Winter setup

Post by **lKoRTy** » Mon Nov 23, 2015 9:27 am

As winter is coming, looking to get some wheels/tires and wanted to see what you guys are running?

Wheel size/offset + tire size/brand-type.

Thanks!

Post by **Ilya** » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:16 pm

If I was to do this, I'd probably go to the stock 18's for my winter wheels. That being said, I have an old pair of 19's from my 07 that I'll eventually use for winter wheels (I'm on 20's otherwise).

Post by **beachbum718** » Mon Nov 23, 2015 5:38 pm

Stock m37 sport wheels,brigdestone allseason tires.
2 days a week.otherwise my winter daily.jeep cherokee with 3inch lift ,31 10.5 15 tires.

Post by **CRV_33** » Mon Nov 23, 2015 8:51 pm

I have the 18x8 stock alloys running the Nokian Hakkapelliita R2's. 235/40/18 i believe.

IlyaKol wrote:If I was to do this, I'd probably go to the stock 18's for my winter wheels. That being said, I have an old pair of 19's from my 07 that I'll eventually use for winter wheels (I'm on 20's otherwise).

Damn baller! 19" tires don't come cheap. Lol

Post by **jayramq70** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 1:00 pm

How is the Q70 in snow with summer tyres? My BMW was absolutley awful and it was a must to keep a winter wheel and tyre set to throw on in the winter months. I suspect the Q70, being RWD, will be similar... correct?

Post by **SwissCheeseHead** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 1:14 pm

Any car with summer tires in the snow will not do well; AWD, RWD, or FWD. Summer tire tread and compound are not designed to be run in snow. It doesn't matter if you have cheap or expensive tires. It's not going to happen.

Post by **jayramq70** » Tue Dec 01, 2015 3:29 pm

SwissCheeseHead wrote:Any car with summer tires in the snow will not do well; AWD, RWD, or FWD. Summer tire tread and compound are not designed to be run in snow. It doesn't matter if you have cheap or expensive tires. It's not going to happen.

Yes agree - under 7 degrees and the problems start. However there are degrees of 'not doing well'. For example my wifes front wheel drive Mazda has no problem at all getting up hills and down dales in the snow. Obviously its less stuck to the road and not ideal but compare to a BMW that will just spin its wheels on the spot with even the slightest incline and then drift sideways into a ditch if you are not careful. I have been driving for 25 years and am not able to get a BMW 5 series off my drive in teh snow without dramas! So the BMW is completely unusable as a vehicle with summer tyres in the snow and a FWD/4WD car CAN be useable if careful.

Again, slightly different in the UK as almost no one changes tyres during the year, rain ,shine or snow.

Post by **SwissCheeseHead** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 5:44 am

jayramq70 wrote:
SwissCheeseHead wrote:Any car with summer tires in the snow will not do well; AWD, RWD, or FWD. Summer tire tread and compound are not designed to be run in snow. It doesn't matter if you have cheap or expensive tires. It's not going to happen.
Yes agree - under 7 degrees and the problems start. However there are degrees of 'not doing well'. For example my wifes front wheel drive Mazda has no problem at all getting up hills and down dales in the snow. Obviously its less stuck to the road and not ideal but compare to a BMW that will just spin its wheels on the spot with even the slightest incline and then drift sideways into a ditch if you are not careful. I have been driving for 25 years and am not able to get a BMW 5 series off my drive in teh snow without dramas! So the BMW is completely unusable as a vehicle with summer tyres in the snow and a FWD/4WD car CAN be useable if careful.

Again, slightly different in the UK as almost no one changes tyres during the year, rain ,shine or snow.

I still respectfully disagree. I've also been driving for a long time and in my younger (cheap) days have tried to get away with summer tires in the winter. I would caution against driving any vehicle with summer tires in the snow. Below 45 degrees, the rubber compound can begin to crack. With as little as 1/4" of snow, the tire will slip (any drive platform), as they are not designed with the thousands of sipes that winter tires have that actually bite into the snow. You can get away with all-seasons, but not summer tires.

Post by **lKoRTy** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 6:12 am

I had an evox with summer tires, waited till last minute to change. Well, snow storm hits while I'm at work, get out to go home, and whadaya know, the tires are now ice pucks. Literally, the car was just sliding in the parking lot. Barely made it home (thanks to awd) and ordered winters for next day delivery lol

Post by **Ilya** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:02 am

SwissCheeseHead wrote:
jayramq70 wrote:Yes agree - under 7 degrees and the problems start. However there are degrees of 'not doing well'. For example my wifes front wheel drive Mazda has no problem at all getting up hills and down dales in the snow. Obviously its less stuck to the road and not ideal but compare to a BMW that will just spin its wheels on the spot with even the slightest incline and then drift sideways into a ditch if you are not careful. I have been driving for 25 years and am not able to get a BMW 5 series off my drive in teh snow without dramas! So the BMW is completely unusable as a vehicle with summer tyres in the snow and a FWD/4WD car CAN be useable if careful.

