# BMW winter tyres



## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

I have just brought myself a BMW 5 Series with loads of extras and its lovely. However, its my first rear wheel driver since I sold my MX5 in 2005.

Now with winter upon us and the horror stories we read of BMWs with snow and cold weather, I want to get some winter tyres on the car ASAP. 

The former owner swapped his runflats for Pirelli summer tyres so my intention is to get some winter tyres from Camskill (non-runflats) and ask my local tyre garage to take the summer tyres off the rims and put the winter tyres on. Is that OK to do and then for the garage to take the winter tyres off and put the summer tyres back on the same rims in say May/June of next year?

I don't want to fork out on a new set of rims.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Yes its fine to do that, we charge £15 per wheel. On the newer F series its £78 per pressure sensor so if you went with used wheels then its going to cost you an additional £400 in sensors and fitting otherwise its a pain having to remove them and swap them over between wheels.


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## AnthonyUK (Jul 25, 2018)

hotwaxxx said:


> I have just brought myself a BMW 5 Series with loads of extras and its lovely. However, its my first rear wheel driver since I sold my MX5 in 2005.
> 
> Now with winter upon us and the horror stories we read of BMWs with snow and cold weather, I want to get some winter tyres on the car ASAP.
> 
> ...


Just look for a second hand set on ebay. They don't need to be anything special as they only get covered in salt. 
I picked up a 17" set for my C class for £100 which is around the cost of swapping tyres twice. Tyres were around £400 fitted.

Look at the size recommendation for your car as it is better to go with narrower higher profile tyres for snow but just make sure they will fit over your discs. They should also cost less as a bonus.
I went for the alternative option and fitted Crossclimate+ which generally does really well in tests - https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/93111/winter-tyre-reviews-2018-results-by-category


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

SteveTDCi said:


> Yes its fine to do that, we charge £15 per wheel. On the newer F series its £78 per pressure sensor so if you went with used wheels then its going to cost you an additional £400 in sensors and fitting otherwise its a pain having to remove them and swap them over between wheels.


Thanks for the reply.

Its a 2003 BMW 5 Series and it is running normal summer tyres at the moment (non-runflats).

These are the tyres I am looking at for winter as they have fantastic reviews and some of the users have Mercs and BMWs...

https://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre/hankook-winter-i-cept-evo2-w320


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

It does seem a bit of a faff with the chance that the wheel fitter may damage the rims plus a chance of damage repeatedly having to rebalance the wheels.

Long term will you really save anything over finding some steel wheels or second hand alloys?


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## GP Punto (May 29, 2007)

I had a 135 with Bridgestone Blizzaks, I live in the hilly North and for 3 winters never got stuck, even when front wheel drive cars couldnt find traction. Many years before I had a 2.8 Capri with mud and snow tyres, never got stuck with that either although I had a concrete paving slab in the boot.

I bought these with steel wheels, BMW ran a promotion at the time, £650 for all 4 and they store the wheels and fitted them FOC. 

So my reccommendation would be to have the steel wheels fitted with the winter tyres.


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

Sorry folks, meant to say a 2013 5 Series.


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## Wrigit (May 2, 2007)

Would like to hear other peoples experiences as mine is awful in the snow and ice (F11) 

i have a full set of 19" spares but need to get them refurbed first and that's probably the biggest cost as one is pothole flatted.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

Winter tyres or not, around here its the other vehicles that are stuck that will stop you.

If I was going to do it I would buy a set of rims off ebay and fit the winter ones to those, as someone else said, they are only going to get minging with salt anyway.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Will 16's fit the 5 series ?

I used Openeo for my winters, pretty good for delivery, they took 3-4 days. Hankook aren't bad at all for the money. Winter tyre wise i looked the other day, there isn't much about at the minute and what is about was quite expensive.


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## rossman999 (Feb 28, 2009)

SteveTDCi said:


> Will 16's fit the 5 series ?
> 
> I used Openeo for my winters, pretty good for delivery, they took 3-4 days. Hankook aren't bad at all for the money. Winter tyre wise i looked the other day, there isn't much about at the minute and what is about was quite expensive.


Depends on the size of the engine - On my E61 530D I had 18 inch summers and 16 inch summers - The 535D needed a minimum of 17 inch.

Runflats and snow do not mix even a little bit!!


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

I've got 2 cars running on Yoko Wdrive and 1 on Toyo SnowProx winter tyres.... 

never had any issues with grip with them.

All have winter alloys as well... just cheap ones that I don't mind getting salt and all the crap on... saves the good wheels for summer.

I use a website called wheelbasealloys.com for the wheel/tyre packages.

:thumb:


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## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

I have recently bought some Continental WinterContact TS860s tyres for my Audi, previously had Dunlop SP WinterSport 3D and have the WinterSport 4D on my wife's Golf GTI. Will see how they go, got a good price on Oponeo.

