Winter Wheels

[jonsteele]

I'm looking to buy some winter wheels/ tyres, but really don't want to spend the money BMW want! A few questions:

1. If I put a set with no tyre pressure sensors on the car, will the car throw an error?
2. I'm thinking 19" rims, so there's a little more tyre wall (it's on 20's at the moment). What's people's experiences/opinions on 18's, 19's, and 20's for winter use.
3. We get a bit of snow where we live - am I better off with M&S, or just winter tyres? I have winters on my MINI, but it doesn't leave the garage if there's snow on the road! Will the AWD system cope with snow with just winters on?

Thanks in advance.


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[Eaglesrest]

1. Pretty sure it will throw up an error. You can buy tpms sensors separately if need be.
2. For snow, smaller rims the better seems to be the rule of thumb, so 18" if you can live with the aesthetics. Generally cheaper too
3. You say 'just' winter tyres, but the winter tyres are much superior in winter weather than All Weather tyres. xdrive will work better than your mini in snow for certain, but its not foolproof. I've got conti ts830p winter contacts on my F15 and it still slides on ice. We haven't really had enough snow recently to confirm how well the combo works in deepish snow.

[X5Sport]

Do you have TPMS sensors in the wheels?  I thought the system uses the ABS sensors to count wheel rotation except on the V8 versions?  Changes in rotation rate by one wheel indicates a flat/pressure loss.

If no sensors then no worry.

Winter tyres do make a difference.  We had them on the Mini too, and have them on the X6.  Ice can be an issue unless you have studded tyres.  Snow performance is very good though, as is wet road performance at low temps.

I use 19" OEM wheels with Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow (as per OEM) '*' marked tyres.

If you do go non-OEM be aware of a couple of things.

BMW will not honour your warranty for any part of the transmission, or bodywork around the wheel arches.  For that cover you have to go full OEM for wheels and tyres.  That applies for extended warranty too.  I know because I checked.

Some insurers charge for non-OEM as it counts as a mod.  Our insurers don't care as long as we use what BMW use - which we do.  It may be only a small charge, but be aware.

[jonsteele]

I've not actually got the car yet (Friday), just planning ahead. I think, they all come with it as standard now. The spec list on our vehicle has the option 2VB Tyre Pressure Monitoring, and the image of one of the wheels looks like it has the chunkier valve.



I'll check with our insurers, but those that insure my MINI don't care on make as long as the wheels are the same size.


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[Horizon]

They havnt used tyre pressure monitoring valve cap sensors since 2003 on the X5
It's all done via the traction control / wheel sensors now. Look on buy and sell section, sure someone was selling F15 set of winter wheels and tyres not long ago.
My insurance company said I didn't need to tell them if I fitted winter tyres, and didn't care that I ditched the. Runflats. As long as load and speed ratings were suitable

[jonsteele]

If I look on BMWs website for winter wheels, there's two options - one with TPMS and one without. The one with quotes option 2VB!


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[allforus]

If they have the larger valve stem the X 5 changed over to that system about 6 months after launch  upto the. It was wheel radius via abs

I am running 18 oem off a x5 se they do the job in light snow so far still run flats but the. At looks crap

[jonsteele]

I went for a stroll round my dealers this morning whilst the MINI was being MOT'd. Most new models in the showroom had the wheel sensor type system., and they confirmed our vehicle had it.

They also said aftermarket wheels could void the warranty if it could be proven they were responsible for any damage/fault. I'm not sure giving them an excuse not to pay is worth the gamble!

New plan is to stick winter tyres on the current wheels, and then treat it to some BMW 21" in spring.


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[Horizon]

21" tyres on Runflats !!!!!! Make sure you have a good dental plan, as your fillings will need replacing .

[jonsteele]

Fair point. Will see how we go with 20" run flats before making the final decision.


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[chatuge]

If you go for the 20" rft winters you will find its more expensive than buying a set of 19" alloys from eBay and a set of vredesteins.

[bobgolden]

I put BMW supplied 18" Pirelli Winters on mine and it definitely improved the useless performance I experi need on wet snow last year. If you buy from a dealer, the all in price wasn't too bad (around £2k for wheels and tyres) and you can usually negotiate the first swap/storage for free. After that I think it's £30 a time.

[GD]

I spent ages looking at this.  I have 20 on mine and BMW offered wheel and tyres at £2.5k.  My local wheel place got 18 inch SUV wheel and winter tyres for £850.  The are a bit lost in the rear arch but the tyres are quite chunky.  Funnily the tpm seems to still work..?

A source in BMW told me the warranty threat is a nonsense as it is the overall wheel and tyre radius and it cannot be above a certain %.  Given the F15 MSport comes with 18 inch wheels on 245 tyres as standard why would non BMW ones be any different?
Anyhow, complete waste of money and that will teach me to listen to the Dail Mail as it is so mild. 

Big plus is that the tyres are not rf and what a difference it makes to ride and noise. Also, my new wheel arrived and need tyres.  BMW £275 tyre leader.co.uk delivered to the dealer £185 for the same RF Dunlop sports.

[sid10]

Did you get any winters ?