, Jags in my Legacy.

I've looked at something similar, mainly Suzuki Vitara's, Jimnys but I just can't justify a third motor and nowhere to put it after winter, any BMW with winter tyres will be as good as a 4x4 without

Tim.

[TitanTim]

Anyone? or do we all hide our Zeds away during winter

Tim.

[Robert T]

I would have thought 18" wheels would be a bit big for putting winter tyres on. They tend to be put on 15" or 16" rims. This also gives you scope to fit chains if necessary, as on lower profiles the chain will interfere with the rim and damage it.

Cheers R.

[TitanTim]

I would have thought 18" wheels would be a bit big for putting winter tyres on. They tend to be put on 15" or 16" rims. This also gives you scope to fit chains if necessary, as on lower profiles the chain will interfere with the rim and damage it.

Cheers R.

Thanks Robert, BMW recommend 17inch for the Z4 but unsure of tire sizes, I could fit the sizes I currently have for winter tyres i.e. 225/40 fronts and 255/35 rears, as theyre available they must think theyre OK in the snow, I've decided I'm going 225/40 all round on these alloys http://www.rimstyle.com/alloywheels/det ... 0;et=;cat= and will probably go for FALKEN HS439 winters as been happy with the 452 summers.

Sorry this is for the Z3 not the Z4

I don't do tiddly wheels

Tim.

[Mike Fishwick]

With 18inch wheels, you seem to be trying to remain fashionable throughout the winter!

Forget about wide tyres - they are the last thing you want if it snows, and look on the door sticker for the size specified by BMW, which are narrow affairs on narrow steel wheels. They will not look fashionable, but will keep you out of trouble to a far greater extent than any 225 section tyre.

[TitanTim]

With 18inch wheels, you seem to be trying to remain fashionable throughout the winter!

Forget about wide tyres - they are the last thing you want if it snows, and look on the door sticker for the size specified by BMW, which are narrow affairs on narrow steel wheels. They will not look fashionable, but will keep you out of trouble to a far greater extent than any 225 section tyre.

Thanks Mike, yepp know what your saying, I had 195s on 7x16s winters on the 1 Series last winter and it never snowed and temps were generally above 7C. If I lived further north of the Midlands I would probably go with smaller rims but in all honesty 8x18s will be fine so long as they have decent winter tyres, although saying that, I'm looking at VREDESTEIN QUATRAC 3 all season tyres as doing some research they came out tops compared to some all winter tyres.

Nothing wrong in being fashionable and still doing the job in hand

Tim.

[DC]

I'm looking at VREDESTEIN QUATRAC 3 all season tyres as doing some research they came out tops compared to some all winter tyres.

I've just been doing the same (for my Golf tdi) and came to a similar conclusion, based on many reviews and speaking to folk who are using them all year round who find them almost as good as full winters in winter conditions and much better than winters on the warmer less wintery days.
Hankook Optimo 4S and Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons are also worth a look if you want to go the all season route.
Dave.

[TitanTim]

I'm looking at VREDESTEIN QUATRAC 3 all season tyres as doing some research they came out tops compared to some all winter tyres.

I've just been doing the same (for my Golf tdi) and came to a similar conclusion, based on many reviews and speaking to folk who are using them all year round who find them almost as good as full winters in winter conditions and much better than winters on the warmer less wintery days.
Hankook Optimo 4S and Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons are also worth a look if you want to go the all season route.
Dave.

Hi Dave,

Haven't looked at other all season tyres as yet, only reason I'm considering the Quatrac 3s is I'm going to be using Event Tyres and the'yre the only all season tyres they have in at present. I'm planning on getting the alloys swapped over next month before winter tyre prices start to rise. I've never considered all season tyres before so as I fancy a change of alloys anayways these will be ideal and I can keep them on throughout the year if needed

Tim.

[PCSAM]

i have a set of 15 inch winter alloys //// when i had them on last winter . the grip was impressive .really impressive i nearly didn't take them off when its got warmer

[DC]

I can thoroughly recommend these but maybe hard to get in size to fit Z3

Dave.

[TitanTim]

I can thoroughly recommend these but maybe hard to get in size to fit Z3

Dave.

lol if it had AC Schnitzers on I would be sold

Tim.

[Tilly]

With 18inch wheels, you seem to be trying to remain fashionable throughout the winter!