There was a review posted on Tyre Reviews this week:


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Despite having snow every year since we have lived in Shropshire and living on a road that is entirely block paved (notoriously bad for lack of grip) I have never got stuck nor felt the need for winter tyres, even on the S Type R, CL500 or M135i - lots of other people have got stuck and in most cases its down to a basic understanding of how to drive on low grip surfaces rather than the car not being able to cope.

Appreciate winter tyres can offer more grip but honestly never felt that any of my cars have been overly twitchy in the winter (apart from the M135i and that was twitchy all year round)


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

andy665 said:


> Despite having snow every year since we have lived in Shropshire and living on a road that is entirely block paved (notoriously bad for lack of grip) I have never got stuck nor felt the need for winter tyres, even on the S Type R, CL500 or M135i - lots of other people have got stuck and in most cases its down to a basic understanding of how to drive on low grip surfaces rather than the car not being able to cope.
> 
> Appreciate winter tyres can offer more grip but honestly never felt that any of my cars have been overly twitchy in the winter (apart from the M135i and that was twitchy all year round)


Teach me how to drive please! :thumb:


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

Agree with other comments here, get a junk set off eBay. I did for my BMW, cost me £250 and I used the tyres for one winter. I then refurbished them and they look pretty good. 

My advice would to be get the smallest size you can fit to the car. Mine takes 17” and that opens up a whole range of prices compared to the very expensive 19” tyres and over.

Yes you can get away with no winter tyres but they do make a big difference. I never bothered until a few years ago and now wonder why I hadn’t sooner.


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## MSwiss (Sep 25, 2017)

Last year I had Pirelli Scorpion winter on mine and was really happy with them (just re fitted yesterday). We had some pretty heavy snow and live up a single track and they and the car handled it no problem.


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

I've a 3 series, which has the 19" 442m wheels. Whenever I bought it, I picked up a set of used 18" 400m rims, and fitted Pirelli Sottozero star rated runflats. I'd have liked to have dropped to 17" rims, but they wouldn't fit over the discs and calipers. 

I have Nokian WRD3 for my wife's car, and they're just about the best winter tyre I've ever driven on. Last year, the neighbours were stuck on our hill, and my wife was actually changing up into second gear as she drove up past. Fantastic tyres. 

I've currently got Dunlop winters on the front of my work car, and Hankook on the rear. They weren't great last year, especially when compared with the Nokian or Pirelli, so I may look to change those for Nokian before we get hit with anything serious this year. 

A few years back, on a previous car, I picked up a set of Sunitrac winter tyres. They were outstanding on snow and ice, but felt a bit greasy on cold wet roads. Petlas Snowmaster were really excellent, had those for my wife's last car. 

Generally, while all will perform really well in snow and ice, in my experience, the cheaper brands will feel a little greasy on cold wet roads. This was the case with the Petlas and Sunitrac in my experience. The Nokian and Pirelli have been brilliant. While the Dunlop/Hankook are great in wet/cold conditions, I didn't find them particularly good in last year's snow, as they were just didn't seem to have the traction of other tyres I've used. 

Any questions, fire away. 

Cheers

Cooks



Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

To be honest, if the conditions are that bad winter tyres are needed then the police are often advising people to stay at home anyway.

Either that, or stay home until 10am then drive to work, by which time all the nutters have already crashed and the snow has largely melted.

Snow tyres do not stop other muppets crashing into you unfortunately. I would ring work and say I'm going to be late I think they would normally understand.


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

ollienoclue said:


> To be honest, if the conditions are that bad winter tyres are needed then the police are often advising people to stay at home anyway.
> 
> Either that, or stay home until 10am then drive to work, by which time all the nutters have already crashed and the snow has largely melted.
> 
> Snow tyres do not stop other muppets crashing into you unfortunately. I would ring work and say I'm going to be late I think they would normally understand.


True, but remember the winter tyre compound is for temperatures under 7° (?) so not just for snow.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

should_do_more said:


> True, but remember the winter tyre compound is for temperatures under 7° (?) so not just for snow.


Wouldn't bother me. I would never drive in a manner that meant I had to test my tyres.

I have had only one seat-of-your-pants emergency stop incident in the last 6 years of driving, and that was entirely down to day-dreaming and driving a bit too quick for the road in question, I met a very large tractor on a rural road and both of us stopped up a bit fast, on a muddy road and with all terrain tyres on (these are fudging lethal at the best of times). For normal commuting I am a very boring Volvo driver now, the speed demon in me was excommunicated long ago when the Porka left. Driving fast in regular cars now feels pointless.


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## should_do_more (Apr 30, 2008)

ollienoclue said:


> Wouldn't bother me. I would never drive in a manner that meant I had to test my tyres.
> 
> I have had only one seat-of-your-pants emergency stop incident in the last 6 years of driving, and that was entirely down to day-dreaming and driving a bit too quick for the road in question, I met a very large tractor on a rural road and both of us stopped up a bit fast, on a muddy road and with all terrain tyres on (these are fudging lethal at the best of times). For normal commuting I am a very boring Volvo driver now, the speed demon in me was excommunicated long ago when the Porka left. Driving fast in regular cars now feels pointless.


