Why winter tyres here

[AW8]

I had Michelin Diamaris (standard OE fitment) on 19" rims fitted to my E53.  A few years ago when we had some snow it took me 45 mins to get off my driveway before I left the south coast & headed to Suffolk for a prior promised commitment. My journey was somewhat challenging. Despite driving to the conditions as best I could I found my car difficult to control when dealing with steep ascents & descents.

All tyres perform differently, however, I decided after that trip that I wanted a winter set up.

I ran my winter set up, (Avon Ranger ICE), in the coldest periods thereafter, however, I only felt I really needed them driving in the snow.

I would probably be happy to run an E53 in colder months without winter tyres, however, I would want to avoid driving up & down hills coveded in significant snow on Michelin Diamaris.

Toyo Proxes ST are described as a summer tyre, however, I know a member who has driven on them in light snow without reported issues. Toyo Proxes STII would be ideal all season choice but weren't available in UK.

Hardly any choice for all season staggered 19's on the E53. General Grabbers since replaced with a newer pattern and now described as summer items.

[allanhelen]

I must admit i do have a set of winter wheels and tyres for the X5 but they are still sat in the shed as i haven't felt the need to fit them yet (plus the car has pretty much constantly been in the garage being fixed for the last month) however my wife's Clio has had its winter boots on since mid November.

I have run winter tyres on my wife's car for a good few years now the main reason is her job means she travels around a lot all year so it means she has a chance of getting to places and getting home again. and to be honest if the weather is bad we just tend to use her car.

Secondly though last time we did have snow we found ourselves living on the top of a hill with two sporty cars both having the merest veneer of rubber on the wheels that were totally useless, in fact the 330 i had was defeated by the camber of the road so couldn't even get it out of the drive. luckily though my Parents had a Mitsubishi Shogun with chunky mud and snow tyres at the time so we had the use of that, it did leave me a bit paranoid going forward though especially when the Shogun was swapped for a mini

You just can't underestimate the difference they make, my wife had a smart car for a year and on all season tyres in the snow it was just unstoppable, engine over the rear wheels for traction, thinner front tyres to cut through the snow it just sailed past "normal" cars and SUV's 

[marinaman]

Thanks all for a very interesting read, i am now educated.  :xmasgrin:

So, last question on subject from me,  are there no tyres suitable for year round use, these "all seasons" that would be suitable for a very little use driver or are all seasons not as good in some respect as normal tyres.

must admit as this is the first car in 35 years ive had that i even knew maybe needed winter tyres, when bought it theres me thinking, can go anywhere anytime  :xmaswink:  how wrong can you be.

[Horizon]

I use winters all year round, there ok to 20 degrees C, and us up Norf don't see much above that.
But summers are good above 7 degrees, and we get plenty of days bellow that.
Look at the dry/ wet ratings on winters to see they are better all round than a lot of summer tyres.

[marinaman]

is there some handling or noise difference if you have winters on all year then ?  if im renewing tyres wondering if better to have winter on to cover all,  or seek out these all season types if i can get some info on them

[Osprey]

Although mine went last week, my E53 always had a different tyre on for the winter months. I agree that they aren't 'snow tyres' but in recent weeks we have had a bit of the white stuff and sub minus 10 temps. The tyres helped us get about, not loose time in work and we were able to shop for neighbours who were stuck at home.
Always changed them when temperatures dropped to 5-6 degrees and they stayed on until April time usually.
I noticed the ride and tramlining was different compared to the summer '20's' but all in all they have been invaluable and kept the summer wheels mint 

[AW8]

Marinman

I would no run winters all year around. They will scrub and deteriorate quite badly if you drive hard on them above low temps.

As for your query re options for all season rubber. Certainly on 19" staggered set up I cannot find any all season sets for sale in UK to cover both axles.

I mentioned it before but say again....Members wth toyo proxes ST/I fitted have reported doing ok in light snow.

If I buy another E53 I would ideally end up with toyo ST/I all year around and maybe a set of 17's or 18's with decent snow/ice tyres on them if likely to drive in snow for any mileage. (Northern England or Scotland etc).

HTH

[Pinewood]

Still had summer tyres (19” staggered), with the snow 10 days ago. The X3 managed just fine on most roads, but came close to getting stuck on a couple of steep sections. I was away from home and hadn’t had the time to swap to winter 17's (square setup).
The first thing i did after reaching home was switch over. The stability is way way better on winter tyres. She doesn’t get skittish even if i power up wet, slushy, icy hill sections.
Summary: A bmw X drive will be ok in snow/slush/ice but to be really safe, fit winter tyres