Forget about wide tyres - they are the last thing you want if it snows, and look on the door sticker for the size specified by BMW, which are narrow affairs on narrow steel wheels. They will not look fashionable, but will keep you out of trouble to a far greater extent than any 225 section tyre.

Totally agree with what Mike is saying. Lived for many years in Switzerland, owned a 325 cabrio and 525 touring. Fitted winter wheels and tyres every autumn and had no problems with snow, even on regular trips into the high alpine regions. You need the smallest winter tyre for the car on steel rims.

Last winter I bought winter tyres for the new touring. The problem is BMW don't sell steel rims for the car in this counrty. Their winter tyre sets are on alloy rims. The problem is if you slide into a kerb they easily bend. Steel is much more forgiving and repairable. Narrower types means the pressure exerted on the surface is greater per square inch and therefore grip is much better. in addition to the different rubber compound. Lateral friction with narrower tyres is also better in the snow. I have to admit I used to quietly smile when I used to see Brit registered FWDs with low prifile tyres trying to negotiate mountain roads in the snow. Even with chains the basic physics of pressure and friction ment that the heavier vehicles just used to spin more. On one trip up to Villars in the snow I was astounded to see a Range Rover with all wheels locked spinning down the road and accelerating. I got out of the way as I watched him go throught the crash barrier and into a ravine. One written off car but luckily all of the occupants survived, shaken and stirred.

[TitanTim]

With 18inch wheels, you seem to be trying to remain fashionable throughout the winter!

Forget about wide tyres - they are the last thing you want if it snows, and look on the door sticker for the size specified by BMW, which are narrow affairs on narrow steel wheels. They will not look fashionable, but will keep you out of trouble to a far greater extent than any 225 section tyre.

Totally agree with what Mike is saying. Lived for many years in Switzerland, owned a 325 cabrio and 525 touring. Fitted winter wheels and tyres every autumn and had no problems with snow, even on regular trips into the high alpine regions. You need the smallest winter tyre for the car on steel rims.

Last winter I bought winter tyres for the new touring. The problem is BMW don't sell steel rims for the car in this counrty. Their winter tyre sets are on alloy rims. The problem is if you slide into a kerb they easily bend. Steel is much more forgiving and repairable. Narrower types means the pressure exerted on the surface is greater per square inch and therefore grip is much better. in addition to the different rubber compound. Lateral friction with narrower tyres is also better in the snow. I have to admit I used to quietly smile when I used to see Brit registered FWDs with low prifile tyres trying to negotiate mountain roads in the snow. Even with chains the basic physics of pressure and friction ment that the heavier vehicles just used to spin more. On one trip up to Villars in the snow I was astounded to see a Range Rover with all wheels locked spinning down the road and accelerating. I got out of the way as I watched him go throught the crash barrier and into a ravine. One written off car but luckily all of the occupants survived, shaken and stirred.

Thanks Tilly, the reasoning behind smaller wheels is sound but the section 225 tyres I'm going for isnt that great and I feel sufficient to cope adequately in snowy conditions on normal gritted roads, I shan't be using the Zed in mountainous terrain there is some argument about going for a narrower tire over a wider tire especially in soft snow, there is some consensus that a wider winter tyre with an good open tread and a more contact footprint provides improved grip. Im most occasions if at home and it snows I doub't I would take the car anyways but having winter tyres or an all season tyre minimises the prospect of being stranded somewhere

Tim.

Tim.

[DC]

When I first started driving almost 50 years ago, rear wheel drive was the norm and somehow we managed to get around without the benefit of special tyres in the sometimes severe winters (particularly in the Pennines where I then lived).
I don’t think we were better drivers then, I think that tyres in those days were actually on a par with what are now called all season and were suited to winter conditions and the lower speeds of the cars at that time, thus being OK for winter and summer use.
I remember Michelin and Pirelli along with many other “normal" tyres having sipes or fine slits which are now confined to winter and all season,
I suspect that tyre and car development has led to most cars being fitted with tyres which are made to sustain higher prolonged speeds and clear water at high speeds, thus compromising their cold weather/snow and ice grip.
I feel that all tyres are bound to be a compromise, finding the ones that are best suited to your driving requirements is the tricky bit!
Dave.

[Phil]

With 18inch wheels, you seem to be trying to remain fashionable throughout the winter!

Forget about wide tyres - they are the last thing you want if it snows, and look on the door sticker for the size specified by BMW, which are narrow affairs on narrow steel wheels. They will not look fashionable, but will keep you out of trouble to a far greater extent than any 225 section tyre.