 Not what I said at all. By coincidence here's a very recent article on what winter tyres are all about.

It explains some of the physics for you

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/advice/should-i-buy-winter-tyres/amp/


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

Right. So I go out this morning to see what tyres I currently have on my 5 Series and low and behold there are already winter tyres on the car.

I have a full set of Goodyear UltraGrip8's on and it appears from reviews and prices that they are some of the best winter tyres around at the moment. Result!

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Goodyear/UltraGrip-8-Performance.htm


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## AnthonyUK (Jul 25, 2018)

hotwaxxx said:


> Right. So I go out this morning to see what tyres I currently have on my 5 Series and low and behold there are already winter tyres on the car.
> 
> I have a full set of Goodyear UltraGrip8's on and it appears from reviews and prices that they are some of the best winter tyres around at the moment. Result!
> 
> http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Goodyear/UltraGrip-8-Performance.htm


I'm sure they will be great but they are not exactly current.
It might be worth checking the date block on them.


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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

AnthonyUK said:


> I'm sure they will be great but they are not exactly current.
> It might be worth checking the date block on them.


What do you mean by date block?


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## Radish293 (Mar 16, 2012)

The tyres will have a date










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## hotwaxxx (Jul 12, 2007)

Radish293 said:


> The tyres will have a date
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow - you learn something new everyday. :thumb:


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

hotwaxxx said:


> Right. So I go out this morning to see what tyres I currently have on my 5 Series and low and behold there are already winter tyres on the car.
> 
> I have a full set of Goodyear UltraGrip8's on and it appears from reviews and prices that they are some of the best winter tyres around at the moment. Result!
> 
> http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Goodyear/UltraGrip-8-Performance.htm


how could you buy a car without looking at the tyres, you plonker.. :lol::lol:

good result for you anyway mind you... :thumb:


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## dubstyle (Jun 13, 2007)

I've just had winter tyres fitted to my current wheels, just took summers off then will get them changed back end of march. In the past i had a separate set of wheels


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

To revive an old thread, I fitted the winter wheels to my car today. Oddly enough, these are 5 series alloys, and I picked them up as the new G series BMWs have changed PCD from 5x120 to 5x112.

Was also going to give it a quick wash, but it got far too cold.

Anyhoo, anyone else fitting winters this year?

Cheers

Cooks
















Sent from my VOG-L29 using Tapatalk


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## Snowglobe (Jan 12, 2008)

Yes, My Skoda Karoq was less than impressive last year in the snow, so I've had some Winter tyres fitted. 
I spent ages surfing the net, it's as if my wheels are an odd size, some brands didn't do my size at all.- 215/50 18
I've got Vredestein Wintracs fitted now so hopefully I'll be a bit safer than last yr


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## BrummyPete (Jun 10, 2010)

Got Michelin climates on my current car, certainly did well this morning with the snow and slush


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## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

Cookies said:


> Anyhoo, anyone else fitting winters this year?


Yes fitting Bridgestone Blizzak winters tomorrow. I could have done with them today as The snow is lying on the roads around here and I've got a 40+ mile drive on backroads this morning.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Will not be fitting winter tyres despite being in Shropshire and having snow pretty much every year, both BMWs, the Kodiaq and the Tuscan will be used on all season tyres with no problems anticipated, just like every other year - never got stuck or been out of control.

Maybe its the snow driving course I did in Sweden a few years ago but my OH didn't and she has never got stuck or been out of control either


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

BrummyPete said:


> Got Michelin climates on my current car, certainly did well this morning with the snow and slush


Moved onto them too with the chuuga bus…

Seemed ok this morning on a run in the snow.

:thumb:


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## hulla the hulla (May 20, 2009)

No need, climate change is real lol !

I'm torn, I have a 335d and have winters with some Vredestein's in the garage but we so rarely see snow down here in the south, not sure I can be arsed (yes, I appreciated they are not just for snow). I have decent/new Mich PS4's on the summers which do fine. As mentioned earlier in the thread, if the conditions are bad enough that you really do need winters I'd be avoiding going out anyway, but that's just me 




Anyone want to buy some winter wheels/tyres  lol !


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## dholdi (Oct 1, 2008)

hulla the hulla said:


> Anyone want to buy some winter wheels/tyres  lol !


Maybe, lets see some pics


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## spursfan (Aug 4, 2009)

hotwaxxx said:


> Teach me how to drive please! :thumb:


Try your car in High Wycombe!! Marlow hill or Amersham hill are the long ones, followed by about twenty plus dotted everywhere, grinds to a halt in the snow.


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