Again, slightly different in the UK as almost no one changes tyres during the year, rain ,shine or snow.
I still respectfully disagree. I've also been driving for a long time and in my younger (cheap) days have tried to get away with summer tires in the winter. I would caution against driving any vehicle with summer tires in the snow. Below 45 degrees, the rubber compound can begin to crack. With as little as 1/4" of snow, the tire will slip (any drive platform), as they are not designed with the thousands of sipes that winter tires have that actually bite into the snow. You can get away with all-seasons, but not summer tires.

Agreed with Swiss. Winters in the UK are nothing compared to a proper Nor'easterner. No offense meant Jayram.

Post by **Debonair** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:28 am

Post by **jayramq70** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 1:43 pm

No offence taken - you are right, winters are not severe in the Uk, snow is not a given every year which is why no one ever bothers with winter tyres. When it does come though it makes for amusing scenes on the road, especially where BMWs are concerned!

Post by **lKoRTy** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 1:44 pm

Will stock 18x8 wheels clear brakes w/ sport package?
Seems like a set of new ones can be bought for less than 500:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/D0300-1M025-Inf ... XW&vxp=mtr

Post by **Ilya** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 4:33 pm

jayramq70 wrote:No offence taken - you are right, winters are not severe in the Uk, snow is not a given every year which is why no one ever bothers with winter tyres. When it does come though it makes for amusing scenes on the road, especially where BMWs are concerned!

Haha, I can imagine. UK seems a lot like Seattle/Northwest US. If it didn't rain so much, would be an amazing place to live weather wise.

lKoRTy wrote:Will stock 18x8 wheels clear brakes w/ sport package?
Seems like a set of new ones can be bought for less than 500:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/D0300-1M025-Inf ... XW&vxp=mtr

I don't think they will...19's barely clear them if I recall.

Post by **lKoRTy** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:40 pm

Well crap, so I have to get another set of 20's???

Post by **Ilya** » Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:54 pm

Let someone else chime in first...but I'm pretty sure 18's are too small. If you were non-sport you'd be fine...but the sport calipers are quite large. I remember when I had a 2015 Q70 loaner with the sport brakes the 20's didn't have all that much room...

Post by **jedgington** » Thu Oct 06, 2016 11:06 am

I know this was last posted on in December, but winter is coming again, and I find myself (potentially) in the same boat. Looking to upgrade from my 06 M to a 15 Q70 with the performance tire/wheel package, which I understand comes with the sport brakes.

Before I consider the purchase, I want to check into what sort of winter tire and wheel package I am getting myself into. Unfortunately, that comes with living in the Midwest.

Anyone put 18" wheels on with the sport brakes? Did it require spacers to clear the calipers?

Post by **M37xfan** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 6:18 am

Running stock 18-inch Sumitomo all season tires. I have yet to test it in deep snow. Last winter here in SE Wisconsin did not get much snow.

Post by **SwissCheeseHead** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 6:48 am

jedgington wrote:I know this was last posted on in December, but winter is coming again, and I find myself (potentially) in the same boat. Looking to upgrade from my 06 M to a 15 Q70 with the performance tire/wheel package, which I understand comes with the sport brakes.

Before I consider the purchase, I want to check into what sort of winter tire and wheel package I am getting myself into. Unfortunately, that comes with living in the Midwest.

Anyone put 18" wheels on with the sport brakes? Did it require spacers to clear the calipers?

Stock 18's won't fit with the Akebono brakes The diameter is too small. You can check Tirerack.com for the minimum size. When I had my G37S 19's were the smallest I could go.

Post by **Larz** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 8:21 am

SwissCheeseHead wrote:
jayramq70 wrote:
Yes agree - under 7 degrees and the problems start. However there are degrees of 'not doing well'. For example my wifes front wheel drive Mazda has no problem at all getting up hills and down dales in the snow. Obviously its less stuck to the road and not ideal but compare to a BMW that will just spin its wheels on the spot with even the slightest incline and then drift sideways into a ditch if you are not careful. I have been driving for 25 years and am not able to get a BMW 5 series off my drive in teh snow without dramas! So the BMW is completely unusable as a vehicle with summer tyres in the snow and a FWD/4WD car CAN be useable if careful.