Totally agree with what Mike is saying. Lived for many years in Switzerland, owned a 325 cabrio and 525 touring. Fitted winter wheels and tyres every autumn and had no problems with snow, even on regular trips into the high alpine regions. You need the smallest winter tyre for the car on steel rims.

Last winter I bought winter tyres for the new touring. The problem is BMW don't sell steel rims for the car in this counrty. Their winter tyre sets are on alloy rims. The problem is if you slide into a kerb they easily bend. Steel is much more forgiving and repairable. Narrower types means the pressure exerted on the surface is greater per square inch and therefore grip is much better. in addition to the different rubber compound. Lateral friction with narrower tyres is also better in the snow. I have to admit I used to quietly smile when I used to see Brit registered FWDs with low prifile tyres trying to negotiate mountain roads in the snow. Even with chains the basic physics of pressure and friction ment that the heavier vehicles just used to spin more. On one trip up to Villars in the snow I was astounded to see a Range Rover with all wheels locked spinning down the road and accelerating. I got out of the way as I watched him go throught the crash barrier and into a ravine. One written off car but luckily all of the occupants survived, shaken and stirred.

Err - I bought steel rims from BMW last autumn for our old 325 and sold them to someone on this forum for his Z3. They werent the prettiest rims but sufficed.

[Tilly]

[Err - I bought steel rims from BMW last autumn for our old 325 and sold them to someone on this forum for his Z3. They werent the prettiest rims but sufficed.

That is very interesting. I could not get steel rims for the F11 last Autumn. The special winter tyre options offered by BMW( rims + tyres) only came with alloys. I must admit I only checked for the new five series since that is what I wanted. It appeared the only option was to try and get them directly from Germany. I opted to just get the tyres + compressor + selant and swaped them on to the existing alloy rims. In April I put the runflats back on and stored the non run flat winter tyres in the garage. They will go back on this autumn. I have five steel rims plus winter tyres for my old 325 which I use on the Z3, not on the M I would be very reluctant to drive the ZM in winter even on the correct tyres.

The Z with winter tyres and steel rims is very good in the snow even though it is an automatic. I did not have to put chains on once even when there was a fresh fall of seveal inches of snow.

[Phil]

The 'winter tyre offer from BMW' rims didnt clear the brakes properly so they sourced and supplied some other BMW steel rims for as close to the offer price as they could manage.
Sold them on to a forum member for his Z

[Devon Z]

Anyone? or do we all hide our Zeds away during winter

Tim.

Yes I do mines for driving around top down in the sunshine, not in the rain with a hardtop on
Got my Volvo V70 R for some winter fun

[TitanTim]

BMWs winter wheel packages start from around £600 for a set of 16" steel wheels with runflats, I'm unsure if they still do them specifically for the Z3. Its one of the big downsides of BMW ownership as before I never even gave it a thought driving in snow when I owned front wheel drive cars as never really had much problems. The winter of 2010 changed all that when I got the 1 Series stuck in 2 inches of snow, I was gobsmacked how utterly useless the car was in such little snow this was shod with 18s with runflats, the rear wheels just spun now matter how careful I was and what I tried

Last winter I forked out £1250 for BMWs winter wheel package which were 16" wheels with 195 Dunlop Ultragrip 2 runflat tyres as I wanted to stick with runflats. They also charged £90 to swap the wheels and put them into storage The dissapointment was it didn't snow last winter With swapping to the Z4 this year I was thinking of this winter and when looking into winter wheels the smallest wheels BMW do are 17s as 16's won't clear the brake calipers so a set of 17" alloys with runflats are around £1700 depending on wheel style so they aint cheap. Its going to be cheaper to get some nice looking aftermarket alloys and tyres for the Z3 and steer clear of the kerbs The poor Z4 will have be stored over winter, time for the Z3 to get dirty

Tim.

[TitanTim]

Anyone? or do we all hide our Zeds away during winter

Tim.

Yes I do mines for driving around top down in the sunshine, not in the rain with a hardtop on
Got my Volvo V70 R for some winter fun

Seriously?.......fun in a Volvo?

Tim.

[Southernboy]

I did notice on Sky News tonight, that aerial survey of the Arctic ice has shown it at an all time low........Maybe a set of "Floats" might be a good investment...
What it is to live in Africa...no snow and violent crazies...