M3 in the winter?

[J BONE]

Just wondering if anyone drives their cars in the winter. I have an xi coupe right now with winter tires and the thing is amazing. Been looking at M3's but def need to drive this in the winter. Wondering how it handles with snow tires. Any input would be great! Thanks guys!

[1MOREMOD]

you could get a beater truck to drive for 1000 bucks if you want an m3. would never think to take my car out in the snow.

[Kev]

I avoided taking the M3 out (with snow tires) when it's snowing. I took the bus instead. Get a beat up truck or old Suby for winter.

[J BONE]

Damn, not what I wanted to hear. Kinda figured that though. Kev, just sent you a PM. Thanks guys

[Subw00er]

The Germans do, right? why not if you get good snows like wintersports.

[jackolo]

I guess I'm the odd one out. I can't wait to take my M3 out to play in the snow. But I am from a region the sees snow for at least 6 months of the year.

[niqui]

i drive mine 50+km a day all year round in montreal winter, with a host of other guys, get good tires and its really quite good, better than any other rwd i have driven.
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...ight=m3+winter

[bunnn]

I'm sort of curious about this topic, I've come to realize that the m3 might not be the best handling car in the snow..but it seems to be that the older generation people(no disrespect to you guys) that I deal with on a daily basis, is against this idea. But really I think it's what you make of it, if it's worth the extra hassle to YOU, why not? I see people take their C2S in the snow.

[niqui]

Originally Posted by bunnn

I'm sort of curious about this topic, I've come to realize that the m3 might not be the best handling car in the snow..but it seems to be that the older generation people(no disrespect to you guys) that I deal with on a daily basis, is against this idea. But really I think it's what you make of it, if it's worth the extra hassle to YOU, why not? I see people take their C2S in the snow.

the c2s is a great winter car, i see no reason for the c4s.
its all a matter of tires with cars like this. the lsd should help as it does on the m3 in my opinion,.

[1MOREMOD]

just because you can doesnt mean you should. i could take my r1 out for some crazy shit in the snow but why? i have lots of other options for things to drive that dont include an m3. if you have money to spend on an m3 i dont see how it would be your only car available.

[bunnn]

Originally Posted by niqui

the c2s is a great winter car, i see no reason for the c4s.
its all a matter of tires with cars like this. the lsd should help as it does on the m3 in my opinion,.

and the tires...last 4 years i've went from FWD to AWD to now the RWD, but I have driven RWD in winter in between...it's really about the tires; last year I didn't have the time to swap my summer high performance tires off my Audi, and that was a nightmare...so forget what wheel drive, if you want to drive in the winter...get a set of winters...

Edit: and I know for most few thousand more for a beater is not a problem, but i think the issue here is, what if you want to drive it in the winter

[schadenfreude]

Originally Posted by chriszeh

just because you can doesnt mean you should. i could take my r1 out for some crazy shit in the snow but why? i have lots of other options for things to drive that dont include an m3. if you have money to spend on an m3 i dont see how it would be your only car available.

Exactly. I drive my GTI on Dunlop Wintersport M3's in the winter. I don't see the need to put myself and others at risk in order to have 414hp that I can't use in the snow. I'll probably be selling the GTI against some sort of SUV next year, so I have better ground clearance, more cargo room, and AWD/4WD.

If it's your year-round daily driver and you can't justify having another car, fine, but make sure you take it really easy, avoid inclines, and ride on good snow tires. When I lived in Pittsburgh I saw enough BMW's sliding backwards down hills to know better than to have the M3 as my only car in winter.

[AMJ_77]

You guys with no experience with driving it in winter have no idea what you are talking about! We have snow for 6-7 months here and with winter tires this car was phenomenal. I had a RSX previously and the M3 is easily more capable in winter. It's all about your rubber, buy a good set and you'll be fine.

Sure I can by a 1000$ beater but why would I do that? I would spend more time in my $1000 vehicle than my $90000 car? I don't see the logic there.

[gambitx28]

My M3 is my daily driver. I put on a set of Bridgestone performance snows (from Tire rack) last winter and drove it every day.

The car is excellent in the snow w/ the proper tires. The only issue is ground clearance (so be careful of the deep stuff or the snow 'boulders' left by plows, etc.).

[RI55]

I'm looking forward to the winter, I'm already thinking of a winter wheel/tire setup for my new whip. I come from Audis and still have my RS6 for winter fun but I travel on many roadtrips in the winter and sometimes snow happens no matter what car I'm in and where I'm at. You dont need snow for winter tires either. The PS2's suck in cold weather. I have a truck for work but hate driving it. A good set of tires and common sense goes a long way, just watch out for the "other guy".

[1MOREMOD]

it boils down to more than just getting around. i could get there in the snow but why when i worry about where i park in ideal conditions would i subject my m3 to the added road damage that comes with driving in snow?

[niqui]

Originally Posted by chriszeh

just because you can doesnt mean you should. i could take my r1 out for some crazy shit in the snow but why? i have lots of other options for things to drive that dont include an m3. if you have money to spend on an m3 i dont see how it would be your only car available.

are we talking about doing crazy shit in the snow?

i drove an s500 all year round, it is a horrendous rwd car, does that mean i should have bought an audi for the winter? i dont get it. its not like this car is unsafe in the winter, i think its more than capable, its not like we are talking about an f430 in feet of snow.

[niqui]

Originally Posted by chriszeh

it boils down to more than just getting around. i could get there in the snow but why when i worry about where i park in ideal conditions would i subject my m3 to the added road damage that comes with driving in snow?

like you said previously, if we can afford an m3 we can afford a second winter car, so i would only assume we could afford to repair it.
i am not trying to be a dick, i just dont get it; yes, this car cant climb mts and go thru feet of snow, but it is more than fine with suitable rubber. it is actually better than every rwd car parked in my driveway, jag and benzes.

[Tuned1M]

I've driven my previous M3's (E46) year round with snows and it drove fantastic. I also saw a couple E9x M3's this past winter with snows on them so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[Edman951]

The M3 kicks ass in the snow.
All my friends freaked out last winter how good it goes and handle in the snow.
The car has such a good balance, thats it very predictable in the snow and you can play with it as you wish.
It VERY stable even in the deep stuff, and the dtc is there to help you if you get off track to much.
Its even better then my preisous E90 335i.
I run Blizzak LM25 235 on all 4 coners. To have a square set up.
Its perfect, and best car ive had in the snow.
My E90 M3 is a daily driver for me, and i dont regret driving it even in our hard Quebec winters.

[Crazy Bimmer]

I plan to drive mine in winter.

I figured if my 335i with software can handle the snow with all its low end torque then an M3 will do just fine. Granted I had snow tires.

Plus not like the roads around here stay covered with snow for long. They pretty good about plowing.

[schadenfreude]

Originally Posted by Jesal@Project 808

Plus not like the roads around here stay covered with snow for long. They pretty good about plowing.

This is why I won't drive it in the winter here. Seattle won't salt because it's bad for Puget Sound. The one bad storm we had this winter had the highways jammed up for about 4 days, and the local roads even longer. Since my GTI/snows don't cost me anything but insurance and gas, it's fairly cheap to keep a second car around, and I don't need to buy 19" snows for the M3. If I lived somewhere where they gave a damn about keeping the roads clean (Chicago, Montreal, etc) I might consider the M3 a year round daily driver.