Again, slightly different in the UK as almost no one changes tyres during the year, rain ,shine or snow.
I still respectfully disagree. I've also been driving for a long time and in my younger (cheap) days have tried to get away with summer tires in the winter. I would caution against driving any vehicle with summer tires in the snow. Below 45 degrees, the rubber compound can begin to crack. With as little as 1/4" of snow, the tire will slip (any drive platform), as they are not designed with the thousands of sipes that winter tires have that actually bite into the snow. You can get away with all-seasons, but not summer tires.

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Unlike most of you lot, I don't live in an area that has a winter season. However, I do drive to the north in the winter months (VA, NY, MD, Conn). I use all-season tires only for that reason. If not for my treks to the north in your winter temps and snow, I would use high performance summer tires year round which are brilliantly better and more fun to drive. Here is the science that guides me:

Summer tires feature tread compounds engineered to provide traction in warm to hot ambient temperatures. They were never intended to experience near- and below-freezing temperatures, nor the wintry driving conditions that often accompany them.
As ambient temperatures get colder, typically in the 40-45° Fahrenheit range, summer tires lose a significant percentage of traction as their tread compound rubber properties change from a pliable elastic to inflexible plastic. The tire industry uses the term "glass transition" to describe the temperature where a summer tire's grip/slip performance can change dramatically. This means the summer performance tires that provide predictable traction in warm to hot conditions will be found to be challenging to drive in cold to freezing temperatures. This is especially true when the tires first begin to be driven or if the driver aggressively applies gas pedal pressure with today's turbocharged fours or high-torque sixes and eights. Fortunately, glass transition is a reversible condition that allows the tires' normal traction to return as the ambient temperatures climb.
If ambient temperatures drop to near- or below-freezing, driving or rolling a vehicle equipped with summer tires risks the possibility of tread compound cracking. Tread compound cracking is a permanent condition that requires the tires to be replaced. The other condition that can be caused by running summer performance tires in cold temperatures is the possibility of chipping away the edges of the tread blocks. Since both of these conditions only occur as the result of what's considered improper use or storage, they are not typically covered by the manufacturer's warranty.

Post by **dmclone** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:36 am

I think people are getting "summer" tires with "summer only" tires. "summer only" pretty much means they won't move with 2 inches of snow on the ground. I've dealt with snow/ice my entire life with every sort of car and I can tell you that any car with "summer only" tires will not move on ice. I had a Mazdaspeed 3 (FWD) with summer only tires and the car would literately not move on 2 inches of snow. I had to have the neighborhood kids push me back in the garage after getting one block down the road, which took 20 minutes. I put all season on it and it was better than my wife's SUV in the winter.

Post by **ibc** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 5:45 pm

I found the stock all-season Michelin Primacy mxm4 tires worked great, up in northern Canada. We never got stuck. Having an AWD car also helps.

Besides tires, it's important to switch to engine oil and fluids that can withstand the cold winter. In my case, that's -45C. Yuck. Oh, and spare wipers, cuz they will get nicked or shredded by ice. Got booster cables and a strong battery? Yes!

Post by **SwissCheeseHead** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 4:31 am

ibc wrote:I found the stock all-season Michelin Primacy mxm4 tires worked great, up in northern Canada. We never got stuck. Having an AWD car also helps.

Besides tires, it's important to switch to engine oil and fluids that can withstand the cold winter. In my case, that's -45C. Yuck. Oh, and spare wipers, cuz they will get nicked or shredded by ice. Got booster cables and a strong battery? Yes!

I don't know how your Michelins worked great. Mine are terrible! Wet roads cause them trouble, much less snow...but maybe because I'm used to Summer/Winter setups, where each tire in there respective seasons perform well. I didn't drive the car all winter because I thought the snow traction was terrible, even with AWD. As a matter of fact, I ended up rear ending someone because the car slid a good 10 feet in a 1/2 inch of snow and slush. Had to get the front bumper replaced. That was fun.

I've always hated All-seasons.

Post by **ibc** » Wed Oct 12, 2016 2:07 pm

Perhaps mine are newer (25K miles) with more tread remaining? They did great for us. Even at the farm and also out at the skidoo trailhead, both not paved. Can't use a heavy foot out there. In town, they did OK on wet or slushy roads too. I'd buy 'em again. Yeah, I agree, proper winter tires grip better than all-seasons, but ain't cheap (incl. spare rims).

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